On this occasion, an exchange between His Royal Highness and the Director-General of UNESCO focused on the cooperation over the past ten years in the management of the heritage of Rabat inscribed in 2012 on the World Heritage List of Humanity. The 348-hectare listed property has eight historical components that make it an urban heritage that is simultaneously ancient and modern, and the Foundation, chaired by His Royal Highness, is initiating and defining an ambitious policy to raise awareness among the inhabitants of Rabat and its visitors. The heritage of a city is only preserved in the long term when its population understands its value and is attached to it.
His Royal Highness received the members composed of the Ambassadors of the Member States of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee and high officials of UNESCO in the Presence of Mr. Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication and Mr. Samir Addahre, Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO who expressed his wishes for the success of the Committee’s work.
The Foundation also participates in the side event of the work of the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, by organizing with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and the House of the Craftsman, an exhibition entitled: ” Carpet of Rabat, a whole art “.
This remarkable carpet, the only one of urban tradition in Morocco, drew its inspiration from the Anatolian, Persian and Moroccan traditions. It is a reference element of the intangible heritage of the capital that is destined to join the list of world heritage.
This exhibition takes place at the Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses and will last until December 03, 2022.
About the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat
The Foundation for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Rabat was created by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in order to preserve the tangible, intangible and landscape heritage of Rabat. Indeed, the city has been included since 2012 on the Unesco World Heritage List under the title: “Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage”.
The Foundation develops programs around three main themes – educating, raising awareness and bringing people together. As a powerful lever for inclusion and cohesion, Rabat’s heritage is a real driver of social, economic and cultural development. The Foundation conducts regular heritage discovery activities among the Rbatis, especially the youngest, in order to create an emotional bond that guarantees respect and preservation of their heritage.
The Foundation’s programs are aimed at several target groups : the general public, professionals, institutions, especially the youngest. The Foundation sets up educational kits within the framework of its educational programs, digital platforms for the mediation of cultural heritage through the “digitization of heritage” program, and organizes scientific workshops to which experts from all continents are invited to share, exchange, and advance the precious cause of preserving modern and ancient cultural heritage.
The work, carried out in a partnership approach, combines expertise and resources, and federates institutional as well as public and private actors with the aim of affirming the necessity of heritage protection in the Kingdom.
The Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat is headed by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa.
