At the Supreme Council of Culture in Zamalek, the Islamic Heritage Committee is holding its second meeting on Saturday in association with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).
Egypt’s SCA secretary general and ISESCO representative Abdel Aziz Saleh Salem will officially inaugurate the two-day meeting. Niger, Senegal, Malaysia, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt are the six Islamic countries slated to participate in the meeting.
At the opening session, Abdel Fatah is to deliver a speech underlining Egypt’s efforts in promoting and preserving Islamic heritage along with tourism to Islamic countries. Salem is to read a speech on behalf of the ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaigri.
Adopting the technical and documented report on excavations carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) is on top of the committee's topics for discussion. A guidance note on the importance of cultural heritage for economy and sustainable development will also be discussed, as well as the means to establish a common basis for the promotion of heritage in Islamic countries.
Abdel Fatah told Ahram Online that among topics on the table for discussion is the approval of the "Draft Form for the Inscription of Heritage Components" on the Islamic Heritage list, and relevant criteria.
The Islamic Heritage Committee is a body reporting to ISESCO, established in 2007 by the fifth Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers. It includes six members representing the Arab, Asian and African regions.
The Committee is acting closely with the World Heritage Committee and the Arab Heritage Committee to help preserve historical monuments and natural preserves, protect and promote intangible heritage, assist in safeguarding historical sites damaged by natural disasters, provide legal support to recover looted property, combat illicit trade in cultural heritage artifacts, offer technical support in building an inventory of cultural heritage and help develop good governance principles to preserve cultural heritage, and enable member states to inscribe their archaeological sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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