Zahi Hawass appointed Cultural Heritage Ambassador

CAIRO – 10 April 2017: The International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development (IFPSD) appointed former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities and Egyptologist Zahi Hawass as Cultural Heritage Ambassador for the United Nations based on his major excavation contributions, Youm7 reported Saturday.

The appointment came amid the ongoing demolishing of archeological sites in Syria and Iraq as a result of political unrest, and the fact that such sites need urgent preservation.

Hawas explained that he will work to preserve those sites through collaborative work with the U.N.’s cultural organization and the Arab League. Archeologists in Syria and Iraq will be trained to reconstruct the sites and store ancient artifacts in safe museums in their land of origin, according to Youm7.

Additionally, Hawass expressed his absolute opposition to sending any of the artifacts to any Western museum, emphasizing their need to remain in their native lands.

Hawass will be officially appointed as an ambassador at the U.N. headquarters in New York, where he is set to give an acceptance speech on April 19.