Rome, Sana-A dialogue symposium was held on Monday on cultural heritage and human rights during the screening of the documentary film “The Oath of Cyriac” on the first day of the “Damascene Rose in Sanremo 2024” activities in Italy, which is held by the Syrian Trust for Development, in cooperation with Santagata Organization for the Economics of Culture,, the Villa Ormond Institute, and the International Institute of Humanitarian Law.

The symposium, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by approximately 200 students from schools, graduates of heritage institutes, specialists in international law, and professors of cultural heritage in Italy, and Alessio Re from the Santagata Foundation, Gian Luca Beruto from the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Dr. Hammam Saad from Syrian Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, and Reem Saqr from the Syrian Trust for Development.

The symposium highlighted the fundamental relationship between cultural heritage, one of the principles respected by human rights, and the failure of international institutions in their response to the attack on the most important sites inscribed on the World Heritage Lists, as happened in the ancient city of Palmyra and the ancient city of Aleppo.

The dialogue also addressed how to mitigate the effects of the siege and unjust sanctions imposed on Syria, which deprived Syrian society of the basics of life and livelihoods, and prevented civil institutions from exercising their role in protecting and rehabilitating Syrian heritage sites.

One of the most important messages of the film “The Oath of Cyriac,” which was the basis from which the dialogue began today, is the role that heritage plays in preserving the identity, history, and cultural heritage of societies, and what workers in the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria did in preserving cultural identity during the war that Syria was subjected to.

The film “The Oath of Cyriac”, which is classified as a documentary drama and has won more than 20 international awards in international festivals, is directed by Olivier Bourgeois and produced by the Syrian Trust for Development.

The film tells the true story of Syrian heroes who defended the identity and memory of the Syrian people in the face of terrorism, which affected the human legacy in Aleppo city.

Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon