Director-General News

The Arab Forum on Cultural Heritage, held in Sharjah, UAE from 6 – 8 February 2018, examines the philosophical contexts and values that inform conservation practices in the wider Arab region.

ICCROM’s Director-General, Dr Webber Ndoro, led an ICCROM team at a Conference of European Ministers of Culture from 20 – 22 January in Davos, Switzerland. The conference took place just before the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.

On 25 October 2017, the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea (CHA) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) signed a Framework Arrangement in Daejeon, Republic of Korea. This marks the second phase of the collaboration embarked upon in 2012.

On 5 August, the Director-General of ICCROM, Dr Stefano De Caro, had the honour to attend the inauguration ceremony of Hassan Rouhani for his second term as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. De Caro’s attendance came at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, through its Embassy in Rome.

The fourth ICCROM-CHA Annual Forum was concluded on 9 December 2016 at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The Annual Forum has been organized since 2013, with the collaboration and financial support of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea. The objectives of the Annual Forum are to explore, research, and debate key themes emerging from the Asian region that have implications for...

It is particularly challenging in these times to find words of encouragement for the conservation world. News arrives day after day from Syria, news of ongoing destruction of millennial monuments – glorious remnants of past civilizations – or of the brutal killings of scholars, such as Khaled al-Asaad, who dedicate their lives to caring for this heritage.

On 27 October 2015, ICCROM and the Government of the United Arab Emirates signed a Headquarters Agreement which lays the foundation for the establishment and operation of the ICCROM-ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah, UAE. This agreement confers upon the Centre its legal status, enabling it to execute its functions and achieve its objectives as an intergovernmental institution in the...

“Rovine. La forza delle rovine” (“Ruins: the power of ruins”), is the title of a wonderful exhibition that has recently opened at Palazzo Altemps, Roman National Museums. Curated by Marcello Barbanera, who also edited the exhibition catalogue (Electa, 2015) with Alessandra Capodiferro, the exhibition portrays the fascination aroused by physical remains of past civilization, whether sculpture...

The Italian association Incontro di Civiltà has drafted an appeal to counter the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq and to support its preservation and restoration.The appeal is the result of considerable reflection which has brought together scholars, archaeologists, legal experts and cultural representatives in order to arrive at a set of challenging, but achievable proposals...

On 11 October, H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah met with ICCROM Director-General, Dr. Stefano De Caro in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The objective was to discuss programmes and plans being implemented in the Arab region through the recently-established ICCROM-ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah. Established in 2012 by the...