On 23 September, the Director-General participated in the 16th Triennial Conference of the ICOM Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC), which took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The theme of this year's conference was Cultural Heritage/Cultural Identity: the role of conservation, and on the final day of this 5-day event Mr Bouchenaki delivered a speech on this very topic.

The ICOM-CC Triennial Conference in Lisbon was an opportunity to share methods, studies and strategies to value individual cultural identities through heritage conservation by addressing topics such as:

• The relationships between cultural heritage and cultural identity
•  National and international conservation policies
• The importance of interdisciplinarity in the conservation of cultural heritage
• The development of research and education in heritage conservation
• Standards, practices, and methodologies for heritage conservation. 

Among the hundreds of participants, the Director-General also met with Mr Francisco José Viegas, Secretary of State for Culture in Portugal, and Ms Isabel Raposo de Magalháes, ICCROM Council Member.

From 17-20 September the Director-General, Mounir-Bouchenaki traveled to China to attend the International Seminar on the Monitoring and Management of World Heritage Sites in China. During the seminar he delivered a speech on the "Monitoring and Management of World Heritage Sites - a new challenge".

While in China, Mr Bouchenaki met with the Director-General of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), Mr Shan Jixiang. He also participated in the presentation of an advanced copy of the forthcoming ICCROM publication, ICCROM and the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. A history of the Organization's first 50 years, 1959-2009. The volume is being printed in China thanks to the generosity and efforts of SACH and Prof Zhou Lu, ICCROM Council Member.

On 16 September the Director-General participated in the 2011 CEC International Conference on World Heritage at Risk, which took place in Ravello, Italy. His presentation was on "Cultural Heritage and International Organizations in Crisis Areas".

On 14 September a ceremony was held to dedicate the Amphitheatre of the Auditorium al Duomo in Florence, Italy, to the late Andrzej Tomaszewski. Prof Tomaszewski was Director-General of ICCROM from 1988 to 1992. The ceremony, organized by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco, Life Beyond Tourism, Auditorium al Duomo, and partners, was a celebration of the work and achievements of Tomaszewski in the field of conservation and cultural dialogue. The Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki attended on behalf of ICCROM.

Also in attendance was Marc Laenen, former Director-General of ICCROM, H.E. Francesco Caruso and Maurizio di Stefano, President of ICOMOS Italy, Paolo del Bianco and his wife, and H.E. Wojciech Ponikiewski, Ambassador of Poland to Italy.

see also

• additional photographs

On 13 September the Director-General visited Doha, Qatar to meet with H.E Mr. Moubarek Bin Naser Al-Khalifa, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. While there, he also met with Abdulla Al Najjar, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Museums Authority and Jassem Mohamed Al Blousji, Chairman of Sharjah Tatweer Forum. He also visited the Islamic Museum of Qatar.

From 9-11 September the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki visited Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. During his mission he met with His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and signed an Agreement of Implementation for the creation of a regional ICCROM center in Sharjah. Also present at the meeting were Zaki Aslan, ATHAR Programme Manager at ICCROM, Abdulaziz al Musallam, Director of Heritage, Judge Hassan El Amin, Legal Advisor in the Ruler's Office, and Architect Peter Jackson of the Ruler's Office.