On June 2, the French Institute in Erbil and the Kurdistan Center for Arts and Culture (KCAC) hosted a conference titled In Search of Lost Times: Restoration and Conservation of Heritage.
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The event featured speeches by France’s Deputy Consul General in Erbil Rodolphe Richard, Director of the French Institute Frederique Tarride, and archaeological experts.
The conference followed a week-long workshop organized by the French Institute in Erbil and the KCAC for a group of students from Salahaddin University’s Department of Archeology and Department of Fine Arts, and students of the University of Kurdistan-Hewler’s Department of Architecture.
“The aim was to discuss the protection and renovation of ancient sites in the Kurdistan Region. Until now, the Kurdistan Region has lacked specialists in renovating ancient and archaeological sites,” Head of the Cultural Mission and Communication at the French Institute in Erbil Dashti Sadeeq told Kurdistan Chronicle on June 2.
“The French Institute decided to organize this conference to bring together professionals from various academic fields to initiate a joint effort in preserving and renovating archaeological sites in the region.”
In a statement KCAC said the workshop was supervised by archaeologists, architects, and artists to develop an interdisciplinary staff and involved both theoretical and practical field visits to archaeological survey and excavation sites overseen by the French Institute of the Near East (IFPO).
The workshop aimed to emphasize the effects of natural disasters, war, and other events used as weapons against collective memory, and stressed that caring for heritage is a national and humanitarian duty that must be managed under contemporary academic, artistic, and scientific supervision.
“France is represented in the Kurdistan Region through the IFPO,” Sadeeq added. “One of the IFPO’s tasks is to preserve archaeological sites in the Kurdistan Region. Currently, the IFPO’s Kurdistan Region’s office is located at the Erbil Citadel, where it has been conducting archaeological activities. The IFPO is also involved in archaeological activities in the governorates of Sulaymaniyah and Duhok,” Sadeeq added.
