$10mn boost for world heritage fund

HE Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani and other dignitaries along with the audience at the opening ceremony of the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha yesterday.

By Joseph Varghese

Staff Reporter

Qatar will contribute $10mn  to the World Heritage Emergency Fund, HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani announced yesterday. 

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) at the Qatar National Convention Centre. The session will run until June 25.

HE Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, chairperson of the WHC 38th session as well as chairperson of Qatar Museums; ministers, Unesco officials, and delegates from the  member states of the committee were present on the occasion.

“We are announcing $10mn to the World Heritage Emergency Fund established  by Unesco to prepare plans for the protection of world heritage. Qatar is the first country to contribute to the fund,” the Prime Minister said.

“Heritage is an essential pillar of a country. The present is a bridge connecting the past with the future and without past there is no future. Therefore, it is an obligation for us to preserve the heritage and culture and Qatar has done a lot in preserving the heritage of the country. The inclusion of Zubarah site to the  Archaeological World Heritage List is an example of this commitment.”

Welcoming the delegates, HE Sheikha al-Mayassa said that Qatar was actively involved in the promotion of culture.

“Heritage has several dimensions, a  spiritual one being a manifestation of the belief systems and a way of life of successive generations and a social one that demonstrates how generations deal with challenges,” she said.

HE Sheikha al-Mayassa said that Qatar was committed to meet the challenges in preserving its heritage. “Heritage is facing tremendous challenges such as conflicts around the world natural disasters and increasing developments. It should be one of our duties to ensure protection against the threats.”

“Common actions to reduce threats and efforts to provide financial support for the implementation of the convention should be one of our priorities. Heritage is at stake and therefore the World Heritage Convention is also at stake,”she stressed. 

She said that this year the WHC will be getting close to 1,000 World Heritage properties inscribed on the list. “The World Heritage List should be credible. I therefore call upon all of us distinguished colleagues to ensure that the fundamental principle of transparency in all the process of implementation of the Convention is respected and promoted.”

Hao Ping, president of the General Conference of the Unesco; Mohamed Sameh Amr, chairperson of the Executive Board of Unesco; and Francesco Bendarin, Unesco assistant director general for Culture,  also spoke on the occasion. Several cultural programmes, highlighting the heritage of Qatar, were staged on the occasion.