Be the first to comment!Malta sponsors a Cultural Heritage workshop in Bethlehem
 Email item
|  Print item
|
|
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine organised a workshop for its top officials and Palestinian conservationists to study and prepare a National Charter for Cultural Heritage. This highly important event was made possible through the sponsorship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta together with the UNESCO Office in Ramallah and UNDP.
The workshop was organised following an agreement reached between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tonio Borg, and the Ministry in Ramallah signed during a visit some weeks ago. The technical agreement to organise the workshop was sigend with ICCROM, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Conservation of Cultural Property and Malta’s Ambassador to UNESCO Dr. Ray Bondin. The Workshop was opened by a message of Dr. Ray Bondin who outlined Malta’s work in the region, mainly supporting a two state solution, and highlighting the importance of the preservation of the Palestinian heritage.
The workshop aimed at the development of a National Charter which would comprise a set of national guidelines and principles for the conservation and management of the Palestinian cultural heritage. This initiative was born out of current realities requiring a national policy towards protecting the rich cultural heritage of the country.
A series of actions have been suggested for the preparation and implementation of this Charter. This workshop formed the first milestone in this process, which lead to a first draft of the Charter. A total of 26 professionals with expertise in architectural conservation and experience in heritage management and legislation, participated in the workshop. The participants work in public and non- governmental bodies involved in cultural heritage protection and research activities, such as universities, municipalities, rehabilitation projects in Ramallah, Bethlehem Hebron, Nablus, and Gaza.
The next phase in finalizing and implementing the Charter will be to initiate a dialogue with all identified stakeholders to ensure that there is public consensus, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the Charter in the long term. The final phase will include a one week workshop in 2012 that will lead to the Charter’s approval and implementation.
