The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is holding two workshops in Chad and Yemen, aimed at building the capacities of professionals in the field of heritage and museums. This initiative is part of ICESCO’s broader project to promote the right to culture by developing the skills of professionals in the fields of culture, arts, and heritage.

ICESCO’s Culture and Communication sector, in partnership with the Chadian National Commission for Education, Science, and Culture, is hosting a workshop in favour of 40 young professionals in the heritage field in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena. The workshop is designed to train them in the preventive conservation techniques specifically those applied to archaeological collections.

The workshop activities kicked off on Friday (8 September 2023), and will extend over four days at the National Museum. Its primary objective is to acquaint participants with the latest methods for identifying, documenting, and managing reserve collections, along with monitoring techniques to anticipate artwork degradation. At the workshop’s conclusion, a reclassification of the collections of Chad’s National Museum will be undertaken, with the aim of enhancing collection protection against climate-related threats.

In Yemen’s Aden province, ICESCO and the Yemeni National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science, in collaboration with the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums in Yemen, organized a workshop dedicated to enhance the skills of 35 participants working in Yemeni museums.

The workshop, held from 5 to 7 September 2023, at the headquarters of Medalah Foundation in Aden, aimed to equip museum professionals with tourism promotion skills and knowledge on the preservation of archaeological artifacts and historic pieces. It also covered an array of concepts related to the establishment and types of museums in Yemen, provided guidance on handling archaeological artifacts, and emphasized the importance of learning their history.

The workshop’s inaugural session was attended by Dr. Hafiza Saleh Nasser Al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the Yemeni National Commission. In her speech, she expressed the significant role of ICESCO in promoting Yemeni heritage. Dr. Ahmed bin Ahmed Batayeh, the President of the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums in Yemen, also attended the workshop, alongside several officials from the Ministry of Education.