UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation

International Workshop on Conservation of Ruined Structures

The workshop was organized by the Armenian National Committee of ICOMOS in cooperation with the UNESCO Moscow Cluster Office and took place in Yerevan and Burakan from 17 to 23 October 2002 with the participation of professionals in conservation of ruined structures from Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Turkey and of international experts from Greece, Italy and ICOMOS International. It constituted the second one in the serial of three sub-regional training workshops sponsored by UNESCO for the South Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) under the UNESCO/Japan Trust Fund for the Preservation of the World Cultural Heritage.

The main objective of this programme is capacity-building for cultural heritage conservation and preservation through the sharing of expertise among regional professionals and the building of regional and international networks.

This workshop was specifically focusing on the exchange of the international experience and improvement of the methods of conservation of monuments in ruins.

The work of the workshop was composed both of speeches and lectures on fortification, conservation, partial restoration, museum catalogue creation and use of ruined monuments, and demonstration of practical skills of preparation of traditional construction materials and fortification of several stone constructions. The participants of the workshop observed also archeological excavations of Armenia’s ancient and medieval monuments, their fortification and practical restoration.

Two final documents were adopted: Technical Recommendations and Workshop Conclusion. They contain both the essence of the discussions which took place during the workshop. Two following items are worth in mentioning in particular as far as the second document is concerned: the proposal to expand regional cooperation taking into account the similarity of the historical and cultural heritage of the countries of the region and the proposal to create a regional working group comprised of experts from Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Italy and Iran in order to elaborate and implement a general cooperation programme in the field of protection of cultural heritage at the interregional level following the Resolution n. 27 of the last UNESCO General Conference entitled "Protection of cultural heritage in the Caucasus Region".

The workshop was very well organized and reached the expected results as far as methodological, technological, managerial issues and the sharing of expertise among regional and international professionals were concerned.

On October 22, the Agreement on Cooperating to Create a Baikal Model Territory of Sustainable Development for the World between the Government of the Buryat Republic and the United Nations Association of Russia was signed in Moscow. The parties agreed to continue working to on the international project "On Creating a Baikal Model Territory of Sustainable Development for the World", in accordance with the recommendations of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg; to authorize the UNA-Russia to act as the Buryat Republic’s representative in implementing the project along UN lines at the international level, and the Buryat Republic to render all possible assistance to the UNA-Russia in its operations; and to set up the appropriate committee under the Chairmanship of BR Government Chairman Leonid Potapov and UNA-Russia Chairman Anatoly Torkunov.

On November 20, a charity event dedicated to the International Day of the Child was held at Moscow’s Tereza Durova Clown Theatre.

Some 500 children from different homes, shelters, and schools for indigent families were invited to the party. The organizers decided to hold an event specifically for children deprived of many of the joys to which their peers from more privileged social strata are accustomed.

Just before the show (which was put together by artists of the Moscow Clown Theatre), the children were greeted by the event’s organizers: Tereza Durova herself; UNA-Russia Deputy Chairman Alexey Borisov; the well-known fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin; Yelena Panina, Chairwoman of the Board of the Charitable Foundation for Social programs and Chairwoman of the Russian Association of Industrial Parties; and Irina Kudrina, President of the Corona Borealis Foundation for Social and Cultural Programs. Also taking an enthusiastic part in the preparations for the party were the Poisk ("Search") firm, and the regional NGO Rights of the Child. The speakers stressed the need to defend a child’s rights, regardless of his or her social and national affiliation. They unanimously approved of the suggestion to hold other such children’s events, as often as possible.

Thanks to the organizers’ efforts, the party was a truly great success. Performers no older than the audience – youngsters from Moscow’s Ian Bosco Charity Home for Children and Young People’s Center and The Way Home children’s shelter – also took the stage. This gave the children a chance to display their artistic potential. At the end of the show, gifts of candy from the Corona Borealis Foundation for Social and Cultural programs and the United Nations Association of Russia awaited both the young performers and the audience.

On October 31, an exhibition featuring the works of the well-known Russian artist, ecologist, traveller, and journalist Vyacheslav Yegorov took place at the Federation Council Building. The exhibition’s organizers were the United Nations Association of Russia and Miroviye lidery ("World Leaders") Museum and Gallery. The exhibition was dedicated to the International Year of the Mountain, declared by the UN General Assembly. On display were 100 paintings and graphics, including autographed portraits of world leaders, images of the world’s holy mountains, and compositions on the theme of the cosmos.

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