On 28 Febuary, Mr Ray Bondin, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Malta to UNESCO and former ICCROM Council Member, visited ICCROM. He met with Bruno Pisani, Manager of Finance and Administration, Joseph King, Director of the Sites Unit, and Zaki Aslan, Project Manager of the ATHAR programme.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ICCROM, Heritage Malta, and the Palestinian Authority for the implementation of a workshop on Palestinian built heritage that will take place later in 2011, thanks to funding from the government of Malta.

press releases:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
• Department of Information, Malta

Member State represented: Malta

On 10 February, the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki, received the visit of: Mr Philippe Belaval, Director-General for Heritage at the Ministry of Culture; Ms Marie-Christine Labourdette, Chief Executive of the Direction des Musées de France (DMF); Ms Marie Lavandier, Director of Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMN); Ms Isabelle Pallot-Frossard, Director of Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques (LRMH) and ICCROM Council Member; Mr Eric Gross, Director of the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP); Ms Isabelle Maréchal, Responsible for Heritage; Mr Gennaro Toscano, INP; Mr Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet, Cultural Advisor, Embassy of France; and Gianpaolo Nadalini, Chargé de mission sur l'international, INP.

Also present: Joseph King, Sites Unit Director; Paul Arenson, Manager, Knowledge and Communication Services; Catherine Antomarchi, Collections Unit Director.

Member State represented: France

On 4 February, Mr Daniele Stival, Assessore Regionale of the Region of Veneto, Italy, Mr Mariano Carraro, Regional Secretary for the Environment, Veneto, Mr Roberto Tonellato, head of the Progetto Protezione Civile unit in Veneto, and Mr Claudio Modena, University of Padova, visited ICCROM. They met with the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki.

Also present: Joseph King, Sites Unit Director, and Maria Teresa Jaquinta, Liason Officer (Co-operation with Italy).

Member State represented: Italy

On 4 February, the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki received the visit of H.E. Dominique Awono Essama, Ambassador of Cameroon, and of Mr Charles A. Etunyi, Minister Counsellor.

Member State represented: Cameroon

On 3 February, Ambassador Ugo Leone, Permanent Observer of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) to UNESCO came to ICCROM. He met with the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki.

On 3 February, H.E. Vaqif Sadigov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan and Mr Ilgar Faragiort, Counsellor, Embassy of Azerbaijan, visited ICCROM. They met with the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki.

Member State represented: Azerbaijan

On 2 February, ICCROM hosted a meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Società Italiana per la Protezione dei Beni Culturali (SIPBC).

The meeting was attended by: Generale Roberto Conforti, Mr Paolo del Bianco, Fondazione del Bianco, Ms Carlotta del Bianco, Fondazione del Bianco, Mr Maurizio di Stefano, Italy ICOMOS, Mr Angelo Izzo, CNI-UNESCO, Ms Maria Adelaide Frabotta Mazza, Mr Claudio Saporetti, Mr Bruno Ramundo, Mr Giuseppe Rizzo, Ms Margherita Sabatini, Ms Anna Rosa Vicentini and Ms Claudia Cosentino.

Also present: Maria Teresa Jaquinta, Liason Officer (Co-operation with Italy).

Member State represented: Italy

On 2 February, H.E. Jasna Krivosic-Prpic, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Holy See met with the Director-General, Mounir Bouchenaki.

Member State represented: Bosnia and Herzegovina