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Annual Meeting of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO
May, 2008
Ambassador Louise Oliver addresses guests during Annual Meeting of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO
Ambassador Louise Oliver addresses guests during the opening reception, held at Blair House

Ambassador Louise Oliver and two members of the U.S. Mission to UNESCO in Paris attended the annual meeting of the US National Commission to UNESCO in Washington, D.C., held May 19-20, 2008.

The 100 U.S. National Commissioners began their meetings with a reception at Blair House, the President’s Guest House, co-hosted by the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Dirk Kempthorne. The Meeting began the following day with presentations by James Warlick, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, Susanna Connaughton, Executive Director, U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and Ambassador Oliver, and included breakout sessions on specific topics relevant to UNESCO.

One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation by Mr. Laurent Levi-Strauss, Chief of the Section of Museums and Cultural Objects in UNESCO’s Division of Cultural Objects and Intangible Heritage sector, who oversees U.S.-funded UNESCO programs on endangered movable objects. Mr. Levi-Strauss was accompanied by museum directors and UNESCO field officers from several countries where the U.S. provided funding for pilot projects designed to help train museum personnel on basic preservation techniques for important art works. Afghanistan, among them, received US$250,000, to repair its war-torn museum and train its staff in preserving art works that many had assumed were destroyed or stolen.

The Director of Afghanistan’s National Museum, Mr. Omar Massoudi, who was in Washington to launch the U.S. tour of the exhibit “Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul” at the National Gallery, joined the U.S. National Commission meetings. Mr. Massoudi and his colleagues invited meeting participants to a special pre-opening visit of some of Afghanistan’s most spectacular national treasures, including artifacts of the famed Bactria gold, which had been hidden at great risk, during the decades of turmoil in the country.

The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO is a Federal Advisory Committee that was created in 1946, through legislation established when the United States joined UNESCO. Composed of distinguished individuals from throughout the U.S. representing U.S. civil society, the National Commission provides advice to the Department of State on issues relating to UNESCO’s work.

Links of interest


Ambassador Louise Oliver Remarks at U.S. National Commission Meeting

U.S. National Commission for UNESCO

Media Note: Annual Meeting of the U.S. National Commission For UNESCO

U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Charter

UNESCO Movable Heritage and Museums Webpage

UNESCO’s Culture Sector Webpage
 
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