• January 8, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM
• Continental 8/9, Ballroom Level

1B: Restoring Cultural Heritage in Northwest Syria: Recent Collaborations and Lessons Learned (Workshop)

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Organizers:
Emily Wiley, Rutgers University, and Corinne Muller, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, Penn Museum

Panelists:
Ayman al-Nabo, Idleb Antiquities Center, Claudia Bührig, Damascus Branch Office and Research Center of the DAI, Ammar Kannawi, Syrians for Heritage (SIMAT), Brian I. Daniels, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, and Corinne Muller, Penn Cultural Heritage Center

Overview Statement:
In Syria, the cultural heritage field is at a pivotal phase following the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024. After more than a decade of armed conflict, civil unrest, and repressive governance, cultural organizations and cultural rights defenders face both significant challenges in rebuilding the sector and exciting opportunities to reclaim and reassert Syria’s global prominence culturally and the importance of cultural heritage to local communities. In this workshop, panelists will discuss current efforts to restore cultural heritage in Syria, highlighting international collaborations.

This workshop convenes experts from allied organizations invested in Syrian archaeology and heritage preservation to discuss the successes and challenges of their projects, which may serve to inform further efforts on international collaborations around cultural heritage, especially as the sector rebuilds in Syria. It will include a major update from the Idleb Antiquities Center (IAC) and Syrians for Heritage (SIMAT), who in 2025 finished restoring the Idleb Museum in Idlib, Syria, to safe and renewed conditions in partnership with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and with support from the US ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Formerly an epicenter of cultural activity and scholarship in northwest Syria as the repository of the renowned Ebla tablets collection, the Idleb Museum suffered extensive damage during the Türkiye-Syria earthquake in February 2023 as well as from bombardments, vandalism, and looting during the civil war, and was operationally closed. The German Archaeological Institute will present on the current activity of its Damascus branch, which is adjusting to the new political reality and the potential for renewed engagement.

This forum will provide colleagues working in northwest Syria an opportunity to exchange knowledge about current threats to cultural heritage and ongoing development, reconstruction, restoration, and protection interventions. Brief reports will address topics such as the diverse insights on the Idleb Museum project from the collaborating teams at the University of Pennsylvania, SIMAT, and the IAC. The goal of this workshop is to provide an important update on cultural preservation in Syria, presenting SIMETI as one model for other Syrian cultural institutions and sites in immediate need of rehabilitation.