Workshop on Raising Awareness about Syrian Cultural Heritage

The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums (GDAM) has recently participated in a workshop in Jordan aiming to raise awareness about the cultural heritage in Syria and the danger of illicit trafficking of cultural properties.

The four-day event was organized in Amman by (UNESCO) in cooperation with international experts and the Swiss Government.

 Representatives of the Syrian border police, customs and the GDAM in addition to participants from the antiquities authorities of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, beside international experts in the field of the cultural heritage took part in the workshop.

The  GDAM General Director Maamoun Abdulkarim said in a press statement that ”the Syrian participation focuses on the deteriorated situation of Syrian antiquities since the beginning of the ongoing crisis in the country and on means of protecting them”.

He added the workshop reviewed the activities which have been carried out by UNESCO since the beginning of the crisis, methods of combating the illicit trafficking of the Syrian antiquities in addition to regional cooperation to protect cultural heritage.

The workshop also discussed the threats the Syrian archeological sites and cultural heritage are being exposed to and the plans to be drawn up to guarantee preserving the Syrian cultural heritage.

Rawaa Ghanam