The Libyan Department of Antiquities in partnership with international experts, and the Rome-based International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), will meet in Tunis from 9-11 May. Their common goal is to discuss and develop a comprehensive action plan which will include concrete steps, benchmarks, and mechanisms to engage the civil society in the protection of Libya’s numerous cultural heritage sites threatened by conflict and plunder. The meeting will also explore ways of fostering reconciliation and strengthening civil society through projects designed to protect the country’s shared cultural assets.
Participants will include various Libyan stakeholders representing heritage sites, historic cities, and civil society representatives, along with US, Italian, French and UK diplomatic missions in Libya. The gathering will also include a number of international organizations such as Interpol, the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) the World Bank and others.
Organized by ICCROM in coordination with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), this important conference on Libya’s cultural heritage is due in large part to the generous support of the United States Embassy to Libya, resident in Tunis.