World Heritage Day Symposium Twitter Recap

World Heritage Day—Protecting, Preserving, and Presenting the Cultural Heritage of the Near East to the Public

ASOR and AIA (The Archaeological Institute of America), in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and The George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute, commemorated International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called World Heritage Day) at the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday, April 18, 8:30AM-12:30PM.

The symposium reported on efforts to document, protect, and preserve cultural heritage sites in the Near East, and built upon conversations started at a NEH-funded summit held by AIA and ASOR in Washington in December 2015. Topics included assessing the damage suffered by Near Eastern cultural heritage sites imperiled by conflict and by looting; technological strategies for documenting and preserving the cultural heritage record; and conservation projects, especially those that engage local communities and stakeholders.

Speakers and topics included:

• Hanan Charaf, University of Paris I-Sorbonne, Cultural Heritage in Lebanon
• Michael Danti, ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives, Cultural Heritage in Syria and Iraq
• Susan Kane, Oberlin College, Cultural Heritage in Libya
• Salam Al Kuntar, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Program (SHOSI)
• Oystein LaBianca, Andrews University, Cultural Heritage in Jordan
• Alexander Nagel, Smithsonian Institution, Cultural Heritage in Yemen
• Katie A. Paul, Antiquities Coalition, Cultural Heritage in Egypt
• Gil Stein, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan

Christopher Tuttle, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, Cultural Heritage and the Role of American Research Centers