The international illicit trade in cultural property, specifically antiquities, is not only a major threat to the cultural heritage of the MENA region, but also a significant source of revenue for radical organizations operating in the region. While bilateral cultural property protection agreements are an important step to counter this trade, stronger collaboration among the countries of the region is needed to better partner on this issue.

In response to this, the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) in partnership with the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) and the US Department of State initiated a series of regional workshops. This initiative will bring together Ministry representatives and other officials from the region to discuss case studies, best practices, and expand their professional networks in the area of cultural property protection.

The conference consists of three-parts that will take place between August 2021-December 2022. The first part of the conference will be a virtual series from August 10-12, 2021. It will then be followed by two in person workshops – the first of which will take place in Cairo, Egypt in early 2022, followed by a final conference in late 2022 that will take place in Petra, Jordan.

For more information and to sign up, please click here.

Please note all sessions are according to Cairo Time.