27 May 2022
Sponsored by GFH Financial Group, The Arab Regional Center for World Heritage Book Launch Ceremony, "The World Heritage in the Arab Countries” in Rabat, Morocco
The Arab Regional Center for World Heritage inaugurated, on 26 May 2022, the second edition "The World Heritage in the Arab Countries", with the generous support of GFH Financial Group. The book launch ceremony was held at the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco in the capital, Rabat, in the presence of H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, Dr. Abdel Karim Bennani, Director of the Royal Court and President of the Ribat Al Fath Association, and Dr. Mohamed Al Farran, Director General of the National Library of the Kingdom Moroccan, Dr. Mohammed Zine El Abidine, Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), and Mr. Khalid bin Salman Al-Musallam, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Morocco, in addition to high-ranking diplomatic figures and representatives of international organizations.
The second edition of the book "World Heritage Sites in the Arab Countries", which is presented in three languages–Arabic, English and French— which aims to promote the World Heritage sites in the Arab countries, was launched at the end of last year for the first time at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the French capital, Paris. It was also launched at the ARC_WH’s headquarters in the capital, Manama.
Speaking for the occasion, H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa said: "We came here today to our brotherly country, Kingdom of Morocco, to celebrate the book launch of this much valued manual, which documents our material cultural heritage. There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Morocco shares the dream of culture with us, a country that boasts many historical world heritage sites that reflect our ancient human heritage." H.E added: "The Arab Regional Center for World Heritage dedicates all its financial and technical capabilities to help Arab countries advance efforts to preserve and preserve their cultural and natural heritage, leading to prosperity, growth and sustainable development”. H.E went on to point out that, the launch of the book comes at a time when the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and the 50th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention of 1972.
In addition, H.E thanked all the supporters of the book's publication project, especially the GFH Financial Group, which has always stood by the cultural movement, stressing the importance of cooperation between the public and private sectors for the good of cultural work in Bahrain. H.E also thanked the Kingdom of Morocco for its welcome and permanent support for the work of the regional center, which serves all Arab countries through its comprehensive strategy and extensive experience. Indeed, the GFH Group presented the Royal Ranches project in Marrakech in Tangiers on the sidelines of the ceremony and presented the work program after the group resumed construction in those projects recently after obtaining the necessary approvals from the Kingdom of Morocco.
On the other hand, Mr. Hicham El Rayes, CEO of GFH Group commented saying: “GFH is pleased to support projects that help promote cultural awareness, understanding and transfer of knowledge of ancient traditions to the modern world. This book launch in Morocco has significantly shaped our vision behind GFH's iconic real estate development projects in Morocco. Our projects, located in strategic locations, aim to raise the bar in Morocco's hospitality, leisure and tourism fields; in order to revive these projects, we focused on ensuring their reflection and integration with Moroccan culture and design sensibilities. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa and the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities Museums on this book launch, lauding their continued success in advancing our Arab culture and heritage.”
For his part, Dr. Mohammed Al-Farran praised the launch of the second edition of the “World Heritage in the Arab Countries”, noting that it is distinguished by its comprehensiveness in providing parameters about all the World Heritage sites in our Arab region, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List until the year 2019. He also lauded the efforts of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, chaired by H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, in producing and publishing the book and promoting its importance in documenting the Arab world heritage.
Al-Farran reiterated that the rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage in Arab countries reflects the importance of human life and the need to constantly protect and preserve it. It is an essential component of sustainable development, and an important source of diversifying economic resources in the Arab countries, which are rich in historical cities that combine authenticity and modernity, he added. The book celebrates and highlights s the Arab-Islamic heritage, noting that it is an invitation to all countries and institutions to engage in efforts to save, publicize and promote the cultural heritage.
During the celebration, a documentary film was screened highlighting the amazing beauty and historical authenticity of World Heritage sites in the Arab world. The GFH Group, on the sidelines of the ceremony, also unveiled the mixed-use tourism, commercial and residential destination, the Royal Resort Cap Malabata in Tangiers development project. GFH presented the work program after the group resumed construction on these projects recently after obtaining the necessary approvals from the Kingdom of Morocco.
The book "The World Heritage in the Arab Countries" in its second edition, which addresses the world in three languages (Arabic, English and French), aims to present and promote the World Heritage sites in the Arab world and disseminate related information, which are sites that extend from the Maghreb to the Gulf and vary greatly between sites In the second book, there are 86 cultural and natural sites, an increase of 20 sites over the first edition of the book. These new sites were registered on the World Heritage List between 2011 and 2019, reflecting the richness and beauty of the heritage that the Arab countries enjoy.
Worth to mention that the first edition of the book, which was launched in 2012 in partnership with the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Bahrain, UNESCO and ALECSO, and with the funding of Bahrain Bay Development, played a key role in strengthening the status of World Heritage in the region and highlighting its importance. The book also highlights the richness and beauty of the region’s heritage and helps to promote the Centre’s efforts in protecting it for current and future generations. The book is endowed with a powerful visual language, as it contains remarkable and distinctive photographic scenes, and in minute details of the Arab sites registered on the World Heritage List, as all sites were photographed by the famous French photographer specialized in world heritage photography, Jean-Jacques Gilbert.
There is no doubt that by successfully publishing the second edition of "The World Heritage in the Arab Countries", the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage contributes to highlighting the importance of protecting the diversity that characterizes Arab heritage sites. Moreover, the ARC-WH encourages all parties to invest in the registration and protection of these sites under the 1972 Convention in order to achieve sustainable development and improve local communities. Indeed, the highly media coverage of the book launch also contributes to shedding light on the nature of cooperation between the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage and all Arab countries and raising awareness of its importance for current and future generations.
