The 10th meeting of the Observatory of Architectural and Urban Heritage in Arab Countries kicked off on July 28, 2025 at the Lebanese National Library in Beirut.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Ghassan Salamé, Lebanese Minister of Culture, emphasized the importance of preserving the architectural and urban heritage of the Arab world. He noted that “the challenge is not just to preserve the stone, but to revive it — to enable people to repopulate it naturally so that it remains a living element that is part of people’s life, rather than a mere museum piece.”
For his part, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, stressed that the Arab urban heritage is currently facing increasing threats due to uncontrolled urban expansion, economic pressures, and lack of effective policies. He commended the Observatory’s role in terms of documentation, planning, and launch of community-based heritage protection initiatives. He expressed ALECSO’s readiness to support Arab countries in preparing new nominations files for inscription on world heritage lists as well as in strengthening the capacities of professionals in the field.
Eng. Ehab Haj Dawla, representative of the State of Palestine and General coordinator of the Observatory, expressed his gratitude to ALECSO and to the Lebanese Republic for hosting the meeting, particularly amid the widespread destruction and distortion suffered by the Arab architectural heritage. He emphasized that ALECSO’s initiative to inscribe the architectural and urban sites in Arab countries represents the most effective mechanism for safeguarding them.
The meeting, which ran over three days, addressed ways of enhancing Arab cooperation in preserving cultural heritage, as well as the challenges facing heritage in the Arab world, especially natural disasters, armed conflicts, urban sprawl, and neglect. It also discussed the files of sites proposed by Arab countries for inclusion in the Arab Architectural and Urban Heritage Register, with the aim of enhancing protection, exchanging expertise, and attracting technical and financial support.
The meeting concluded on July 30, 2025 with the announcement of the sites to be inscribed on the heritage register, whose preparation was entrusted to ALECSO by the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League.
