The most serious damage resulting from the conflict concerns the World Heritage site of Byblos, which was affected by the oil spill from the fuel tanks of the Jiyeh power plant, an ecological problem for a large area of the eastern Mediterranean, according to Mr Bouchenaki. He drew attention to the urgent need to clean, manually, the stones at the base of the port’s two Medieval towers and other sea-shore archaeological remains. He estimated that it would take 25 people eight to ten weeks to conduct the operation and said that they would undergo a one-week training period before starting. Mr Bouchenaki estimated the cost of the operation at some US$ 100,000. Read more about UNESCO Mission reports on war damage to cultural heritage in Lebanon
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today opened the first meeting of a Committee of Experts on the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, a site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1981 by virtue of its outstanding cultural value. In his address, the Director-General welcomed the fact that it was now possible for the Organization to start working on the preparation of a “comprehensive proposal in a spirit of cooperation with all the concerned parties” for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, an issue that has been on the agenda of UNESCO’s governing bodies since 1967. The Committee of Experts numbers 12 internationally renowned architects, archeologists, curators, restorers, architectural historians and structural engineers with professional knowledge of the Old City of Jerusalem. Read more about First meeting of experts on the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem
Israeli journalist Amira Hass who has spent the last decade living in and reporting on the Palestinian Territories for the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz, was today awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2003. Read more about Israeli Journalist Amira Hass Awarded World Press Freedom Prize 2003