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Windows on the Cultural Heritage
of Yemen
A Symposium
September 5-6, 2003
Washington, D.C.
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The Event
On Friday September 5th and Saturday September 6th, 2003, the Ambassador of Yemen to the United States, in cooperation with the Freer Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution and the American Institute for Yemeni Studies, hosted a two-day symposium on the cultural heritage of Yemen at the Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
One of the objectives of the Symposium was to introduce Yemen and its rich culture to the U.S. public, and hence lead to a better understanding of the people and culture of Yemen. Since the tragic attacks of September 11th, unfortunate stereotypes about Yemen and the larger region have been reinforced for the U.S. public. The Symposium therefore was an opportunity to foster and improve existing dialogue, exchange, and cooperation between the United States and Yemen, especially through culture, education, and development programs.
The Symposium program brought together experts on Yemen in fields such as architecture, archaeology, crafts, restoration, history, music, and development cooperation from different parts of the world, including Yemen, the U.S., Canada, France, and Germany. They discussed their contribution to the cultural landscape of Yemen and, they presented ideas on how to strengthen international collaboration in their specific fields.
Background
The government of the Republic of Yemen is increasingly recognizing the importance of
the cultural heritage of Yemen and the role it has to play in the country's future. The
international donor community, in particular the U.S., The Netherlands, Japan, France,
Italy, and Germany as well as the World Bank, is supporting the Yemeni government to this end through various significant projects.
The organization and support of the National Museum in Sana'a, for many years a major
project of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sana'a, has recently also attracted the interest of the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, which has designated funds for restoring and furnishing the museum library as well as providing it with computers and a database system. It will also give professional training to staff members of the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums to enable them to run the library, an essential requirement for achieving sustainability. As part of this project the U.S. embassy -- working with the Yemeni-American Language Institute (YALI) in Sanaa -- has already provided two years of English language training for the museum team. This training will facilitate contacts with counterparts at museums and cultural institutions abroad, in particular in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The National Museum project is a good example of donors' contribution and cooperation in the field of culture.
The American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) is also actively supporting cultural
heritage projects in Yemen, in a small way through its own federally-funded programs and
more significantly as a platform for international donors' cooperation, combining both
public and private resources. Since 1996 AIYS has administered significant funding from
the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sana'a for the restoration of the medieval Amiriya madrasa in Rada, and for the creation of its site museum, a long-term project jointly funded by the Dutch and Yemeni governments. The conservation of the Amiriya's extraordinary mural paintings, which will be the last task of this restoration project, has more widely-based donor support. The Dutch embassy, the Social Fund for Development, and the Yemeni government are covering the cost of the painting conservation which is being carried out by an Italian team of expert conservators. During the conservation campaign the team is also providing on-site training in painting conservation for staff members of the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums; the "U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation" is covering the cost of that on-site training. In 2001 the same fund made a grant to support the exploration of a pre-Islamic site in Marib, and in 2003 it agreed to support emergency restoration measures at the Ishshah Palace, a private house museum in Tarim.
In May 2001 eminent business persons in Yemen created the Foundation for the
Preservation of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage (FPACH; see the announcement in Yemen
Update 43 [2001] 63), making it possible to involve the private sector
in Yemen systematically in cultural heritage projects. This development plus the growing involvement of the Social Fund for Development in cultural projects, both as a significant counterpart for foreign projects and as an initiator of new projects, will encourage a successful public-private partnership that should become an important factor in connecting with cultural foundations in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Although there have been these positive developments in the field of culture, the Yemeni government believes that the sustainability of cultural projects must be further
strengthened. A feasible approach is to intensify contacts, cooperation, and collaboration between Yemeni authorities and foreign institutions, in particular museums and cultural heritage foundations, not only in other Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan, but also in the U.S. and Europe. The Netherlands government, through its embassy in Sana'a, has encouraged this approach, not only through its support of cultural heritage projects within Yemen but also by initiating and supporting a series of symposia offering a balanced overview of Yemen's cultural heritage in Germany, in The Netherlands, and now in the U.S. These events address the problem that to the European and American public in general Yemen and its cultural heritage are barely known -- even for experts this issue is often linked to clichés (such as "the country of the Queen of Sheba") that do not reflect the great cultural variety Yemen offers.
Yemen hopes to initiate and encourage further cooperation and collaboration between
institutions in Yemen and in the U.S., paving the way for institutions in the U.S. to work with counterparts in Yemen. It is also hoped to develop joint strategies for preserving and promoting of Yemen's cultural heritage, including through the growing economic importance of cultural tourism.
Practical Matters
The Symposium was organized by Dr. Brigitte Boulad-Kiesler (Advisor to the Minister of Culture of Yemen, to the Foundation for the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural
Heritage, and to the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sana'a), working with a committee
consisting of Ms. Boushra Almutawakel; Dr. Maria deJ. Ellis (AIYS Executive Director); and Ms. Amal Abul-Hajj Hull (Islamic art historian and wife of the U.S. ambassador to Yemen). Mr. Jalal Yacoub of the Yemeni Embassy helped immensely by designing the symposium's official website and on-line registration process, hosted on the embassy's website. The Foundation for the Preservation of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in Sana'a and the Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, Mr. John Balian, coordinated arrangements in Yemen.
The Symposium was made possible through the cooperation of the Freer Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution, the American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS), with the embassy of Yemen in Washington D.C. and the U.S. embassy in Sana'a. Financial support came from the U.S. State Department, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sana'a, the government of Yemen, the Fund for Social Development (Sana'a), board members
of the Foundation for the Preservation of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage (FPACH, Sana'a), and from corporate sponsors including Consolidated Contractors International Company (Sana'a), Contrack International, the Hunt Oil Company, Occidental Petroleum and Gas Corporation; and the World Bank office in Sana'a. A number of other organizations also lent their support; among them are: the Bead Museum (Washington DC), the Council of American Overseas Research Centers; Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies; the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin; the Textile Museum; and the World Bank InfoShop (Washington DC).
Staff members at the Yemen Embassy in Washington DC and Yemeni residents of the area provided many hours of volunteer labor and helped make the event and its associated off-site activities a resounding success. Attendance at the Symposium was free of charge and overflow crowds attended both days. Associated activities included a lecture and exhibit at the Bead Museum, a Yemen Day at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and a musical performance on the mall by the ensemble of Yemeni singers as part of the International Child Art Festival.
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