On Wednesday, 8th April 2021, The American University of Rome was honored and delighted to welcome Dr. Rohit Jigyasu as a guest speaker for a seminar entitled 'Rebuilding Mosul - from the ground up' hosted by the MA in Sustainable Cultural Heritage.

Dr. Rohit Jigyasu
Dr. Rohit Jigyasu

Presenting online to an audience of over 450 drawn from across the globe, Dr. Jigyasu discussed his current project, a multi-agency initiative led by ICCROM (the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), that aims to work from a community level to give local people the skills to lead restoration projects.

"Mosul is now being rebuilt and whilst much has been lost forever, there is now the opportunity to give back to the people of Mosul their history. It is a mammoth task and one that will necessitate many decisions about what can and what should be saved. We know from other conflict areas that restoring past memories can be an important part of peacebuilding, but it can also be a fraught process".

Dr. Jigyasu is a specialist in architectural conservation with a doctorate from Trondheim University, Norway. He is an expert in disaster risk management and from 2010 to 2018 he held the UNESCO Chair at the Institute for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. His research focuses on using traditional knowledge in disaster risk management plans.

You can view the recording of the seminar below.