Signing of the Memorandum of cooperation in Spain
On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in the premises of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Kingdom of Spain in Madrid a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar and the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Kingdom of Spain in the field of protection and conservation of underwater cultural heritage. The Memorandum of cooperation was signed by the ICUA Zadar director Mladen Pešić, Ph.D. and the director of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Kingdom of Spain Mr. Isaac Sastre de Diego.
The signing was attended by Ms María Agúndez Leria, head of Management and Coordination of Cultural Assets of the General Administration of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, Mr. Pablo Jiménez, head of the Department of the UNESCO Convention, Mr. Rafael Sabio, director of ARQUA from the Spanish side and H.E. Nives Malenica, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia to the Kingdom of Spain, representatives of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media - Ms Anja Jelavić, Director of Directorate for International Cultural Cooperation and European Affairs and Mr. Davor Trupković, Chief Conservator, and a Counsellor at the Croatian Embassy in Madrid Ms Daniela Lučev from the Croatian side.
At the proposal of the Spanish side to sign an international act on promoting cooperation in the field of underwater cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Media recommended the ICUA Zadar as the signatory. The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed on the basis of the bilateral agreement on cultural, educational and scientific cooperation from 1997, with the aim of creating a framework for cooperation, especially in relation to the discovery, protection, management and preservation of underwater archaeological sites.
Considering traditionally good cultural reations between the two countries and the mutual interest in continuing cooperation, it is expected that the signatories, within their financial resources, will ensure a full cooperation and engagement in several areas such as the implementation of joint programs of education, research and capacity building, exchange of professional knowledge and publications, organizing symposia, conferences, short courses and meetings in the field of underwater cultural heritage research.
The two friendly countries are signatories to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, adopted at the 31st session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris in 2001, and are committed to promoting the preservation and protection of underwater cultural heritage.
This Memorandum of Cooperation was signed for a period of six years, and the signatories will cooperate with each other in the conservation and protection of underwater cultural heritage in accordance with the relevant conventions of UNESCO and other international organizations of which they are members in the cultural and education fields. The signatories of this Memorandum will encourage joint projects in the field of underwater cultural heritage, science and research and encourage activities in the framework the European and international programmes and initiatives of the European Union.
