Croatia and Spain will jointly explore the underwater world and protect the underwater cultural heritage

In the premises of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Kingdom of Spain in Madrid, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed on July 19 between the International Center for Underwater Archeology in Zadar and the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Kingdom of Spain in the field of protection and preservation of underwater cultural heritage. 

 

The memorandum of cooperation was signed by the director of MCPA Zadar, Ph.D. Mladen Pešić and director of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Kingdom of Spain, Mr. Isaac Sastre de Diego.

 

 

The two friendly countries are signatories to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, adopted at the 31st session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris in 2001, and are committed to promoting the preservation and protection of underwater cultural heritage.

 

This Memorandum of Cooperation was signed for a period of six years, and the signatories will cooperate with each other in the preservation and protection of underwater cultural heritage in accordance with the relevant conventions of UNESCO and other international organizations of which they are members in the field of culture and education. 

 

The signatories of the Memorandum will encourage joint projects in the field of underwater cultural heritage, science and research, and support activities within the framework of European and international programs and initiatives of the European Union.

 

 

In accordance with the traditionally good cultural ties between the two countries and mutual interest in continued cooperation, it is expected that the signatories, within their financial resources, will ensure full cooperation and engagement in several areas. 

 

It is expected to implement joint programs of education, research and capacity building, exchange of expert knowledge and publications, organization of symposia, conferences, short courses and meetings in the field of underwater cultural heritage research.

 

On the Spanish side, the signing was attended by the Head of Cultural Heritage Management, Maria Agúndez Leria, the head of the UNESCO Conventions Office, Pablo Jimenez, and the director of the ARQVA Museum, Rafael Sabio. 

 

 

On the Croatian side, along with the Director of the Center, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia to the Kingdom of Spain H.E. attended the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation. Nives Malenica, director of the Directorate for International Cultural Cooperation and European Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Media Anja Jelavić, chief conservator of the Ministry of Culture and Media Davor Trupković, diplomatic adviser Daniela Lučev.

 

At the proposal of the Spanish side to sign an international act on promoting cooperation in the field of underwater cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Media proposed that MCPA Zadar be the signatory. The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed on the basis of the Interstate Agreement on Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation from 1997, with the aim of creating a framework for cooperation, especially in relation to the discovery, protection, management and preservation of underwater archaeological sites.