De Caro was already well acquainted with the organization thanks to his position on the ICCROM Council as the representative of the Italian Government. However, January and February have been dedicated to further understanding ICCROM’s structure, both physical and organizational; the services that it offers to Member States, and its resources such as the Library and Archives.

Meeting at length with staff members and the unit directors has been vital in this period for exchanging experiences, backgrounds and ideas. Equally important has been connecting with former staff members who now serve as Special Advisers to the Director-General: Gaël de Guichen, Jukka Jokilehto, and Rosalia Varoli-Piazza.

Parallel to this, De Caro has traveled to the UNESCO headquarters twice (18 January and 9-10 February) to meet with the World Heritage Advisory Bodies, partners, and delegations. Accompanied by his predecessor and Special Adviser, Mounir Bouchenaki, the Director-General met with Francesco Bandarin, Assistant Director-General for Culture, and several ambassadors including those of Belgium, the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

In Rome, he has also met with the representatives of several diplomatic delegations including Burkina Faso, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, and the United States. He has also held several meetings with partner organizations in view of strengthening strategic collaboration. These include the J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (ISCR), the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC), the Sapienza University of Rome, the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM), the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP), the International Association for Classical Archaeology (AIAC), and the Spanish Academy in Rome.

updated on: 8 March, 2012