NCTA to attend Unesco's heritage Convention

Participation will help streamline registration and preservation of UAE’s heritage sites: Al Muhairi
In a move to raise the standards of local archaeologists involved in preservation of the UAE national heritage and streamline the registration of national heritage sites, the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA) will be sending a representative to participate in the World Heritage Convention being organised by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.
Announcing this, NCTA Director General Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb Al Muhairi said that this would help spread awareness of the latest developments in the field of archeological practice and modern preservation techniques.
“Archaeologically speaking, the UAE has come a long way, with increasing awareness of the need to preserve our heritage sites and learn more about our past,” said Al Muhairi. “We hope to apply the learnings gained at the World Heritage Convention, to streamline the process of identifying and registering UAE sites on the world heritage list,” he added.
NCTA, the umbrella body that oversees all tourism and antiquities organizations in the country, is working with all stakeholders to further develop UAE as a premier tourism brand worldwide. Spreading awareness about the UAE’s rich historical and cultural heritage forms a significant part of the Council’s promotional efforts.
NCTA seeks to register all antiquities in the country according to applicable global standards. Raising awareness among the local archaeological community about the latest methods prevalent worldwide will go a long way in streamlining this process.
Representing the UAE at the World Heritage Convention, which will run from April 27th to 29th, will be Supervisor of Survey and Archaeological Techniques, Issa Abbas Hussein. UAE was nominated as a member of the World Heritage Centre at the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris last year.