On 9 May 2024, at our headquarters in Rome, ICCROM and ACCU Nara (the Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office of the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bolster cultural heritage protection efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. This agreement signifies the continuation and strengthening of their collaboration, which has been ongoing since 2000. 

Both institutions are poised to embark on a collaborative journey focusing on conserving and managing archaeological sites and wooden-built heritage. This commitment is exemplified through their joint efforts in organizing the Group Training Course and International Conference in Nara, Japan.  

The Group Training Course will feature alternating themes, covering Archaeological Site Management and Conservation of Wooden Built Heritage. Meanwhile, the International Conference will serve as a platform for heritage experts from Japan and beyond to convene, sharing insights and deliberating on current trends, issues, and initiatives related to heritage protection in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. 

ICCROM's Director-General, Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral, thanked ACCU Nara for its longstanding cooperation, stating, "Our partnership and friendship as two organizations with a common vision now spans decades. We are pleased to see this not only continue, but flourish as the conservation practice evolves and adapts to contemporary needs and sustainable trajectory of change towards greater impact. We thank ACCU Nara for its steadfast commitment to the development of heritage conservation in Asia-Pacific". 

Director of ACCU Nara, Morimoto Susumu, also expressed his sincere appreciation to ICCROM for its invaluable support in both designing and implementing capacity-building programmes for heritage practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region. He particularly emphasized the pivotal role played by ICCROM experts who have been actively involved in ACCU's training initiatives since the organization's inception, generously sharing their expertise and providing valuable guidance. In closing Mr Morimoto remarked, "ACCU owes a tremendous gratitude to ICCROM's unwavering cooperation. We are delighted to reinforce our ongoing collaboration by formalizing this Memorandum of Understanding."