Media Center

Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki, World Heritage Affairs Consultant at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities participated in the symposium on "Architecture and Heritage: New Dangers and New Responses" organized by the French Ministry of Culture, in the presence of Her Excellency the French Minister of Culture, Mrs.  Roselyne Bachelot , on March 3 and 4, 2021. In his webinar intervention, Dr. Mounir delivered an opening speech entitled "The Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Times.”

The virtual symposium featured a large number of experts in heritage from the French Ministry of Culture, dealing with a range of issues and topics related to architecture and heritage, such as the vulnerability of heritage assets facing the new challenges of the climate change, deficiency and lack of requited needed resources to restore the heritage in general and the digital one, in particular. The disfigured heritage in consequence of armed conflicts and their repercussions, together with the increasing activities of illicit trafficking of works of art, artefacts and clandestine excavations were also among the issues discussed in this forum.

In his speech to the webinar participants, Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki, shed lights on the disfiguration and distortion of cultural heritage by successive armed conflicts and wars that have inflicted the world archeological and heritage scenes, expressing his deep frustration and sadness to see this heritage being systematically the target of armed extremist groups and terrorist organizations during the last decades.  Dr. Bouchenaki also highlighted the excellent job carried out by UNESCO to safeguard and preserve the World Heritage around the globe, stressing the importance of the strenuous efforts by Arab Center for World Heritage ARC-WH in Bahrain, led by H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa,  and its relentless efforts to safeguard this valuable heritage in all Arab countries.