National Forum on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage

National Forum on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo 06/28/2011

The Ministry of Culture organized a forum with international experts from Spain, Mexico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic to discuss UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. The experts discussed and shared their experiences from their respective countries.

The objective of the national forum was to come up with a formula wherein Dominican archeological sites can be constituted as cultural heritage sites and therefore preserved for the enjoyment of all humankind.

The objective of the national forum was to come up with a formula wherein Dominican archeological sites can be constituted as cultural heritage sites and therefore preserved for the enjoyment of all humankind.

Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Lourdes Camilo de Cuello, presided over the forum. Others present included the Spanish Ambassador in the DR, Diego Bermejo; Tatiana Villegas, representative of the Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean for UNESCO; José Joaquín Benítez, Director of the Spanish Cultural Center and Wilfredo Feliz, Director of the Office of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The welcoming address was given by Camilo de Cuello, who emphasized the work being done by the Dominican government for the preservation of the country’s underwater cultural wealth and the institutions that are safeguarding it.

Ambassador Diego Bermejo and Ms. Tatiana Villegas also spoke at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Bermejo took the opportunity to highlight the Spanish government’s interest in contributing to the actions being taken by the Ministry of Culture to safeguard the underwater heritage. He emphasized the need to ratify UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

UNESCO representative, Tatiana Villegas, roughly outlined the results of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Among the international speakers, the outstanding Mexican archeologist, Pilar Luna, talked about the “General View of Mexican Underwater Archeology – Challenges and Achievements in the Past 31 Years and its Relationship to that which was Established in the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.”

Architect, Wilfredo Feliz, talked about “Management in the Present and Near Future of the Nation’s Underwater Cultural Heritage.” Spanish expert, Xavier Nieto, spoke about “Spain and the 2001 UNESCO Convention and International Cooperation.” Nerva Founder, an architect, gave a speech on “Dominican Underwater Cultural Heritage (2007- 2011).”

Archeologists Santiago Duval, Pierre Denis and Eva Lilia Martínez from Honduras also spoke at the forum, which was held at a hotel in the Dominican capital.

Wilfredo Feliz, Tatiana Villegas, Lourdes Camilo de Cuello, Don Diego Bermejo and José Joaquín Benítez.