2 November. The General Assembly of the Member States of ICCROM, which this year has received the High Patronage of the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, will be held in Rome at the headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), between 7 and 9 November 2007. The event will include the celebration marking the 50th Anniversary of the signature, on 27 April 1957, of the Headquarters Agreement between the Italian Government and UNESCO institutionalising the presence of ICCROM in the Italian territory. The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property was born out of the aftermath of the huge destruction of cultural heritage caused by the Second World War. It was created by resolution of the General Conference of UNESCO held in New Delhi in 1956 and today has a membership of over 123 countries.

As the Director General of ICCROM, Mounir Bouchenaki, stated: ‘I would like to pay tribute to the farsightedness of our founders, above all UNESCO and the international community, in recognizing the need for establishing a specialist organization devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage. I must also acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the Italian Government, for its generosity and its engagement in proposing to establish the organization in Rome. It is difficult to think of a more appropriate country (or indeed city) for an organization such as ICCROM. Italy has not only a rich heritage, but it also has a long tradition of preserving its heritage and has for many years been, and remains at the forefront of conservation efforts.’

At the invitation of the President of the Cultural Commission, Pietro Folena, the Ceremony of the 50th Anniversary, will be held at the Conference Hall of Palazzo Marini, on Thursday 8 November 2007, under the Patronage of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Fausto Bertinotti. The vice Prime Minister and Minister of Cultural Activities and Heritage, Francesco Rutelli, the Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, Mme Françoise Rivière, as well as representatives from ICCROM’s Member States will also attend.

ICCROM’s mandate is to promote worldwide the conservation of all types of cultural heritage. It organizes training courses in Rome as well as regional programmes in all parts of the world.  A network of more than the 4,000 experts from all continents took part in the international training activities of ICCROM in the last decades, both in Rome and within the framework of regional programs focusing on meeting the most crucial challenges that the world’s heritage is facing at the beginning of the 21st century.

Journalists wishing to cover the General Assembly and the Ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies should contact ICCROM for accreditation by telephone (+39) (348) 524 02 48, or by email: mtj (at) iccrom . org
For further information, visit http://www.iccrom.org.

updated on: 18 December, 2008