Raising awareness of the cultural heritage of Iraq

Last year the MBI Al Jaber Foundation built on the support they had previously given for the Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale with a further grant to enable the publication and distribution of the Conference Proceedings to Universities and other academic institutions in Iraq.

Enabling Iraqi Delegation

The MBI Al Jaber Foundation had previously given a grant to the 49e RAI which took place at The British Museum, London from 7 to 11 July 2003.

The Foundation’s support enabled the contribution of nine Iraqi delegates who travelled from Baghdad and Mosel to take part in the conference. The delegates from the Departments of Antiquities and Heritage included the Directors of the National Museum Dr. Donny George and Dr. Nawala al-Mutawalli, and the Ministry of Information was represented by Dr. Muayyad Sa’id Damerji.

Highlighting the current situation

A special session of the conference was devoted to highlighting the current situation in Iraq with regard to cultural heritage, and the losses caused by the looting of museums and archaeological sites were described by recent visitors to Iraq from UNESCO and academic institutions.