ICC Angkor Celebrates 25 Years
Cambodia Airports sponsored the celebration and developed an exhibit highlighting the committee’s 25 years of international cooperation.
The International Coordinating Committee for Safeguarding and Development of the Historic site of Angkor (ICC Angkor) celebrated 25 years of conservation, research and sustainable development this month during a two-day conference, which began on December 4 in Siem Reap.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay spoke at the event, while activities were concluded at a gala dinner during which guests were in the presence of King Norodom Sihamoni.
Created in 1993 as a joint venture between Cambodia, Japan and France, ICC Angkor has forged partnerships and led cooperative projects between the Kingdom’s Apsara National Authority, Unesco, and international institutions and experts, uniting all in its goal of preserving and developing the ancient Angkor site.
The past 25 years have seen Angkor reinvigorated by the committee’s preservation efforts, as the ancient city’s historic temples were removed from Unesco’s “in danger” list in 2004. Yet Angkor now faces new challenges: as the popularity of the site increases, the ICC and its partners have turned their efforts toward infrastructure development to ensure Angkor can handle the influx of tourists, implementing new practices that have helped develop the site’s capacity while simultaneously benefitting surrounding communities.
Cambodia Airports strives to contribute to both the continued development of the Kingdom’s tourism industry as well as the preservation of its past, and therefore has a vested interest in the Angkor site and ICC Angkor’s successes. To demonstrate its support, Cambodia Airports partnered with Apsara to prepare two exhibitions highlighting ICC’s accomplishments through the prism of international cooperation and discussing each country’s main projects and works.
The exhibits, which were publicly displayed for the duration of the conference at the Sokha Convention Center and in Siem Reap’s city center, have been moved to more permanent locations: one is now visible in the international departure terminal of Siem Reap International Airport, and the other will soon be on display at the Angkor Ticketing Center.
Cambodia Airports’ commitment to historical preservation
Cambodia Airports and VINCI Airports are dedicated to the preservation of the Kingdom’s culture and history. Between 2004 and 2015, the Airports funded a series of preventive archeological excavations--the first ever to be undertaken in Cambodia--prior to major expansion at Siem Reap International.
In tandem with the national authority APSARA, which oversees the protection and enhancement of the Angkor region, and the French archeological agency INRAP, Cambodia Airports commissioned the ambitious program to preserve the artifacts buried beneath the airport’s proposed building site.
The project was a success not only due to the preservation of ancient artifacts, but also to the transmission of know-how between the project’s international excavationists. French and Khmer archeologists worked together to share practices while enhancing their understanding of everyday life of the ancient Angkorian people. The relics found during the process were preserved and put on display at the National Museum in Phnom Penh, at an exhibition entitled “Life in Angkorian Times”.
The project set a precedent for responsible practices with regard to construction on heritage-rich sites across the country, and reflected Cambodia Airports’ and VINCI Airports’ longstanding commitment to social responsibility in every aspect of operations.