Sharjah to host regional training centre for preservation and restoration of cultural heritage

Sharjah, 28 March 2011 (WAM) -- Sharjah will host a regional training and development centre of the UNESCO's International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

An agreement in this respect was signed today by H.H. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member and Ruler of Sharjah, and visiting Director General of ICCROM Dr. Mounir Bouchenakiin the presence of Dr. Zaki Aslan, head of Archaeology programme and Director of Regional Centre in Sharjah.

The agreement stipulates Sheikh Sultan's consent for extension of the archaeology programme for four years to enable the Centre conduct professional and academic workshops and activities.

Sheikh Sultan was briefed by the ICCROM chief on activities of the ongoingregional workshop on heritage in the Arab World. The three-day event is being hosted by Sharjah Museums Department in association with Sharjah Department for Culture and Information, University of Sharjah and American University of Sharjah and aims at building capacities of educational institutions specialised in heritage conservation and raise awareness of young generations about safeguarding and preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Sheikh Sultan and his guests discussed a number of topics concerning Sharjah cultural heritage.

The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage. Its members are individual states which have declared their adhesion to it. It exists to serve the international community as represented by its Member States, which currently number 129.

It is the only institution of its kind with a worldwide mandate to promote the conservation of all types of cultural heritage, both movable and immovable.

The decision to found the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property was made at the 9th UNESCO General Conference in New Delhi in 1956, at a time of mounting interest in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. It was subsequently established in Rome in 1959 at the invitation of the Government of Italy.

ICCROM aims at improving the quality of conservation practice as well as raising awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage.

ICCROM contributes to preserving cultural heritage in the world today and for the future through five main areas of activity: