From May 24th to 26th, 2016, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) will meet to discuss the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the U.S. and Greece (the Hellenic Republic), by which the United States would help preserve this country’s rich archaeological heritage. This is an important opportunity for archaeologists and the general public to show their support for the renewal as CPAC has called for written comments from the public. The deadline…
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met from June 2-4, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Thank you to everyone who submitted letters of support. During this meeting, CPAC began its discussion concerning the new request from the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, which seeks to establish import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material. While some of this discussion was closed to the public, an open session to receive oral comments on this request was…
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) will be holding a closed meeting on Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14, 2014 to conduct interim reviews of two Memoranda of Understanding currently in place between the United States and a foreign country. The first MoU is the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Italy Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of…
The U.S. State Department announced that there will be a closed meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee on Thursday, October 25, 2012, and on Friday, October 26, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Committee will conduct interim reviews of two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that the U.S. holds with foreign countries in order to protect their cultural patrimony from being illegally imported into the U.S. The MOUs are: Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of…
Thank you to all who wrote letters in support of these MoU extensions! From April 24-27, 2012, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to consider renewing the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Republics of Guatemala and Mali by which the United States would help preserve these countries' rich archaeological heritages. Guatemala is also requesting an amendment that would include the colonial Period in the MoU. Public comments are an important statement of…
The current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Cyprus, is up for renewal in 2012; each MoU comes-up for renewal every five years. AIA members testified before the Cultural Property Advisory Committee of the State Department in support of renewal. This year, over a dozen experts – former diplomats, scholars, field archaeologists, art historians – testified in the public hearing before the Committee on January 18 (many more submitted letters to the public…
Thank you very much to all of you who showed your support by sending letters to Washington! From January 17-20, 2012, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to consider renewing the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Republics of Cyprus and Peru by which the United States would help preserve these countries' rich archaeological heritages. Public comments are an important statement of support for the MoUs. The Public Notice also indicated that during the…
Thank you for supporting the preservation of Bolivian archaeological heritage by writing a letter to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee urging them to renew the bilateral agreement with Bolivia! On June 27-28, 2011, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to consider renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Bolivia by which the United States will help preserve the country's rich archaeological heritage. Your letters are an important statement of…
Thank you to the hundreds of people who showed their support by submitting letters to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee urging them to create a bilateral agreement with Greece to protect Greek cultural heritage! On October 12, 2010, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to consider establishing a new Memorandum of Understanding with Greece (the Hellenic Republic) by which the United States will help preserve the country's rich archaeological heritage. Eleven AIA…
AIA First Vice-President, Elizabeth Bartman's personal account of the meeting The State Department’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC, not to be confused with the better-known CPAC or Conservative Political Action Committee) met on May 6, 2010, to consider renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the U.S. and Italy in 2001 and extended in 2006. The committee had already held an interim review of the MoU in November, 2009 (for a first-person account by…
Cultural Property Advisory Committee U.S. Department of State 301 4th Street S.W. Washington, D.C. 20547 Dear Committee Members: As President of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), I am writing to express my strong support on behalf of the AIA for the inclusion of coins as a designated category of archaeological material in the extension of the bilateral agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States under Section 303 of the Convention on…
Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. Algeria has recently requested that the U.S. renew the bilateral agreement that protects their cultural resources from being illegally imported into the United States, and India has requested a brand new agreement. If you appreciate the cultural heritage of Algeria and/or India, you can help preserve the past now. We held a live webinar on the archaeology of Algeria and India…
Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. Honduras has recently requested that the U.S. renew the bilateral agreement that protects their cultural resources from being illegally imported into the United States, and Nepal has requested a brand new agreement. If you appreciate the cultural heritage of Honduras and/or Nepal, you can help preserve the past now. We held a webinar on the archaeology of Honduras and Nepal on…
Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. Bulgaria and China have recently requested that the U.S. renew the bilateral agreement that protects their cultural resources from being illegally imported into the United States. If you appreciate the cultural heritage of Bulgaria and/or China, you can help preserve the past this month. Write a letter of support for the renewal of US bilateral agreements to prohibit the illegal importation…
Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. If you appreciate the cultural heritage of Cambodia, North Macedonia, and/or Uzbekistan, there are a few ways you can help preserve the past this month. Join the AIA on Thursday, January 19 on Zoom for a virtual trip to Cambodia, North Macedonia, and Uzbekistan Write a letter of support for the renewal of US bilateral agreements to prohibit the illegal importation…
Last week, President Biden announced his intent to appoint three AIA members to serve on the United States Cultural Property Advisory Committee, better known as CPAC. Alexandra Jones, a current AIA Academic Trustee, was appointed Chair. Jones is also Professor of Practice in History and Anthropology at Goucher College and Founder and CEO of Washington, D.C. based Archaeology in the Community. Alex W. Barker, a member of the AIA's Cultural Heritage Committee, was appointed Member.…
Your experience matters! Join our letter writing campaign to save a place you love. If you appreciate the cultural heritage of Belize and/or Libya, there are a few ways you can help preserve the past this month. Join the AIA on Thursday, July 14 on Zoom for a virtual trip to Belize Write a letter of support for the renewal of US bilateral agreements to prohibit the illegal importation of cultural resources from Belize and…
Nancy Wilkie (1942-2021) American Archaeologist, Educator, and Tireless Advocate for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Image provided by Nancy Wilkie to the AIA Tour program.Credit: photographer unknown During her lifelong archaeological career, Nancy Wilkie worked on projects all over the world and tirelessly advocated for the preservation of cultural heritage. A longtime member and supporter of the AIA, Nancy served on the AIA’s Governing Board and as the Institute’s president from 2000-2003. Sadly, Nancy passed…
It is with great sadness that we share the news of Nancy Wilkie’s passing, and offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues. Nancy passed away on Monday, January 18, 2021. Nancy Wilkie served as the president of the AIA from 2000 to 2003. She was also a founding member of the US Committee of the Blue Shield, and president from 2013 to 2020. Nancy held degrees from Stanford University and the University…
As part of the Archaeological Institute of America’s ongoing efforts to advocate for the protection of cultural heritage, the AIA has submitted letters to the State Department’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) in support of requests made by the Republic of Chile and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for U.S. import restrictions on archaeological materials from their respective nations. Both countries submitted their requests pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the…
