19 April. Wednesday, 18 April, marked the opening of an expert meeting to define a long-term programme for the conservation of the cultural heritage of Latin America. The meeting is organized by ICCROM and IILA (Istituto Italo Latino Americano), with the support of The Getty Foundation along with a contribution from the Directorate General for Italian Cooperation.

The aim of the meeting is to gather information, identify needs and priorities, and develop possible lines of action toward the creation of a long term capacity building programme for Latin America.

The opening day of the meeting, which was held at IILA, was officially opened by the following authorities: H.E. Ambassador José Roberto Andino Salazar, President of IILA; Danielle Mazzonis, Undersecretary,  Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities; Donato Di Santo, Undersecretary of State, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ambassador Paolo Bruni, Secretary-General of IILA; and Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General of ICCROM.

The opening ceremony was followed by presentations of recent experiences in addressing conservation challenges and opportunities in the Latin American countries. Presentations were made by 19 invited participants who are key actors in the conservation of the cultural heritage of Latin America. 

The meeting will run through Saturday, 21 April with working sessions held at ICCROM’s premises on Thursday and Friday, and a concluding session at IILA on Saturday.

For IILA, the meeting has been placed in the framework of the III National Conference Italy Latin-America, which is being organized by them in cooperation with CESPI, and with the sponsorship of the Directorate General for Italian Cooperation.

Member States represented: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela

updated on: 26 June, 2008