(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
SHARJAH, 1st February, 2018 (WAM) -- Prominent figures in the field of cultural heritage from the UAE and the world are to attend the events and sessions of ICCROM's Arab Cultural Heritage Forum that ICCROM's Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah, ICCROM-Sharjah, is organising during the first week of February.
The forum is held under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, at the Sheraton Hotel in Sharjah, from 6th – 8th February 2018.
Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, will deliver the speech of the UAE during the opening ceremony of the forum.
In her capacity as a minister and as the Chairperson of Board of Directors of Media Zone Authority in Abu Dhabi, Al Kaabi undertakes to enhance all cultural domains of the UAE. She sponsors and promotes activities that cater for the needs of young talents in the community. She held formerly the position of Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs.
Al Kaabi was listed as the first Emirati national to be in the list of Top 100 Thinkers in the World from Foreign Policy magazine.
In 2014, Forbes Middle East magazine listed her in the Most Influential 30 Women at the Government Sector in the Arab World. She received the Businesswoman of the Year Award from Gulf Business Industry Awards. In 2015, she was honoured by the American Association of Media for her leading role in the development of media industry in the UAE.
Another outstanding Emirati official figure to participate in the three-day forum is Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State, who is expected to share his rich experiences in cultural fields with other participants. His career is full of achievements in different fields and posts, and has a vast experience in cultural and educational domains.
One of the prominent speakers in the forum from the regional sphere is Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi, President of the Royal Society of Fine Arts in Amman. She is a former Ambassador of Jordan to Italy; the founder and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan; Vice President and Dean of Scientific Research and Studies at the Jordanian Diplomatic Institute; founder of the Higher Institute of Architecture and Islamic Arts at Al Al-Bayt University.
Her career also includes being a Visiting Professor of Islamic Studies at a number of universities worldwide. She was the founder of the Jordan National Museum of Fine Arts; the founder of the Royal Society of Fine Arts; a delegate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to UNDP Amman; the first woman to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jordan where she worked as Assistant Director of the Department of International Organisations. She is also an author and an artist. She has 16 books on Islamic art in both English and Arabic. She is also an artist with 38 solo exhibitions and 100 joint and biennial exhibitions in the Arab world, Europe, Asia and the US.
Director of the ICCROM's Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah, Dr. Zaki Aslan, will deliver ICCROM-Sharjah's speech to the first forum of its kind to be held in the Emirate.
Dr. Aslan's speech underlines ICCROM-Sharjah's keenness on attracting the most outstanding local and international leaders of thought and those concerned with issues of cultural heritage into this forum. "Those prominent cultural figures are here to exchange experiences and come out with practical and implementable plans and programs that are certain to help protect the cultural heritage of the Arab region."
Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Member of the Council of ICCROM, and author, researcher, and cultural heritage consultant, is one of the figures of the forum. He is the President of Sharjah Institute for Heritage, and the Editor in Chief of the "Al Mawrouth" Magazine. He is also an executive member of a number of international organizations and associations concerned with cultural heritage.
Participants from the region also include the Director-General of Sharjah Museums Department, Manal Ataya, who worked hard in building the capacities of museum staff through training courses in antiquities and museums.
Archeologist and historian Hamdan Taha, the former Deputy Minister of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and former Director-General of the Department of Antiquities, is due to take part in the forum.
Foreign experts participating at the forum include John Robbins, the deputy administrator for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Vice President of the Council of ICCROM.
Other participants include Susan Denyer, World Heritage Adviser, ICOMOS and Secretary of the International Council on Monuments and Site, UK, ICOMOS-UK; Ridha Fraoua, the former head of the Legislation I Unit at the Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland and a UNESCO consultant since 1986; Moajab bin Saed Al- Zaharani, the Director-General of the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, and author of many studies and researches in general intellectual fields and in the field of criticism and narratives; Sulaiman Ibrahim Al Askari, head of the Arab Centre for Educational Research in the Gulf Countries.
Participants from the region also include Monther Jamhawi, the General Director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan; Mourad Bouteflika, the Director of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage in the Algerian Ministry of Culture. He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Blida, Algeria.
WAM/Rola Alghoul/Nour Salman
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