• Address:

    Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH), Erbil, Iraq

  • Client:

    NHI – The National Heritage Institute of the Czech Republic

  • Description of the works:

    Advanced Training Course for specialists from the field of the Monument Care of Mosul and northern Iraq

  • Realization:

    2021

After a one-year break caused by the global pandemic Covid-19, it was possible to implement an advance education program in Iraq only in 2021. The course was implemented on the basis of assistance from the Government of the Czech Republic, within the framework of the implementation of the Iraq Assistance Program. GEMA ART International prepared the course in close cooperation with the Czech National Heritage Institute and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. The four-week course was held from September 5th to September 30th 2021 at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) based in Erbil.

The program of the advanced restoration course 2021 was based on the experience of the previous course held in 2019. The main emphasis was on practical teaching focused on the current needs of the Iraqi conservation staff and teachers at the University of Mosul and the University of Koya. Theoretical lectures were complemented by extended fieldwork using modern methods of documentation of monuments, their registration, new procedures, technologies and materials for conservation, restoration and preventive care of monuments. Practical exercises took place both in the laboratories of the Iraqi Institute and in the field at archaeological and historical sites at the citadel of Erbil, the shrine of the Prophet Nahum in Alqosh and the caravanserai in Lalish, the holy site of the Yazidis.
The lecturers were again experts from the Czech National Heritage Institute, GEMA ART International, lecturers from the Faculty of Cyril and Methodius at Palacky University in Olomouc, the Faculty of Restoration at the University of Pardubice in Litomyšl, the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, the University of Ústí nad Labem and the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences. The training program was attended by staff of the heritage inspectorates of Mosul, Erbil, Acre, Garmiyan and Alqosh, and teachers from the Faculty of Archaeology of the University of Mosul and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Koya.

Media
Facebook: Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage – video.

The National Heritage Institute – Another NHI training course for local conservationists held in Iraq – see the article.