16 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 (MoU) on 9 November 2012. This is to put into concrete action the policy recommendations given during the 20th conference of Directors of Heritage and Antiquities in the Arab Region, held in Algeria and hosted by ALECSO. The MOU, together with a framework agreement, was signed by the Director-General of ALECSO, Dr Mohammad Al Aziz Ben Achour and the Director-General of ICCROM, Dr Stefano De Caro at the ICCROM premises in Rome.

The initiative aims to facilitate cooperation between ALECSO and the ICCROM-Sharjah ATHAR Centre to raise public awareness on the importance of cultural heritage and the shared responsibility to protect heritage in the Arab states. The Director-General of ALECSO underlined the importance of this MOU, pointing out that cooperation between the two organizations will lead to a positive impact at both the public and the professional level. He noted that Arab cultural heritage is increasingly challenged by the circumstances the region is currently facing, and initiatives like this will play a key role in the preservation of heritage through the significant work of the ATHAR Regional Centre in Sharjah. Cooperation between ICCROM and ALECSO began in 2006 in support of the ATHAR programme.

updated on: 16 November, 2012