International Conference on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, Rome, 9th December 2021

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage adopted by the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris on 2nd November 2001, the Ministry of Culture of the Italian Republic in co-operation with the Secretariat of the UNESCO 2001 Convention is organizing the international conference ‘’Sunken Memories – the protection of underwater cultural heritage’’.

The Conference will be held in Rome virtually on 9th December 2021 and will gather internationally recognized scientific experts from organizations and institutions involved in significant initiatives with regards to underwater cultural heritage. The speakers will debate about the challenges and perspectives for the future safeguarding and presenting of underwater cultural heritage.

In the introductory part, the conference participants will be addressed by the Minister of culture of the Italian Republic Mr Dario Franceschini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Mr Ernesto Ottone Ramirez and United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Oceans Mr Peter Thomson.
ICUA Zadar Director Mladen Pešić, PhD, will take part with a lecture ‘’Research, protection, and presentation of underwater cultural heritage in the eastern Adriatic’’.

The year 2021 marks the start of the next phase in the life of the 2001 Convention thanks to the organization of the First Scientific Mission at Skerki Banks, the first campaign to be conducted in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the 2001 Convention. On the border of Italy, Tunisia and Sicily the Skerki Banks site has for centuries preserved a rich underwater cultural heritage and a memory of the Mediterranean history from Roman times to the present day. It was in early 2018 that Italy informed UNESCO about the discovery of this valuable archaeological discovery.

YOU CAN FIND THE PROGRAMME HERE