September:

1 - 4 September: The month began with a visit from UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova to Italy for the World Urban Forum organized by UN-HABITAT in Naples. Stefano De Caro also participated in the event and had the additional honour of accompanying the UNESCO delegation on a private visit of some of the major sites in the Campania Region.

10 - 12 September: At the invitation of the Administration of Cultural Heritage of Korea and ICOMOS Korea, the Director-General and Gamini Wijesuriya participated in the International Conference in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, held from 10 - 12 September in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Republic of Korea. The event was the occasion to discuss possible developments of the MoU lately signed between ICCROM and Korea.

12 September: The Director-General participated in “Information Day” organized by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC) to discuss activities and decision-making processes carried out by national and local institutions in the wake of the earthquake in Emilia Romagna (Italy) in May 2012. The event was held in the monumental complex of San Michele a Ripa, next to the ICCROM headquarters.

19 September: A conference on the International Protection of Landscapes was held in Florence and organized by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco - Life Beyond Tourism. The Director-General participated in the opening ceremony of the conference, which aimed at starting a process toward a new international Convention on Landscapes conceived in the spirit of the Florence Charter of the Council of Europe. He delivered a brief speech of congratulations illustrating the interest of ICCROM towards such perspectives.

20 September: The Director-General and Manager of Finance and Administration held a meeting with the Ambassador of Hungary in Italy.

26 September: The Director-General attended the presentation of the publication Licia Vlad Borrelli - Etica della conservazione e tutela del passato, organized by the Biblioteca di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte, Rome.

October:

10 - 13 October: De Caro attended the workshop, “Mosaics in the field. Issues of iconography, material selection and preservation”, organized by the University of Cyprus and NARNIA in Nicosia, Cyprus. During the workshop he gave a presentation on the “Mosaics of Ancient Campania.”

15 - 20 October: Upon the invitation of Dr Muhammad Javad Adabi of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the Director-General traveled to Tehran to visit some of the country’s archaeological and monumental sites and discuss possible trajectories for cooperation with ICHHTO and local Universities.

30 October – 2 November: Together with the Special Advisor Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, the De Caro traveled to Tatarstan, Russian Federation. There he visited the sites of Shviatsk and Bulghar, nomination candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage List.  ICCROM was invited to give technical advice on the restoration and presentation of monuments in accordance with international best practices and the World Heritage Convention.  The visit to Tatarstan was also an opportunity to discuss with the Minister of Culture of Russian Federation, the announced imminent readhesion of the Russian Federation to ICCROM.

November:

5 - 7 November: For three days the ICCROM Council convened at the headquarters in Rome for its 81st Ordinary Session. During the meeting, the Director-General participated in discussions on policies, matters regarding Member States, the Programme and Budget and the organization’s activities.

9 November: In order to expand collaboration and improve education and training in cultural heritage conservation, the ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the ICCROM headquarters. 

15 - 17 November: The XV Borsa Mediterranea del Turismo Archeologico took place in Salerno, Italy. Held under ICCROM patronage, this international exchange aimed to promote archaeology and archaeological destinations as well as cultural dialogue. The Director-General participated in a series of activities during the event on behalf of ICCROM.

20 November: A meeting was held at ICCROM during which the Director-General and Prof Luigi Nicolais, President of the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

25 - 30 November: Upon the invitation of the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)  in Nara, Japan and the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research-Asia and Pacific (WHITRAP) in Shanghai, China, De Caro participated in a meeting on  "Human Resources Development for the Transmission of Traditional Skills: Building Decoration with a focus around Painting and Colouring". The mission provided an opportunity to exchange ideas on technical issues with conservation officials at the national an institutional level.

In addition to traveling extensively to represent ICCROM abroad, the Director-General also received several visitors during the months of September, October and November.

updated on: 19 December, 2012