13 January. On 18 December, at the invitation of H.E. Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Culture and Information of Bahrain, the Director-General participated to the Second Consultation Meeting on the establishment of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage (ARC-WH). He was accompanied by Zaki Aslan, Programme Manager, ATHAR Programme, Sites Unit.

The meeting was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture and Information, H.E. Shaikha Mai Al Khalifa. Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the WHC, and Mr Karim Hendili, UNESCO Advisor for WH and Archaeology, were the moderators. Mr Tim Badman, Special Advisor on WH of the IUCN, was the rapporteur.

Present also were: Prof Herb Stovel, Canada; Ms Ping Kong, World Heritage International Training/Asia Pacific Centre (WHITR/AP), China; Mrs Loana Braga Barbosa Saltarelli, Institute for National Artistic and Historical Heritage (IPHAN), Brazil;  Mr Webber Ndoro, African World Heritage Fund; and, Prof Walter Santagata, Università di Torino, International Center for Research on Economics of Culture.

The Director General also attended the official ceremony of the launching of the Sheikh Isa Cultural Center in Manama in the presence of the King of Bahrain, H. M. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

16 December. On 11 December, the Director-General attended meeting at the Universitá la Sapienza of rectors from Israeli and Palestian universities. Also present was Prof Manuel Castello, Director, International Master on Social Sciences and Humanitarian Affairs.

5 January. On 10 December, Mrs Elizabeth Nobrega de Araujo Tsakiroglou and Mr Michael Carrington, The Maria Nobrega Foundation and the Brazilian Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Adhemar Gabriel Bahadian, invited the Director-General to a reception and supper at the Brazilian Embassy in Rome. Present also was Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil.

16 December. On 9 December, the Director-General participated in the the Sixth International Conference on Science and Technology in Archaeology and Conservation in Rome. He gave a speech in the inaugurational session. Present also were: HRH Princess Wijdan Bint Fawwaz Muhana, Ambassador of Jordan to Italy and Under Secretary of State for Cultural Heritage, Mr Francesco Maria Giro.

16 December. On 6 December, the Director-General was made Honorary Member of the Compagnie des architectes en chef des monuments historiques. During the ceremony, he also met General Gilles Robert, Chef du service historique de la Défense, Château de Vincennes.

16 December. From 29 November to 4 December, the Director-General participated to the technical visits carried out by an Ad Hoc group of experts in Angkor, Cambodia. He also participated, as ICCROM representative, to the 15th plenary session of the International Coordination Committee for the safeguard and development of Angkor.

He visited the restoration works in Angkor, in particular the ones carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the Ta Phronm Temple.

On this occasion, the Director-General, met Mrs Anshu Vaish, Director General, ASI; H.E. Ambassador of France to Cambodia Jean-François Desmazières, Co-President of ICC-Angkor; H.E. Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia Katsuhiro Shinohara, Co-President of ICC-Angkor; Mr Laurent Levi-Strauss, Division of Cultural Objects and Intangible Heritage, UNESCO; Mr Azedine Beschaouch, former Director General of the Institut National du Patrimoine of Tunisia; Mrs Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO; Mr Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia and Mr Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia.