Space technology agreement signed for world cultural heritage conservation

(ECNS) -- Two international organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to advance collaboration on applying space technologies to monitor, conserve and protect World Cultural Heritage sites.

Professor Huadong Guo, Director of the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) under the auspices of UNESCO signed the MoU with Dr. Webber Ndoro, Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ICCROM).

This cooperation recognizes the role of space technology in the identification, conservation, monitoring and management of World Cultural Heritage sites.

Both HIST and ICCROM are committed to maintaining a long-term strategic partnership for the protection and conservation of World Cultural Heritage sites and advancing specific areas of collaboration in monitoring and evaluation, research and consultation, capacity building and the exchange of experts and information sharing.

"As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, it is significant that both sides will take a series of concerted actions to offer global public goods and services to assist UNESCO and ICCROM Member States in the implementation of the Convention and UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said Guo.

"Our World Cultural and Natural Heritage properties are great treasures that ICCROM is committed to conserving. We look forward to working with HIST to use advanced technology to better conserve, manage and sustainably care for our heritage,” said Ndoro.

Other participants joining the ceremony included Professor Wang Xinyuan, Deputy Director of HIST; Professor Fulong Chen, Deputy Director of HIST; Dr. Valerie Magar, ICCROM’s Programmes Unit Manager; Joseph King, ICCROM Senior Director; and Dr. Rohit Jigyasu, Project Manager, Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, ICCROM.

HIST is an international organization established in 2011 by UNESCO as a Category 2 Centre in Beijing, China.

Hosted by Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is devoted to developing and utilizing space technologies for the identification, conservation, monitoring and management of UNESCO-designated sites to support UNESCO and its Member States in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization created by UNESCO in 1956 to act as a centre of global expertise on the conservation of all forms of cultural heritage.

Made up of 138 Member States, ICCROM aims at improving the quality of conservation as well as raising awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage through five main areas of activity: training, information, research, cooperation and advocacy.