Minister of Culture and Arts, Soraya Mologi, emphasized that cultural heritage is not merely a collection of artifacts and antiquities but an integral part of “our identity and history.”
In her speech today, Tuesday, during the opening of the first training workshop on protecting national cultural heritage for judges at the Palace of Culture Moufdi Zakaria in the capital, Mologi asserted that the responsibility of protecting cultural heritage is a national duty and a major priority for the Algerian state.
The minister highlighted that the directives of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune are aimed at “strengthening the protection of our cultural heritage, working to recover, preserve, and enhance cultural properties, as they represent the essence of our identity, authenticity, memory, and civilization.”
She added that the Ministry of Culture and Arts places great importance on quality training in the field of cultural heritage protection and combating the illicit trafficking of cultural properties. She confirmed that in recent years, several specialized courses and intensive technical training sessions have been programmed for the benefit of security partners working in the field of cultural heritage protection.
Mologi noted that, thanks to joint efforts with all security partners over the past four years, 123 cases have been monitored, 96 of which have been brought to justice, leading to the recovery of 31,507 movable cultural properties. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, eight cases were recorded nationwide, resulting in the recovery of 1,262 cultural properties.
Mologi pointed out that the workshop would be an important platform for exchanging expertise and knowledge and an opportunity to share experiences in facing the various challenges in protecting cultural heritage and discussing ways to counter any attempts to undermine it.
In her remarks, the Minister of Culture revealed the main goal of organizing the workshop: “to enhance awareness and knowledge about the importance of protecting cultural heritage and to reaffirm the crucial role of judges in this vital field.”
The workshop will review relevant laws and regulations and address the legal and knowledge-based challenges judges face in this domain. It will also provide a space for sharing ideas and successful experiences in implementing the law to protect cultural heritage.
The minister emphasized that achieving the workshop’s goals requires serious commitment and joint efforts from everyone, urging all participants to actively and effectively engage in the training workshop.
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