From 27-28 October the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki participated in the 17th Session of the Conference of the Ministers of Culture in the Arab States, held by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in Doha, Qatar. Others in attendance included Khalida Toumi, Algerian Minister of Communication and Culture, Maysoun al Khouri, Cultural Affairs at the Jordanian Embassy in Rome, and H.E. Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour, Director-General of ALECSO.

During the meeting, the Director-General presented the achievements of ICCROM's ATHAR programme, resulting in the Council of Ministers arriving at a consensus decision in its support. This presentation was done with the participation of Zaki Aslan, ATHAR Programme Manager.

While there, the Director-General and Zaki Aslan also met with H.E. Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Oweis, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and H.E. Mohammed Khamis Bin Hareb Almuhairi, Director-General of the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities, UAE.

From 25-28 October the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki participated in the UNESCO Venice Office Steering Committee meeting at the UNESCO headquarters, as well as discussions on the feasibility of a convention concerning cultural landscapes.

On 20 October the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki visited the Istituto Italo-Latino Americano (IILA) and signed an agreement for cooperation between ICCROM and IILA within the framework of the LATAM programme. Also present was Katriina Simila, Project Manager, Collections Unit, and Maria Teresa Jaquinta, Liaison Officer (Co-operation with Italy).

see also

• LATAM programme
  
  

On 14 October 2010 the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, participated in the Brainstorming Meeting on the Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the reactivation of the UNESCO Action Plan for protecting the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Participants included:

• From Israel: Michael Turner, Chair, Israel World Heritage Committee
• From Jordan: Moawiyah Ibrahim Yousuf, President, the Society of Friends of Archaeology and Heritage; Abdallah Al-Abbadi, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque; and Abdel Sami Abu Diyeh, Department of Antiquities of Jordan
• From Palestine: Hamdan Taha, Director of the Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage Nazmi Al-Jubeh, Birzeit University
• From UNESCO: Irina Bokova, Director-General; Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre; Paola Leoncini-Bartoli, Chief of the Executive Office; Krista Pikkat, Office of the Director-General; Veronique Dauge, Chief of Section, Arab States section; and Franca Miglioli, Programme Specialist, Arab States section.

see also

• UNESCO press release
  
  

From 6-8 October 2010 the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, visited Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, in the Russian Federation. During his mission he attended the international forum on "the Role of Digital Technologies in Conservation and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments". At this time an agreement was also signed between the Director-General of ICCROM and the Chairman of UNESCO on the use of innovative technologies for conservation.

He also met with officials from the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of Tatarstan, Ms Zilya Valeeva, First Deputy Minister of Culture, Mr Aidar Gainutdinov, former President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr Mintimer Shaimiev, Secretary-General of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, Mr Grigory Ordzhonikidze, and President of the Russian Committee for ICOMOS, Mr Igor Makovetzki.

see also

• Press release from the City of Kazan website