SCRIBE : The Magazine of The American Research Center in Egypt : Fall 2023 | ISSUE12

Abstract

Updates on excavation, conservation, and research projects developing across Egypt Dr. Louise Bertini Executive Director ARCE in action on our 75th year W elcome to the new issue of Scribe magazine! We hope you had a great summer and are now ready to hear the latest interesting news about ARCE’s ongoing work in Egypt and about our plans for the final months of our 75th anniversary. Over the last six months, ARCE staff, officers, members, and our partners have been organizing and hosting events, developing our library and online resources, and working with excavators, academics, conservation experts, officials, and heritage management teams from Egypt and around the world. In May, we hosted our 74th Annual Meeting in the Minneapolis Marriot City Center hotel and conference venue, followed the weekend after by the virtual online conference. Both events were very successful. In addition to a slate of outstanding presentations, attendees were treated to special panel sessions and an exclusive museum workshop entitled ‘Engaging Egypt and Africa in Museum Settings’. The keynote address was a joint presentation by Dr. Betsy Bryan and Dr. Fayza Haikal, who recounted deeply personal stories in their talk entitled “Women in Egyptology: Long Career Reflections”. This was delivered at the magnificent Minneapolis Institute of Art and surely left a lasting impression on all who were in attendance. Next year, the 75th annual in-person meeting will take place in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, from April 19th to 21st at the Omni William Penn hotel. In Egypt, ARCE hosted the Cultural Property Protection conference with delegates attending from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Palestine. This was made possible thanks to generous funding from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA), the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), and the US Department of State. The conference focused on “Sustainable Documentation and Inventories Management” and ended on a promising note where recommendations were drafted based on more than thirty presentations by regional experts. Rec- ommendations included the formation of an “Arab World Heritage” network, increasing collaboration through regional joint projects, and the development of regional training initiatives.