[Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage]
Report for the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee
Reporting period: July 2023 to June 2024

1. General Information
Name of the Centre

Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage

Name and contact information ofthe Director

Rashad Faraj
r.faraj@arcwh.org

Designated Focal Point(s)Sh.Ebrahim Al Khalifa
Deputy Director
e.alkhalifa@arcwh.org
www.arcwh.org

Website

2. Institutional and Operational Structure of the Centre
The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC‐WH), based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is anautonomous and independent legal entity at the service of the Arab States. The ARC‐WH is guided andsupervised by a Governing Board which is renewed every two years. The Board meets in ordinary
sessions at regular intervals, at least once per calendar year. The Governing Board is chaired by thePresident of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities H.E. Sh. Khalifa Bin Ahmed Alkhalifa,
members of the board include the following: a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in theKingdom of Bahrain, a representative of the Arab Member States to the World Heritage Committee, arepresentative of the Director General of UNESCO, a representative of each of the Advisory Bodies tothe Committee ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM and the African World Heritage Fund. The current
secretariat of ARC‐WH comprises 12 permanent staff members including the Director, Deputy Director,
and the Programming Unit. The staff also includes a Communication and Information Officer, an Adminand Logistics Officer and a Finance and Human Resources Officer. The activities of the Centre and its
operations are mainly funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, while some of the activities
are occasionally co-funded by external partners according to ARC-WH agreements on joint projects.

3. Updates on the Management of the Centre
The 13th Governing Board meeting was held on the 12th of February, 2024. During which, the reporton the activities of the centre in 2023 was presented. The board also adopted the proposed action planfor 2024, which focused on the priorities derived from the Periodic Reporting Action Plan for the Arabregion (2021-2027) with 3 main strategic objectives highlighted A) Contribute to a representative andbalanced World Heritage List in the Arab States, reflecting the cultural and natural diversity of the regionB) Enhance the protection, conservation and management of World Heritage, particularly for sites
inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including through emergency preparedness, disasterrisk response, and planning for recovery. C) Improve the integration of sustainable development policies
in the management of World Heritage sites.

The Governing Board of ARC-WH also adopted the proposed advisory body (2024-2025) which aims
at providing technical guidance and periodic recommendations on the programmes of ARC-WH.

4. Main Programmes and Activities
Regional Programmes•

Regional Workshop for Arab States on Impact Assessment in a WorldHeritage Context
ARC-WH and the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership (WHL) programme organized thisRegional Workshop from 27 to 29 November 2023, in Manama, Bahrain. This capacity-building
activity supported 23 site managers, coordinators, heritage professionals, and otherstakeholders from 15 Member States, in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential
negative impacts of development projects on World Heritage properties.

•Regional meeting for World Heritage Focal Points in the Arab States
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the ARC-WH, hosted the regional
meeting (5 - 6 December 2023). The meeting aimed to bring together Focal Points to assess
the progress of the regional Action Plan (2021-2027) and lay the groundwork for the mid-cycle
assessment report.

•Regional Workshop on Natural and Mixed World Heritage Sites in the ArabStates: Listing Implications and Synergies with IUCN’s Green List
ARC-WH in collaboration with the IUCN Regional Office for West Asia of the International Unionfor Conservation of Nature (ROWA) organised this workshop from 22-24 January 2024. It washeld in cooperation with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), with theparticipation of heritage professionals from various Arab countries. The workshop aimed toenhance the understanding of Natural and Mixed heritage inscription requirements and improvetheir management by promoting synergies with the IUCN Green List initiative.

•Regional Workshop on Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage
Sites in the Arab Region
In partnership with the International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World
Heritage Sites (WHIPIC), ARC-WH organized this workshop from 22-24 April,2024, to enhance
professionals' knowledge and skills for developing effective interpretation and presentation ofWorld Heritage sites in the Arab region.

•Incorporating Sustainable Development into the Implementation of the World
Heritage Convention in the Arab States Region
ARC-WH and ICOMOS are organising this capacity building programme with the support of theHeritage Commission and ICOMOS Saudi Arabia. It aims to mainstream and promote theapproach used in the 2015 Sustainable Development Policy Document into the daily
implementation of the World Heritage Convention, through improving knowledge of the PolicyDocument, the HUL approach, and the 2030 SDG's Agenda. Scheduled between June andSeptember 2024, the program will commence online and culminate in an in-person workshop
at a World Heritage site in Saudi Arabia.

National Programmes•Capacity Building Programmme on the Preparation of a Site Management
Plan for the Transnational Property of Darb Zubaydah
In collaboration and support of the Heritage Commission under the Ministry of Culture in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia and in cooperation with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage inthe Republic of Iraq. The programme aimed to build the capacities of participants inmanagement plans, including their concept, implementation, and monitoring aspects, while
supporting the establishment of efficient transnational management mechanisms for the Darb
Zubaydah site. The programme was implemented through a series of online and in-person
workshops held between August – December 2023.

•Online workshop “Bethany Beyond the Jordan- Heritage Impact Assessment
and Architectural Guidelines’’
ARC-WH collaborated with the Baptism Site Commission (BSC) in Jordan to conduct this online
workshop on 17 August 2023. The workshop aimed to engage six architects andrepresentatives from new churches in enhancing their understanding of the World Heritage site,‘Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas)’, and its natural surroundings. It also
provided clarity on architectural guidelines during the revision of the Heritage Impact
Assessment (HIA) for existing and new churches within the buffer zone.

