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Anna Somers Cocks, founder of The Art Newspaper and former chair of the Venice in Peril Fund, discussed this topic at our 2013 Mellon Lecture.

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Early Version of Arches Now Online
Arches is a new open-source, geospatial information system for cultural heritage inventory and management, developed collaboratively by WMF and the Getty Conservation Institute. In June 2013, the system will become available for heritage organizations to evaluate, customize, and deploy. Meanwhile, an early version of the code is available online for information technology specialists to review. Please visit a dedicated website for the Arches project to learn more.
Ruta de la Amistad Sculpture Restored

On February 22, the Patronato Ruta de la Amistad, the Austrian Ambassador to Mexico, WMF, and American Express celebrated the completion of the relocation and restoration of Muro Articulado ("Articulate Wall"), a sculpture on the Ruta de la Amistad by Austrian-American artist Herbert Bayer (1900-1985). Two years after creation as part of the cultural program of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the sculpture was abandoned and fell into disrepair. It remained forgotten until it was moved from its original location to a new and more dignified setting within a public park. The restoration of the concrete and steel sculpture was partially funded by the WMF-American Express Ruta de la Amistad project. The next phase of work will include the rehabilitation of the original lava flow landscape surrounding the sculpture, including the reintroduction of native flora and fauna.


New Tourism Literature for Delhi

At a ceremony at the Delhi Secretariat on February 13, a new collection of tourist literature, including guide booklets and walking maps, was presented to the public by WMF, the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Chairman of the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, the Chariman of INTACH, and the Convenor of INTACH Delhi. This new collection of tourism material, focused on seven separate heritage routes in the city, was developed with the support of WMF through American Express as part of the Delhi Heritage Route Sustainable Tourism Initiative. The literature, which also has information about tourist amenities like the hop-on hop-off bus service and metro stations, will better enable visitors to explore the city on their own and at their own pace.

WMF Reps Join UNESCO Meetings on Heritage in Conflict in Mali and Syria

WMF's representatives for the Middle East and Africa recently participated in two special meetings held in February called by UNESCO to understand more fully the current heritage threats in Mali and Syria. The remarkable earthen monuments of Timbuktu and Gao suffered serious damage during the recent civil violence. In Timbuktu, nine tombs of Sufi saints were destroyed and both the Sankor� and Djingareyber mosques (the former pictured above in 2010), considered masterpieces of Sahelian earthen architecture, were damaged. Less well known is the damage sustained in Bandiagara, where WMF has been actively involved in conservation. Important Dogon shrines and temples were destroyed in the north of Bandiagara, and the area as a whole has suffered terribly from the collapse of the local economy. The Mali Minister of Culture made a plea to the international community help the country restore its heritage, and asked that Bandiagara be included in the restoration efforts.

 

UNESCO's workshop on the issues of illicit trafficking of cultural property in Syria brought together fifty cultural heritage professionals in Amman, including a delegation from the Syrian Department of Antiquities. The purpose of the workshop was to inform heritage and law enforcement authorities in the region of the risk of looting and trafficking of Syrian cultural heritage during this time of conflict, and to provide tools and methods to combat the phenomenon. The workshop also resulted in a number of recommendations and short-term actions aimed at reducing the risks of looting and trade of cultural properties coming from Syria.