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HAITI / CULTURAL HERITAGE
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STORY: HAITI / CULTURAL HERITAGE
TRT: 1.01
SOURCE: MINUSTAH / UNESCO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: FILE
FILE - UNESCO - 9, 10 MARCH 2010, HAITI
1. Close-up, UNESCO plaque at the office in Haiti
2. Med shot, Bokova meeting local UNESCO staff
3. Various shots, Bokova looking at destroyed buildings
FILE - MINUSTAH - 14 JANUARY 2010, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
4. Zoom out, Haitian National Palace (seat of government) in shambles
5. Wide shot, ruins of with Ministry of Justice in the background
6. Wide shot, rubble of the national Court (Palais de Justice)
7. Pan right, residents walk by destroyed block of ministry buildings
8. Wide shot, exterior of Ministry of Finance
An international committee backed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is meeting in Paris to decide what steps to take to protect Haiti’s cultural heritage, much of which was seriously damaged by January’s devastating earthquake.
More than 200,000 people were killed in the magnitude-7.0 earthquake, which left 1.3 million more homeless and destroyed countless buildings, including Government facilities, hospitals and schools.
In addition, the quake severely damaged many of Haiti’s cultural infrastructure, affecting all historic buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, including the Cathedral, the National Palace and the Palace of Justice.
Among the towns also suffering extensive damage was Jacmel, in the southeast, which was founded in the late 17th century and is on Haiti’s tentative list of sites to be put forward for consideration for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Chaired by the Caribbean nation’s Minister of Culture Marie-Laurence Jocelyn-Lasseque, the International Coordination Committee (ICC) was set up by UNESCO to support Haitian authorities restore their country’s cultural heritage.
During its first meeting, the Committee will identify priorities for the reconstruction of buildings, natural sites and damaged historic urban centres. It will also discuss how to restore museums, art galleries, archives and libraries.
Back in March, UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova visited Haiti to witness the country's largely destroyed cultural heritage now threatened by vandalism, looting and illicit art trafficking.
