International Partnerships and Practical Plans to Save the Islamic Cultural Heritage
14/05/2017- The two-day activities of the joint symposium of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and France on "Preserving and Protecting the Cultural Heritage in OIC Member States" started on Sunday, 14 May at the headquarters of the Secretariat.
The Secretary General of the OIC, Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, in his opening speech delivered on his behalf by the Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian and Cultural and Social Affairs, Ambassador Hesham Youssef, stressed that the Secretariat is working to strengthen the partnership with all Member States and relevant institutions of the OIC, France, and international organizations, such as UNESCO, in order to develop practical plans that will save the Islamic Cultural Heritage in all its manifestations, including the material and non-material heritage.
The Secretary General noted that the preservation of cultural heritage, its protection and enrichment will contribute to addressing the phenomenon of distorting the image of Islam and to deter vicious attacks perpetrated by the ideologues of hatred of Islam. He called at the same time for the need to exploit the preservation of cultural heritage to spread Islamic values of tolerance as witnessed throughout history by scientific and cultural evidences that thrives in the Islamic world.
This symposium is taking place at a time when some regions of the Muslim world are witnessing conflicts and wars that adversely affect the Islamic cultural heritage and lead to the destruction of many archaeological and historical areas.
The symposium represents also a step towards the promotion of the cultural work made by the OIC and as a contribution to the preparation of the International Conference which will beheld in November 2017 in cooperation between the Islamic Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Research Center for History, Culture and Islamic Arts (IRCICA).
The symposium will feature a presentation of the experiences of ISESCO, IRCICA, the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIIAC) and UNESCO, as well as the invited experts on the protection of cultural heritage in the Islamic world. It will also feature an exchange of best practices in this regard, with a focus on Jerusalem and some of the countries that have experience in this field.
The event will include a roundtable of experts from France, UNESCO, IRCICA, ISESCO, in addition to the representatives of the Member States in order to discuss the experiences and proposals of Member States on the protection of cultural heritage. The roundtable will also discuss the experiences of the OIC and UNESCO, the role of civil society, the private sector and the uses of technology in the preservation of endangered cultural heritage.
During the symposium, a session will be held on the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the preservation of the heritage with the participation of experts from Charitable Heritage Foundation in the Kingdom, in addition to reviewing the experiences of community members in the Kingdom in heritage preservation.
Source: http://www.oic-oci.org/topic/?t_id=13562&t_ref=5909&lan=en