Egyptian ministry, UNESCO launch 'Unite 4 Heritage' Wednesday

In cooperation with UNESCO, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities will be launching Wednesday an international campaign to protect cultural property.

Themed "Unite 4 Heritage", the campaign will be launched from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo in the presence of UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and representatives of the organization here, as well as representatives of the UN office in the Egyptian capital.

The campaign will be launched on the sidelines of an international conference that will kick start on Wednesday to focus on threatened cultural property, Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh el Damati said Monday.

A large number of Egyptian and foreign youth will stage a silent protest outside the museum while holding hands in a show of unity and solidarity among world peoples to protect their cultural property in the face of "ignorant attempts" to tamper with their identities, Damati said.

The campaign will be launched from the Museum of Islamic Art with the aim to send a clear message that it is one of the most important Islamic museums, not only in Egypt but worldwide, the minister added.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo had itself come under an ignorant terrorist attack in 2014 that caused great damage to the building and artifact, Damati noted.