•Revision of the Tentative List of Cultural and Natural Sites in Palestine
ARC-WH, in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, conducted
an online workshop from 21 to 23 August 2023. The workshop involved experts, academics,and researchers in the heritage field and focused on reviewing the Tentative List of cultural andnatural sites in the State of Palestine.

•Sustainable Management of World Heritage Sites in Tunisia
ARC-WH and the National Heritage Institute (INP) in Tunisia collaborated to implement a
programme for the integration of sustainable development into the management of World
Heritage Sites in Tunisia, using the World Heritage site of Dougga/Thugga as a case study. An
online Workshop held on 10-11 October,2023 brought together experts, specialists, and sitemanagers, along with civil society and local community representatives in Dougga.

•National Workshop “Mechanisms and Concepts of the 1972 World Heritage
Convention and the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property
in the Event of Armed Conflict” in Qatar
With the participation of relevant stakeholders in the State of Qatar, the workshop aimed atenhancing the understanding and implementation of the two UNESCO Conventions,contributing to enhancing the protection and management of heritage sites in Qatar. The

workshop was organized by ARC-WH in collaboration with the Qatar Museums Authority andtook place from 18 to 20 February 2024 in Doha, Qatar.

•Conservation of Built Heritage in Kuwait Bahrain workshop
Aiming at enhancing the capacities of heritage professionals in Kuwait, ARC-WH and theNational Council for Culture, Art and Letters (NCCAL), in collaboration with the Bahrain
Authority for Culture and Antiquities, organized the Workshop on “Fundamentals ofConservation of Built Heritage” 21-24 April 2024, in Manama, Bahrain.

•Revision of the Tentative List of Yemen
The capacity building programme aims to enhance the capacities of heritage professionals
on the process of revision of the Tentative List and the nomination process. Organized incooperation with UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen between May –September 2024, virtually and in-person.

•Technical Assistance to the State Party of Iraq for the preparation of aComprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Ashur (Qal’atSherqat)
As part of its support to the State Party in responding to the World Heritage Committee's
decisions, ARC-WH in partnership with the World Monument Fund (WMF) to prepare an
integrated management plan that protects the OUV of the site, including preparation of acomprehensive conservation plan for the property.

•Technical Assistance to the State Party of Syria for the preparation of the firstphase of the conservation masterplan in Ancient City of Bosra
ARC-WH is supporting the State Party of Syria to prepare the conservation master plan forAncient City of Bosra, to help the State Party respond to the Committee’s decisions on thepreparation of the site master plan, which is crucial to inform the final optimal restoration
approaches.

Thematic Programmes•

Regional Conference: Housing Rehabilitation in Historic Settlements of TheArab Region
In partnership with the UNESCO Regional office for the Maghreb, UN Habitat and the Islamic
Development Bank, a regional conference on Housing Rehabilitation in Historic Settlements ofthe Arab Region has been organized in Marrakech, Morocco from 13-15 December 2023. With
the participation of 43 experts, the conference aimed to co-define new guidelines to protect andrevive housing in historic settlements of the Arab region.

•Second edition of the short-film competition “My Heritage”
In collaboration with the Heritage Commission of Saudi Arabia, ARC-WH organized the second
edition of the "My Heritage" short-film competition as part of the Arab Youth for Heritage
initiative with the participation of 170 applicants from 18 countries across the Arab region.

•International Training Course on Rock Art Recording Techniques, fromTraditional to Digital
ARC-WH supported the organization of the International Training Course on Rock Art
Recording Techniques from traditional to Digital held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 10to 14 of December 2023.

•International Conference “Opportunities for Heritage”
The UNESCO chair for World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Management in the ArabRegion, in collaboration with ARC-WH co-organized an International Conference “Opportunitiesfor Heritage’’ from 24-27 February,2024. The four-day conference focused on examining theopportunities that lie at the intersection of heritage conservation and sustainable development,
focusing on technology's transformative power and innovative solutions.

•Expert Meeting on Modern Heritage in the Arab Region
The Expert Meeting was held in Manama, Bahrain, between 4-6 March 2024. It gatheredspecialists in the field of architecture and cultural heritage preservation from the Arab region
and international organizations. The meeting comes amid a growing global interest in modern
heritage, which includes architectural and urban buildings constructed in the 19th and 20thcenturies. It aimed to explore the status of this underrepresented heritage in the Arab region
and develop recommendations for its preservation.

•Arab/African Professionals Preliminary Assessment Process Meeting
In close collaboration with the UNESCO WHC, ICOMOS, IUCN and the African World Heritage
Fund, ARC-WH hosted a meeting for Arab/African Professionals on the Preliminary
Assessment Process aimed at providing them with the tools to prepare Preliminary Evaluation
requests in an adequate and efficient manner. The meeting was held from 15-16 May inManama, Bahrain.

Information and Publications•Translation of the Guidance and Toolkit for “Impact Assessment in a World
Heritage Context” in partnership with UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies toArabic
ARC-WH translated the ‘Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage
Context’ from English to Arabic to support heritage professionals in the protection of heritage
sites in the Arab region. This manual was originally developed by UNESCO and the Advisory
Bodies to the World Heritage Committee, ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN.