Young people from Africa will come together to protect cultural heritage

The World Heritage Young African Leaders organization will meet May 20-25, in Cape Town, South Africa. Young people from 17 African countries will come together to learn and share experiences on the protection and management of cultural heritage.

This meeting aims to foster leadership skills to support the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and sustainable development in the continent.

This workshop is carried out thanks to the Youth.Heritage.Africa program, promoted by the International Center for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). The African World Heritage Fund and the African Heritage School are also involved.

The meeting wants to promote the greater participation of African youth in protecting and promoting World Heritage sites in Africa. This event is on the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention under the slogan "The next 50: World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity, and innovation".

The participants are expected to agree to issue the Youth Declaration on World Heritage in Africa: The Next 50 Years. The workshop will conclude on May 25 with the celebration of Africa Day 2022 and will culminate in the official launch of Youth.Heritage.Africa.

Damaged cultural heritage sites in Ukraine

UNESCO and art and culture specialists have confirmed damage to 110 different cultural sites since the military conflict began. In this list, there are 48 religious places, 22 historical buildings, 13 monuments, 10 museums, and 6 libraries.

In the Donetsk region alone there are 25 damaged sites, including 16 in the besieged city of Mariupol. For example, the monument to Metropolitan Ignatius, one of the founders of the city, was destroyed three days ago.

The Kuindzhi Art Museum and the Museum of Local Customs have been destroyed in airstrikes since March. The Palaces of Culture, several churches, and a number of historic structures were also damaged or completely destroyed.

In the Kharkiv region at least 31 heritage sites have been damaged. One of the main damages was the Drobytskyi Yar Holocaust Memorial. The monument to the victims of the dictatorship on the Belgorod highway was also affected.

In the Kyiv region, at least 20 cultural heritage sites have been recorded as having been affected or destroyed.

The UNESCO World Heritage Center charged that the deliberate destruction of known cultural sites, marked with an internationally recognized blue shield emblem, could be a war crime.

To this date, none of the seven World Heritage sites in Ukraine have been attacked, fortunately. The country's Ministry of Culture, as well as institutions and citizens, ensure the safeguarding of its museums.

Cultural heritage returned to Iran after a diplomatic agreement

Iran has concluded the era of "cultural restitution", recovering after 40 years, a collection of ancient objects that will now be kept in the National Museum of Iran.

There are 51 glazed bricks, which were made in the ancient kingdom of Mannaea (between the 10th and 7th centuries BC). These pieces have been deteriorating in a Swiss vault for decades.

The bricks were found after the 1979 revolution. They were discovered by a farmer named Mirza Ali. He recognized them as part of the Qalaichi village temple.

During that time, people constantly looted archeological sites in order to sell glazed bricks. The country's political situation meant that there was no government control over cultural heritage, thus giving rise to illicit trafficking in cultural property.

By 1985, the Iranian authorities sent expert archaeologists to secure the cultural property. However, when carrying out the inspections and excavations, they realized that the treasures had already been stolen and smuggled abroad.

At that time, many Iranian bricks found their way into private collections and museums in many countries. Due to this, the site remained closed and guarded for 14 years.

During this time, a number of Iranian bricks entered private collections and museums around the world, and the temple was closed for 14 years.

Thanks to the intervention of Iranian diplomats, the return of these ancient artifacts was achieved and they processed their return to their country of origin.

Alarm for cultural heritage in Ukraine

Different civil organizations and UNESCO have sounded the alarm to protect the cultural heritage of Ukraine, as a result of the cruel war they are suffering.

In recent days, UNESCO has carried out a campaign to mark all the sites declared as World Heritage. This mark serves so that the belligerent groups know that these sites are protected by international conventions for the protection of cultural heritage.

Due to the attack on cultural sites where significant damage has been identified, different efforts have been made to monitor these places, especially from satellite images.

According to official media, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said that "the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage, which bears witness to the country's rich history, and includes its seven World Heritage sites – notably located in Lviv and Kyiv; the cities of Odessa and Kharkiv, members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network; its national archives, some of which feature in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register; and its sites commemorating the tragedy of the Holocaust".

Different institutions have invoked the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which the governments of the countries involved in the conflict are party to this convention.

Freedom View stands in solidarity with the victims of this armed conflict and joins the efforts to promote peace and culture in the world.

Americans for the Arts launch Award for Public Art and Civic Design

The organization "Americans for the Arts" has opened applications for candidates for the 2022 Jorge and Darlene Pérez Award for Public Art and Civic Design. 

According to the official source, the competition aims to recognize a design professional "identified as someone who works primarily in planning, transportation, or land use development, who leverages arts-based practices or projects to address community-driven goals." community".

This Award is named in honor of the philanthropists Mr. Jorge Pérez and his wife, Mrs. Darlene Boytell-Pérez. The Award was created to highlight the work of people who incorporate art into construction projects and design of significant spaces in the United States.

Similarly, the Award aims to honor people who work with local artists, promoting the development of the communities where the projects are carried out.

The winner of the prize will receive:

- A sum of $30,000 that can be used for the project or for the person's technical strengths
- An individual professional membership of Americans for the Arts for one year.
- Participate in events such as conferences and presentations around the country to share knowledge, perspectives, and experiences with Americans for the Arts.

People interested in the award can apply themselves or nominate other candidates. The last date to apply is Friday, March 4, 2022

Applicants may nominate themselves or nominate others for the award. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 4, 2022.

You can know the bases of this award and access the nominations from this link: https://americansforthearts.submittable.com/submit/215516/2022-jorge-and-darlene-perez-prize-in-public-art-civic-design

Guernica returns to the UN headquarters

The famous work of art that recounted the horrors of the Spanish civil war returned to the wall of the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The piece of art known as "Guernica" has been loaned to the UN by the Rockefeller family, which has been the administrator of the famous painting.

The UN revealed that the painting would be donated to the National Fund for Historic Preservation so that the work can also be admired in other parts of the world.

The work was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller himself in 1955 by the famous painter Pablo Picasso. The objective was to show the horrors of war and to serve as a constant reminder at the UN headquarters (land which was also donated by the Rockefeller family).

"The tapestry sends a strong message to the world about the urgent need to promote peace, security, and human brotherhood," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told CBS News.

New report on the Condition of Cultural Diversity in the world

UNESCO released its latest world report on the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This Convention was agreed by the majority of governments in the world and its objective is to protect and promote cultural diversity.

The report called "Rethinking Policies for Creativity, Raising Culture as a Global Public Good" presents important indicators and statistics on the contribution of culture to the world.

According to the UNESCO portal, this report presents an international view of culture and creativity in the world, especially through new trends and new health and environmental realities.

The report also proposes public cultural policies to be carried out by the countries that are part of the Convention. These policies aim to promote a creative ecosystem that contributes to sustainability and that can be fulfilled by the year 2030.

According to the report, it is estimated that 6.2% of the working population operates in culture. Creativity contributes 3.1% of the world GDP. It is also estimated that 10 million cultural and creative jobs were lost after the pandemic.

You can access the report at https://www.unesco.org/reports/reshaping-creativity/2022/en

The Aliph Fund has raised $90 million to safeguard cultural heritage

The Aliph World Fund was created in order to protect cultural heritage in conflict zones. Its headquarters are in Geneva and it is financed mainly by Saudi Arabia, France, and China.

Private donors such as the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the TotalEnergies Foundation also participate in this fund. He is also joined by philanthropists Thomas Kaplan and Jean-Claude Gandur.

For this year, $90 million dollars have been raised, among which Saudi Arabia has contributed $30 million. The amount was disclosed at a conference at the Louvre in France.

The Fund was thought of at an international summit of the G7 countries, thus forming in 2017 the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Zones, Aliph. Year after year, this fund has raised support to safeguard cultural heritage at risk.

Aliph has subsidized more than 150 projects in 26 countries. His main projects have been the safeguarding of the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, the reconstruction of the Raqqa Museum in Siria, and the digitization of Iraq's written heritage.

UNESCO and Netflix unite for African cinema

UNESCO and streaming production company Netflix have announced the 21 shortlisted candidates for the "African Folk Tales, Reinvented" cultural short film competition.

It was a long selection process by a large group of audiovisual arts experts who evaluated more than 2080 applications from all over Africa in various languages ​​and dialects.

The 21 selected come from a varied list belonging to 13 different countries of the continent. These participants will move on to the next phase of the competition, where they will be able to present their stories to a panel of judges made up of film eminent figures, Netflix representatives and UNESCO experts.

According to the UNESCO portal: "The panel will select filmmakers to receive a production grant of USD 75,000 (through a local production company) to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of Netflix."

There will be 6 finalists and winners, who in addition to the subsidy for their film will be able to win $25,000 for each of them.