This presentation will begin with an overview of Yemen’s most significant World Heritage sites, including those recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, as well as elements of intangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO. It will then provide a brief assessment of the current state of Yemen’s culture and heritage sector, highlighting the importance of strengthening cultural identity among future generations and emphasizing the role of culture as a bridge for dialogue, resilience, and social cohesion during times of conflict.

The second part of the presentation will explore the experience of Heritage for Peace in Yemen in recent years, focusing on support for local communities, heritage professionals, and cultural institutions affected by armed conflict. It will address initiatives related to heritage documentation, local capacity building, digital technologies, and cooperation between local and international actors. 

The presentation will also reflect on the challenges of working in a context marked by war, humanitarian crisis, and institutional fragility, where cultural heritage faces destruction, looting, and rapid deterioration. Finally, it will examine the role of heritage as a tool for social resilience, collective memory, and peacebuilding.
 
Mohammed Jumeh is the Ambassador and the Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Yemen to UNESCO.  A Yemeni poet, he has published three collections of poetry, as well as numerous other published and translated poems. Prior to his diplomatic career, he worked as a journalist and columnist for several Arabic and Yemeni newspapers published. He holds a PhD in literary translation from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.

Isber Sabrine is a Syrian-Spanish archaeologist and researcher at the Milá y Fontanals Institution for Humanities Research (IMF-CSIC), as well as founder and president of Heritage for Peace, an international non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting endangered cultural sites, fostering local and international cooperation, and supporting heritage recovery in post-conflict contexts. Sabrine holds a PhD in Heritage Management and has worked on numerous projects dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage across the Middle East. His work focuses on community-based approaches to cultural preservation and on the role of heritage in reconstruction and reconciliation processes.