International Conference on Integrated Reconstruction and Post-trauma Impact on Communities and the Socio-Economic Aspects of Recovery
World Heritage sites as well as other monuments, significant historic rural and urban areas, both in the Arab region and elsewhere around the world, have been severely affected by deliberate destruction, often as part of armed conflicts, with significant loss of life. Such destruction is perpetuated by multiple and intersecting forms of deprivation—of homes, education, healthcare, work and employment. This depth of distress causes not only individual but societal trauma—a situation in which societies become too weak to cope with communal struggles and a wide range of social problems.
In this regard, the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) has taken part and launched a number of initiatives to reflect on and address post-conflict recovery and reconstruction of built heritage as well as strengthening communities’ resilience and social cohesion to build back better. This has included taking part in global fora addressing the challenges of post-trauma recovery through a number of thematic meetings, the organisation of a panel discussion on reconstruction at the 42nd Session of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain, as well as three webinars during 2020 and 2021, with the major objective of integrating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and recent disasters into discussions on the recovery and reconstruction of built heritage and healing of affected communities.
To this end, ARC-WH is organizing an online International Conference on Integrated Reconstruction and Post-trauma Impact on Communities and the Socio-Economic Aspects of Recovery. The organization of this Conference and its expected outcomes are envisaged as a continuation of past activities to establish new guidance for post-disaster heritage reconstruction. In particular, it is intended as a follow-up to two important projects, which resulted respectively in the Warsaw Recommendation on Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage (UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2018) and the Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery (CURE) position paper (UNESCO-World Bank 2018).
The International Conference will be held online from 8 to 10 November 2021, from 10.30 am-4.00 pm (CET). It will gather prominent experts and representatives of international organisations and NGO’s (UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM, World Bank, PUI, and others) to share their expertise and present case studies and lessons learned in the field of recovery and post-trauma recovery. The Conference will be live streamed on YouTube, at the following link: Youtube Channel of ARC-WH
