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Saudi ICOMOS Partnership

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and the Saudi National Committee of ICOMOS (Saudi ICOMOS) entered into a strategic partnership in September 2022.

Preserving Culture

Saudi ICOMOS, established in 2011, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the global ICOMOS network, which includes professionals, institutions, and organisations committed to safeguarding shared heritage.

The partnership between RCU and Saudi ICOMOS is centered on the preservation of AlUla’s rich cultural heritage, which RCU recognises as a cornerstone of its development vision.

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Raising Awareness of AlUla’s Heritage

The collaboration aims to raise public awareness about the significance of AlUla’s heritage through innovative and engaging initiatives. It also seeks to empower local expertise through capacity-building programmes designed to equip Saudi heritage professionals with the necessary skills.

The partnership is also focused on supporting and improving the preservation of cultural heritage in AlUla through awareness-raising and capacity-building efforts. It supports research in the areas of protection of archaeological sites, sustainable management for cultural heritage in AlUla, and the development of best procedures and knowledge sharing.

Overview of the collaboration

RCU and Saudi ICOMOS signed an important 3-years partnerships agreement in September 24th, 2022, with the scope of positioning AlUla as a centre of knowledge for heritage conservation through the participation of AlUla professionals, Saudi young talents, and the local community.  Saudi ICOMOS, as the national committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites, is an independent, non-governmental organisation that works closely with UNESCO as its advisory body. 

The national committees of ICOMOS, including Saudi ICOMOS, represent the most renowned professionals worldwide for heritage protection and conservation. In this case, the Saudi ICOMOS national committee is chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Dr. Nouf Bint Mohammed Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The main objective of the strategic partnership considers that RCU employs a large team of Saudi and international specialists in conservation, site management, tourism development, governance, and planning. Our objective is that through this partnership with Saudi ICOMOS, our professionals will be able to make AlUla the knowledge centre in heritage and conservation in the region. The connection with the consultative organisation will assist making AlUla a centre of excellence in conservation in the GCC & MENA regions.

Strategic initiatives

Among the core actions established in the partnership’s work programme, we want to remark the following five strategic initiatives:

Conservation studio workshops and lectures programme.

Conservation studio workshops and lectures programme. 10 different lectures are provided in AlUla along each year, open to all interested professionals and the public. Topics cover a variety of aspects, related to heritage protection, conservation and knowledge. Some of the recent ones have covered oasis protection, the legal framework for heritage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the use of new information technologies for conservation, documentation in conservation, and pathologies for heritage buildings, etc.

Translation Programme

Over 40 international charters, methodologies, and scientific texts related to heritage management, conservation and protection were translated into Arabic. This important effort will guarantee that non-English speaking professionals from the Arab region will have access to the main scientific and ethical texts in Arabic, in Open Source. 

1st International Conference on Heritage Impact Assessment

Between the 3rd to the 5th of December 2023, we celebrated the first international conference related to Heritage Impact Assessment. Opened by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman and Chaired by HRH Princess Nouf, the international encounter was an open scientific meeting point for heritage conservation professionals worldwide. The success of the scientific conference was substantial, and its results will be integrated, for instance, in the review of the Saudi Antiquities Law currently in place. As a curiosity, this event was Carbon-neutral as implemented a series of side activities with the participants to mitigate the carbon firm of trips and venue usage, including the plantation of close to 500 trees in Sharaan Natural Reserve.

Young professionals’ formation programme

Young architects from different saudi universities make 1-2 weeks practicum stage in AlUla, receiving lectures and practical formation on Urban Heritage Conservation, particularly in the Old Town, by the best specialists of RCU’s Urban Heritage Conservation team.

ICOMOS International Committees support

As per this work programme, RCU hosted an important encounter of the ICOMOS working group for Intangible Cultural Heritage in September 2023. This group created the draft of the ICH ICOMOS Charter, currently under discussion and approval process by ICOMOS International Assembly. 

Learn more from Cultural Heritage International Charters, Doctrinal Texts, and Methodologies

Engaging Local Communities in Stewardship of World Heritage

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2011 Paris Declaration on Heritage as driver of Development

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Principles for the analysis, conservation and structural restoration of Architectural Heritage

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Xian declaration on the conservation of the setting of Heritage structures, sites and areas

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World Heritage and Buffer Zones

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Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage

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Valletta Principles for safeguarding and management of historic cities, towns and urban areas

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UNESCO Budapest Declaration on World Heritage

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The NARA documement on Authenticity

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Salalah Guidelines for Management of Public Archaeological Sites

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ICOMOS-IFLA principles concerning rural landscapes as heritage

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Resolutions on the introduction of contemporary architecture into ancient groups of buildings

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Lausanne Charter for protection and Management of Archeological Heritage

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ICOMOS Guidelines on Fortifications and Military Heritage

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ICOMOS Principles for the Preservation and Conservation Restoration of Wall Paintings

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Guidelines for Education and training in the conservation of Monuments, Ensembles and Sites

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Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context

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Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Culture Heritage

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Heritage and Sustainable Development Goals. Policy Guidance for Heritage and Development Actors

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ICOMOS Charter on Cultural Routes

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ICOMOS International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism 1999 (Reviewed in 2022)

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ICOMOS International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism 2022 Community Resilience

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The Charleston Declaration on Heritage Interpretation

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The Florence Declaration on Heritage and Landscape as Human Values

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World Heritage Cultural Landscapes. A handbook on Conservation and Management

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