Libyan Update from the Virtual Annual Meeting: Encouraging Volunteer Participation in Cultural Heritage Protection

Encouraging Volunteer Participation in Cultural Heritage Protection

Mr. Talal Bariun (ASOR)

Over the past several years, ASOR has worked closely with the Libyan Department of Antiquities and the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides of Libya to host a series of “”Pop-Up”” activities at sites around the country including Sabratha, Ghadames, Benghazi and Cyrene. These have been opportunities to directly engage volunteers in critical site cleaning and stabilization activities at a time when the national and local governments do not have operating budgets to support this work. This culture of volunteerism is not new in Libya. In fact, the Libyan Scouting movement is now nearly 70 years old. Yet this kind of collaboration working to protect cultural heritage sites represents a new direction, harnessing considerable energy from Libyan volunteers of all ages.