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December 18, 2025

�鶹ֱ�� hosted an Antiquities Trafficking Documentation workshop in Beirut, Lebanon on December 8-12, 2025, with the generous support of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. This workshop brought together members of the Lebanese Directorate-General of Antiquities (DGA) and the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), as well as representatives from U.S. Embassy Beirut, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the FBI Art Crime Team, and Homeland Security Investigations to discuss current conditions and challenges in Lebanon and Syria, the DGA and DGAM’s priorities in the fight against antiquities trafficking, and ways for all participants to work together to achieve them.

Over the past few months, �鶹ֱ�� has offered free training in its cultural heritage documentation curriculum to Syrian and Yemeni students and heritage professionals in collaboration with Syrians for Heritage (SIMAT) and Heritage for Peace. �鶹ֱ��’s freely accessible curriculum aims to help cultural heritage specialists perform surveys and condition assessments through mostly open-source tools and software, including KoboToolbox, QGIS, LibreCAD, and Agisoft Metashape.

�鶹ֱ�� is pleased to announce, with support from the American Institute for Roman Culture, the Cyrene Conservation Initiative—a 12-month conservation and heritage education project at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene in eastern Libya. Developed in close collaboration with the Libyan Department of Antiquities, the Cyrene Conservation Initiative is a response to the impacts of Storm Daniel, which caused catastrophic flooding in September 2023. The project will focus on key areas of the ancient city that were particularly affected by the flood, including Valley Street and the Sanctuary of Apollo terrace, one of the most iconic districts in the city.

From September 2021 until September 2023, �鶹ֱ�� led a project—with support by the U.S. Department of State—to expand community outreach for heritage protection in Libya and to extend our efforts regionally to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. This work strengthened ties between local communities and their national heritage authorities, fostered new connections between heritage practitioners across the region, and empowered community-led heritage protection efforts. The results and partnerships achieved through this work have provided the foundation for continued collaboration in recent years.

Over the past two years, �鶹ֱ�� has led a transformative initiative in Tunisia and Morocco to protect and promote the religious and ethnic cultural heritage of North Africa. From September 1, 2021, to September 30, 2023, the “Heritage Advocacy in North Africa” project not only met but regularly exceeded our objectives—impacting over 675 heritage sites and training nearly 1,000 individuals.

�鶹ֱ�� CHI was delighted to participate in this year’s Arab Network of Civil Society Organizations to Safeguard Cultural Heritage (ANSCH) Conference on May 28–29. As part of the conference, �鶹ֱ�� spoke on the various free resources available through �鶹ֱ�� for civil society organizations in the region. This material includes tutorials for cultural heritage surveys, funding through Shepard Urgent Action Grants, and the ability of civil society organizations and conservation projects to join the �鶹ֱ�� community as affiliates.

�鶹ֱ�� was honored to welcome our Libyan colleagues, Dr. Mohammed Faraj Mohammed Al-Fallos (Chairman, Board of Directors, Department of Antiquities), Ambassador Ashraf Mohammed Eletaeb (Director, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. Rabi’i Yousef Milad (Advisor, Department of International Law and Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and Dr. Ahmad Emrage (University of Benghazi and Member, Board of Directors, Department of Antiquities) to our office in Alexandria on April 14 for a presentation on �鶹ֱ��’s Cultural Heritage Initiatives and a productive discussion on past and future collaborations to protect, preserve, and promote Libyan cultural heritage.

For many, the name Tatooine evokes the arid landscape of the desert planet that plays such an important role in the “Star Wars” universe. However, the iconic places and landscapes of this fictional world are built upon the very real history, culture, and environment of Tunisia’s Tataouine Governorate. Since October 2024, �鶹ֱ�� and its partners at the Douiret Women’s Association (Wakry Association) have been working to preserve Ksar Douiret, one of the most iconic ksars, or fortified villages, in Tataouine Governorate, with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.