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Special Thematic Seminar
Cultural Heritage Management and the Challenges of HIV/AIDS

BACKGROUND:
Given the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the African continent and the realisation that any efforts to combat it requires a multi-sectoral approach, Heritage Institutions are faced with the challenging tasks of identifying means and ways through which they can contribute in combating the pandemic. This is especially so as Heritage Institutions have not been spared from the ravages of the pandemic. Additionally, as many heritage resources are being managed in partnership with the local communities, it is increasingly becoming difficult to pay a blind eye to the devastating effects of the pandemic. There is need for heritage institutions to be sensitive to community and developmental needs such as challenges posed by HIV/AIDS by finding viable means through which heritage places can play a useful function in addressing issues related to the pandemic.The AFRICA 2009 Special Thematic Seminar plans to discuss these issues and to identify key partners in the management and preservation of Africa’s immovable cultural heritage in the face of the pandemic.

THE SEMINAR AIMS TO:
1. examine the existing Heritage Institutional HIV/AIDS programmes/policies and explore ways in which they can be improved.
2. provide a forum to discuss strategies on how Heritage Institutions can use heritage places to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
3. identify key partners and areas in which Heritage Institutions can intervene in issues related to HIV/AIDS;
4. develop a mechanism to monitor Institutional HIV/AIDS programmes and policies.

SEMINAR STRUCTURE:
The seminar will have three broad themes;
a) Culture and HIV/AIDS
b) Heritage Institutions and HIV/AIDS
c) Cultural Heritage Sites and HIV/AIDS.

SEMINAR WORKING METHOD:
The seminar will be divided into two parts. The first will include papers presented by participants addressing any of the above themes. Following these presentations, plenary and small group sessions will be held with the aim of collating the key issues arising and identifying possible solutions/strategies for dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

WORKING LANGUAGE:
The working language of the seminar will be English and French. For full participation in the discussions, good language skills will be necessary.

PARTICIPATION:
A maximum of 20 professionals from Africa will be selected for the seminar. The selection will be based on the provision of the following:
• Seminar Application Form.
• Abstract of the proposed presentation.
• A letter of support from the National Director in charge of conservation of immovable cultural heritage in the country from which the participant comes.

Successfully participants will be required to pay a registration fee of $25 (US dollars) upon arrival in Livingstone, Zambia.

Please send the application material (including the abstract of the presentation) before 17
July 2007 to:
The Special Thematic Seminar – AFRICA 2009
ICCROM, Via di San Michele 13
00153 Rome, Italy
Tel: (39-06) 585 53 314, Fax: (39-06) 585 53 349
Email: africa2009@iccrom.org, hdennisuk@yahoo.co.uk

Applications from qualified women are encouraged.