On 27 February, the Director-General participated in the meeting of the Scientific Council of the Centre National de Recherche en Archéologie (CNRA) in Algeria.

From 14-19 February, the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, traveled to Saudi Arabia with Zaki Aslan, Project Manager of ICCROM's ATHAR programme. They participated in a seminar on the rehabilitation of the Old City of Jeddah, organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, together with ICOMOS and ICCROM, as well as a seminar on the preservation of the World Heritage site of Riyadh.

During the visit Mr Bouchenaki and Mr Aslan met with Mr Ali El Jhabban, Deputy Director-General of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities; Mr Mohsen Farhan Al-Karni, Director-General of Projects and Development, Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities; Mr Al Aida Rous; Mr Hani M. Aburas, Mayor of Jeddah; Mr John Hurd, President of the Scientific Committee of ICOMOS; Ms Pamela Jérome, Wasa Studio, ICOMOS; and Mr Michel Cotte, ICOMOS Advisor for World Heritage.

On 11 February, the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, visited the town of Castellabate in the Campania region of Italy to participate in the Premio Giglio d'Oro award Ceremony and in the launching of a partner project between the Mayor and a local NGO to train young people in the preservation of cultural heritage.

From 7-9 February, the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, attended the International Symposium 2011 on Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage in Seoul.

Participants in this gathering included:

• Mr Kwang shik Choe, Administrator of Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea
• Mr Yeon soo Park, Administrator of National Emergency Management Agency
• Mr Seong yong Uhm, Director-General of the Heritage Policy Bureau, Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea
• Mr You beom Lee, Director of the Cultural Heritage Risk Management Division, Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea
• Mr Dong soo Kim, Professor of KAIST
• Mr Giovanni Boccardi, Chief of the Asia and Pacific Section, UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Mr Wook Kwon, Professor of Gangwon University, Director-General of the Korea Society for Heritage Mitigation
• Mr Kenzo Toki, Professor of Ritsumeikan University, Director of Research Centre for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Japan
• Mr Rohit Jigyasu, President of ICOMOS ICORP
• Mr Seong yong Uhm, Director-General, Heritage Policy Bureau, Cultural Heritage Adminstration of Korea.

On 9 February a ceremony was held for the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of risk management and cultural heritage between ICCROM and the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. Also representing ICCROM on this mission was Daijiro Kitagawa, Project Manager of the Sites Unit.

As part of the mission, the Director-General also visited the Namdaemun (South Gate), a 14th century gateway in the centre of Seoul that was severely damaged by a deliberate fire in 2008.