The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage is participating in the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in New Delhi, India, from July 21 to 31, 2024. The opening of the meeting was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AR-CHW, leading a delegation of experts and members from ARC-WH.
On the sidelines of the main meeting, ARC-WH, in cooperation with international organizations, will organize side events that highlight issues related to the preservation and conservation of Arab cultural and natural World Heritage. These events will provide an opportunity to promote the cultural and natural treasures of the region, offer advice and support to Arab countries that are members of the World Heritage Convention, and monitor the files of Arab World Heritage sites by the Committee.
On this occasion, His Excellency Sheikh Khalifa Al Khalifa emphasized the importance of ARC-WH’s participation in this meeting, where it will focus on key and current issues related to Arab heritage. He added that ARC-WH will present events and discussion sessions that allow attendees from around the world to learn about the challenges facing heritage and how to overcome them from a local perspective. He pointed out that Arab cultural and natural heritage is in critical need of support, which ARC-WH aims to achieve through its premises in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, in cooperation with relevant governmental and non-governmental institutions.
The World Heritage Committee will study proposals for the inclusion of 27 new sites on the World Heritage List, including two Arab sites: the archaeological city of Umm al-Jimal in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the archaeological site of Al-Faw in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will also discuss the state of conservation of 124 sites listed on the World Heritage List, including 23 Arab sites listed as World Heritage in Danger, out of a total of 56 sites.
Among the contributions of ARC-WH to the meeting is the organization of seminars on issues such as World Heritage in the Islamic World, the protection and conservation of modern heritage in the Arab region, and strategies for heritage interpretation and investment in Africa and the Arab world. These events are organized in cooperation with esteemed organizations such as the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the African World Heritage Fund, UNESCO Beirut Office, and the International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites.
It is noteworthy that the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, which has been hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain since 2012, is the only one of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region and works to serve Arab countries and contribute to efforts to preserve their cultural and natural heritage.
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