Signing of the Guidelines for the Bethlehem Area Conservation and Management Plan
The Guidelines document sets the stage and foundation for all the cultural heritage preservation work to be implemented in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. More importantly, it paves the way for the implementation of the second phase which involves the creation of a handbook of best practices, an inventory of sources and historical documentation, and a user's guide-all to be published in hard and soft copy and in a web portal.
The Guidelines the BACMP was signed by the Minister of Antiquities and Tourism, the Minister of the Bethlehem Governorate, the Minister of Local Governments, the mayors of Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala, the Director of the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation and the Director of the Italian Cooperation, witnessed by the Director of UNESCO.
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On March 3, 2010 the stakeholders of the Bethlehem Area Conservation and Management Plan (BACMP) convened in the Bethlehem Peace Center to sign the long-awaited Guidelines to the BACMP. The signing marks the end of the first phase of a pilot project funded by the Italian Government represented by the Italian Cooperation of Jerusalem and supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The first phase involved intense surveying, technical and data collection work that was spearheaded by the three municipalities of the Bethlehem Governorate and closely supervised and supported by the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation.
The representatives of the Italian Cooperation and UNESCO reaffirmed their organizations' commitment to implement the second phase of the project, providing moral, technical and financial support as needed.
