2015 Cairo Conference
Cultural Property Under Threat: The Cultural, Economic and Security Impact of Antiquities Theft in the Middle East
Day 1 • 13 May 2015
| OPENING STATEMENTS |
9:30 am – 10:00 am Welcoming Remarks
Mamdouh Eldamaty, Minister of Antiquities
Wendy Chamberlin, President, Middle East Institute
Deborah Lehr, Chairman, Antiquities Coalition
Mohammed Sameh Amr, Chairman of the Executive Board, UNESCO
Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO
Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs
| SESSION ONE |
10:00 am – 11:30 am Ministerial Plenum
Extent of the Challenges
What are the challenges to addressing antiquities theft during times of crisis? What can be done to protect against cultural racketeering and cultural cleansing? How can better protection for a country’s unique culture become part of the larger security and economic revitalization in the region?
Moderators:
Deborah Lehr, Chairman, Antiquities Coalition
Khalid El- Enany, General Director of NMEC
Panelists:
Government Ministers and Representatives from the Region
| BREAK |
11:30 am – 12:00 pm Coffee and Tea Break
| SESSION TWO |
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm Setting the Stage
The speakers will help set the stage by providing facts and figures on looting and trafficking by criminal networks and terrorist organizations, as well as the long term cultural, economic and security implications of this cultural racketeering term situation in the region.
Tess Davis, Executive Director, Antiquities Coalition
Mustafa Amin, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
| LUNCHEON |
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch Break
| SESSION THREE |
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Experts Panel
What Role Can and Should the International Community Play?
This panel explore how the international community – NGOs, private sector, international institutions and other governments — can help countries protect against heritage crimes, as a means to intimidate and profit from other culture’s unique heritage.
Best practices from other situations will be shared as well.
Moderators:
Peter Herdrich, Co-Founder, Antiquities Coalition
H.E. Ambassador Moshira Khattab, Former Minister of Population
Panelists:
Ali Ahmed Ali, Director General of the Repatriation Department, Ministry of Antiquities
Michael Danti, Academic Director, ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiative
Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Professor, Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law, DePaul University
Joris Kila, University of Vienna
Mohamed Khamis el Mohiry, Director General, National Antiquities Council, UAE
| BREAK |
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Coffee and Tea Break
| SESSION FOUR |
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Experts Panel
The Path Forward: Uniting the Efforts
Facilitator-led discussion to bring together options – domestic, international, role of NGOs, international institutions, governments and private sector to develop national and regional strategies in the fight against looting for profit.
Moderators:
Paul Salem, Middle East Institute
Mohamed Saleh, Former Director of the Egyptian Museum
Panelists:
Mounther Mahmoud al Dahash Jamhawi, Director of Jordanian Antiquities
Ann Benbow, Executive Director, Archaeological Institute of America
Chuck Henry, President, Council on Library and Information Resources
Mechtild Rossler, Deputy Director, Heritage Division, UNESCO
Marina Schneider, Senior Legal Officer, UNIDROIT
Marion Werkheiser, Founder, Cultural Heritage Partners
| SUMMARY REMARKS |
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm Day One Summary
Deborah Lehr, Chairman, Antiquities Coalition
Wendy Chamberlin, President, Middle East Institute
| DAY ONE OF CONFERENCE CONCLUDES |
| CONFERENCE DINNER |
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm VIP Conference Dinner
Hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Antiquities at Manial Palace
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Delegations Dinner
Conrad Hotel
Day 2 • 14 May 2015
| SESSION ONE |
9:00 am – 10:30 am Experts Panel
Regional Instability and Antiquities Theft
What lessons can be learned from Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya? How can countries be better prepared in advance? What support can come from the international community? Do the options, resources and tools need to be upgraded?
Moderators:
Deborah Lehr, Chairman, Antiquities Coalition
Yasser El Naggar, Principal Deputy Minister of Investment
Panelists:
El Habib Almin, Former Libyan Minister of Culture and Ambassador of Libya to Malta
Matthew Bogdanos, Assistant District Attorney, New York County District Attorney’s Office
Neil Brodie, Senior Research Fellow, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow
Michael Danti, Academic Director, ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiative
Malcolm Nance, Executive Director, Terror Asymmetrics Project, TAPSTRI
Mohammed Saleh, Former Director of the Egyptian Museum
| SESSION TWO |
10:30 am – 11:45 am Experts Panel
Supply and Demand
Handling the demand side of the equation. How can illegal distribution networks be identified and shut down? And what is the best way to raise awareness of the illegal sale of “blood antiquities”? And can better regulation of the private sale and on-line market place be put into place?
Moderator:
Peter Herdrich, Co-Founder, Antiquities Coalition
Panelists:
Neil Brodie, Senior Research Fellow, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow
Mohamed Ramadan, Ministry of Antiquities
Ben Sullivan, Head of Mideast Operations, Axiell
Ricardo Saint Hilaire, Director and Principal Researcher, Red Arch
Mark Vlasic, Georgetown University
| BREAK |
11:45 am – 12:00 pm Coffee and Tea Break
| SESSION 3 |
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm The Egyptian Experience in the Field of Repatriation of
Antiquities
Speakers:
Ali Ahmed Ali, Director General of the Repatriation Department, Ministry of Antiquities
Masood Karimipour, Middle East and North African Representative, UNODC
Samia el Merghany, Director General of the Centre of Research and conservation of Antiquities
| CONCLUDING REMARKS |
12:45 pm – 1:30 pm Conclusions and Next Steps
Mamdouh Eldamaty, Minister of Antiquities
| COMMUNIQUE |
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Closing Remarks and Communiqué
Ibrahim Mahlab, Prime Minister of the Arab
Republic of Egypt
| LUNCH |
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Lunch for Participants at the Conrad Hotel
