The International Seminar on the Management of the Shared Mediterranean Heritage closes

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Alexandria, 31 March 2005—Today witnessed the closing ceremony of the International Seminar on the Management of the Shared Mediterranean Heritage (ISMARMED), the 5th conference on modern heritage, organized by the Alex-Med Center at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in cooperation with the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) acting as main coordinator, the Cairo University Center for Architectural and Engineering Design Support, and the UNESCO’s World Heritage Center.

The conference aimed to encourage the concept of the common heritage of Mediterranean cities which share a common civilization and history. It also aimed to set a future strategy for the management and conservation of this heritage through an extensive network of international relations.

The opening session, 29 March, included speeches by Ali Abdel Rahman Youssef, President of Cairo University, and Nicole Riveill, Scientific Expert, European Commission. It was followed by the inauguration of the exhibition accompanying the conference, with the theme: Conservation of the 19th and early 20th Century urban and architecture heritage of the Mediterranean cities.

The key speakers comprised a group of specialists in heritage preservation, among them were Ron Van Oers, UNESCO Program Specialist, WHC-UNESCO; Galila El Kadi, Director of Research, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement; Professor Ali Raafat, Architect and Planner Professor and Former Head of Architectural Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt; Professor Dr. Hicham Elkadi, Ulster University, UK; Dr. Fabio Gramentieri, University Torcuato di Tella, Argentina; and Professor Dr. Philippe Panerai, Professor of Urbanism at L’ecole D’architecture Paris-Malaquais, France.

Over the course of the three days, the seminar tackled five themes that provided the participants and delegates with a forum to explore new opportunities. Discussed within eight panels, the themes were: The concept of the Shared Mediterranean urban and architectural heritage; Conservation of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries heritage: Policies, actors, and management; New technologies and techniques of restoration; Information technology in documenting heritage and in the management of conservation process; and finally Urban heritage and sustainable development.

Moreover, other topics were covered through workshops on the second and third day including: Heritage Conservation and Management in Egypt and Syria; Heritage at Risk; Collaborative Network for Research and Sustainable Development; and The Public Domain in Heritage Conservation Areas.

 
Seminar speakers   Section of the
ISMARMED exhibition


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