Reply #51: The future of Libyan heritage [View All]

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The future of Libyan heritage
Article published on 11 September 2011

In July the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry for Heritage invited a number of key note speakers, with the backing of UNESCO, to a seminar in Caserta to discuss the future of the important archaelogical sites in Libya, with an eye as to what will happen once the present situation is overcome and the country returns to a normal situation.

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Before the conflict started there were over twenty archaelogical missions operating in Libya. By far the largest number, thirteen, were Italian missions, but there were also French, British, American and Polish missions amongst others. Most of those missions were represented at the meeting that was held in Caserta.

The meeting was entitled ‘For the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage in Libya, a Dialogue among Institutions’. Malta’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Dr Ray Bondin, was the only Ambassador invited to the meeting both because of Malta’s importance to Libya and also because of his extensive contacts with the heritage authorities in Libya. Malta’s agreements with Libya cover also substantially collaboration on the heritage field. He had in fact last year made two missions to strengthen the collaboration with Malta. Because of his extensive experience in World Heritage he was giving his assistance on the site of Cyrenea, one of the major archaelogical sites in Libya. Representatives of the new transitory authories based in Benghazi were also present at the Caserta meeting. The meeting discussed the theft of heritage from Libya, the sites needing major attention, and in particular listened to the Libyans as to their immediate needs. Though the humane situation is the obvious priority at the moment the new Libya will most certainly invest more in tourism and therefore their archaeological sites are of the utmost importance.

more... http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=131877
and here ... http://shabablibya.org/news/the-future-of-libyan-heritage