Press releases

The two-day International Conference “Documenting the Heritage at Risk” has successfully concluded. The meeting was organized by the “Incontro di Civiltà” Association, chaired by Francesco Rutelli, in collaboration with ICCROM.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) has announced its allocation of $2.4 million towards the conservation of sites around the world linked to Iranian heritage.

The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage has become a core feature of modern conflicts and a tactic of war. In this scenario, safeguarding the world’s cultural heritage is becoming increasingly urgent and imperative.

On 9 and 10 May, a series of events will be held at the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (ISCR) in Rome. The series, entitled “Wooden architecture: learning from ancestors, keeping for posterity, teaching our contemporaries,” has been organized by the Kizhi State Museum, an open-air venue devoted to history, architecture and ethnography.

On 30 March, Director-General Stefano De Caro addressed the G7 Culture meetings, held in the Sala Bianca of the Palazzo Pitti, in Florence, Italy. These were the first-ever such meetings, held on the initiative of Italy’s Culture Minister, Dario Franceschini.

Two damaged sculptural busts from Palmyra, dating to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, were sent home from Rome to Syria on Monday 27 February. After being treated in Italy, the busts were returned to the National Museum of Damascus, accompanied by two representatives of the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM).

On 11 February 2017, the Director General of UNESCO, Mrs Irina Bokova, visited the ICCROM-ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah as part of launch for the #Unite4Heritage campaign in the United Arab Emirates.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, W Stuart Symington, has awarded a grant of $116,000 to launch RE-ORG Nigeria in a partnership between ICCROM, the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments and Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

A special symposium on post-conflict reconstruction of historic cities, organized by ICCROM, the Louvre-Lens Museum and the Institut du monde arabe in Tourcoing, was held in Lens, France on 20 – 21 January 2017.

At a time when significant archaeological treasures in the Middle East are threatened by tragic current events, the Louvre-Lens Museum is hosting a special event from 19 – 21 January on the theme of endangered heritage. Jean-Luc Martinez, President-Director of the Louvre Museum, will give a lecture on protecting cultural heritage in areas affected by armed conflict. Marie Lavandier, Director of the Louvre-Lens Museum and President of the ICCROM Council, will lead an international symposium on post-conflict reconstruction of historic cities.