“Unite4Heritage” Campaign started Sunday 13th March, in the presence of a large crowd of diplomats and senior officials in the Ministry of Culture and Sports and in Qatar Museums.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports in collaboration with Qatar Museums and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Unite for Heritage Campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of heritage around the world and informing the public on the cultural heritage. The programme embodies a global alliance working in solidarity to eliminate the illegal sales operations of artifacts cultural pieces, hoping to protect cultural sites.
HE Dr. Al Kuwari, Qatar’s candidate to Director General of UNESCO stressed that preservation of heritage is playing a pivotal role in our world today, as voices supporting human heritage are being raised while crimes pitted against the memory of human existence are being committed by deceitful hands in the name of ignorance and closed mindedness which do not relate in any manner whatsoever to religious tolerance and our core common values.
Cultural heritage has become a target for destruction by these ignorant souls due to the fact that our heritage does not consist of just mere archeological sites remaining from the creativity of our ancestors or a mental record exchanged between populations, but instead, it represents a soft power and a living capacity that strengthens dialogue, trust and understanding between diverse peoples, it encourages rapprochement of cultures and leads to the promotion of world peace, he added.
He stressed that UNESCO has called for the consolidation of the cultural heritage preservation pillars, this new expedited preservation initiative falls in line with UNESCO’s core principles, as it has been working for seventy years on achieving the noble trends of preserving the worlds history and of sharing knowledge and experiences for the advancement of humanity in the fields of education, culture and science.
HE Dr. Al Kuwari stressed that the State of Qatar has been thoroughly engaged in this campaign, as its leadership and people believe that the protection of our intertwined, cultural heritage is truly a global concern.
It is in the best interest of every nation to address it in order to preserve the creativity of our ancestors and heighten the current generations’ sensitivity towards the value of these monuments that closed minded individuals seek to destroy in an attempt to wipe them from the memory of human consciousness, he added pointing out that Qatar was the first country to have contributed to the UNESCO’s emergency fund to supporting the World Heritage, by donating US$ 10 million to reaffirm keenness on human heritage everywhere.
Our opening ceremony today falls within this newly envisioned international campaign, which is launched from Barzan Tower, a historic landmark witnessing the noble decent of Qatar’s population and the creativity of our ancestral lineage and one of our country’s numerous historical sites that embodies our culture and highlights the necessary constant maintenance and contracting works that are ongoing, HE Dr. Al Kuwari said.
He added that this campaign aims, through one of its primary aspects, at making these sites a beacon of hope for our memory while giving our youth an important role to play as it is not only directed towards them, but it also counts upon them to carry the torch on our behalf so they can preserve the unique cultural heritage of our ancestors.