The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has chosen Belfast to host the second international Geoparks Conference next month.
The four-day conference is being held in the Waterfront Hall from September 17th-21st and is attracting delegates from all over the world.
Geoparks are areas of particular geological and scientific interest which also have significant tourism potential.
Northern Ireland's only geopark, in Fermanagh, is an area of internationally significant geological heritage where the geology and landscape are used as tools for sustainable economic development, primarily through tourism. The only other geopark in Ireland is the Copper Coast of Co Waterford.
Launching the conference, Northern Ireland's enterprise minister Maria Eagle said: "The conference represents a major coup for Northern Ireland and is recognition of our own special geological heritage which, in addition to the Marble Arch Caves Geopark in Fermanagh, includes places such as the Ring of Gullion, the Sperrins, the Mournes and the Causeway Coast and Glens."
She extended a worldwide invitation to delegates and said: "I want to encourage early sign up for this prestigious event which has delegates already confirmed from Malaysia, Japan, Australia and Brazil.
"This conference is an opportunity to learn about our geological heritage and how it can be developed as an environmentally and economically sustainable tourism resource."