NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION OF ARMENIA

Recently, a two-day scientific conference entitled “Sushi, the Pearl of the Caucasus” has been held at “National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations” (INALCO) of France aimed at preserving the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, which officially launched the five-year “Documentation and Preservation of the Heritage of the Armenian Monuments” Project on the initiative of the Project “Monument Watch,” in cooperation with “INALCO” Foundation with the financial support of “International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas” (ALIPH), as well as “Calouste Gulbenkian” Foundation.

During the Conference the mission of the Project was presented, which is to document the cultural heritage of Artsakh, contributing to its preservation and popularization. At the Conference, a speech was delivered by Vice-President of the Senate of the French Republic Pierre Ouzoulias, Armenian Ambassador to France Hasmik Tolmajian, President of “INALCO” Jean-François Huchet and President of the “INALCO” Foundation Philippe Advani, Director of the National Heritage Institute of France Charles Personnaz, as well as representatives of “ALIPH” and “Calouste Gulbenkian” Foundation.

During the Conference reports were presented by professor-researcher of “INALCO,” Founder of the “Monument Watch” Project Anna Leyloyan-Yekmalyan, invited experts from Armenia in the field of historical and cultural heritage and French specialists. Doctor of Architecture, Professor of NUACA Chair of Theory, History and Heritage of Architecture Lyuba Kirakosyan, delivered a scientific report entitled “The Urban Development Culture of Shushi in the 18^th-19^th Centuries,” presenting the general picture of Shushi’s foundation,  construction and architectural heritage, as well as the policy pursued by Azerbaijan under the high patronage of the state.

In her speech Mrs. Kirakosyan noted: “Conditioned by the given situation, the cultural heritage of the entire territory of Artsakh, in particular Shushi and its cultural heritage, are also under threat, as Azerbaijan is constantly developing new tactics, and if in the past it was the physical destruction of all monuments, today it pursues a policy of privatization. Thus, such monuments should be taken under protection.”

The five-year “Documentation and Preservation of the Heritage of Armenian Monuments” Project envisages to create an independent academic platform, which will provide the collection of scientifically studied documentary data with the support of archaeologists, architects, specialists in cultural anthropology and armenology, as well as translators. The main goal of the Project is to identify, map and take inventory of monuments in order to preserve the heritage of Armenian monuments, preparing about two thousand digital “passports” for endangered Armenian cultural heritage sites and monuments within five years.