26 February. On 21 February, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Sharjah and ICCROM was signed by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah, and by Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General, ICCROM.

Under the four-year agreement, the Government of Sharjah and ICCROM will cooperate to promote:

• regional education and professional development opportunities in the conservation of cultural heritage; community development in the region through heritage awareness and participation;
• curriculum development within Sharjah and regional educational institutions; and,
• in the long-term, establish a regional conservation centre aimed at achieving the objectives of the programme.

The signing ceremony was also attended by officials from the Sharjah Department of Information and Culture, the Sharjah Museums Department, the American University of Sharjah, the University of Sharjah, and the Ruler’s Office. The main coordinators of the project are Zaki Aslan, ATHAR Programme Manager, ICCROM, and Peter Jackson, Architect from the Ruler’s Office.

Activites will be carried out under ICCROM’s ATHAR programme which focuses on the heritage of the Arab region.

updated on: 27 January, 2010