H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN. Secretary General

United Nations

NY NY 10017

October 4, 2013

A Petition for UN’s Proclamation of October 29th as the “International Day of Freedom of Conscience and Religion”

Your Excellency:

     We, the undersigned, have been authorized by World Cultural Heritage Voices to respectfully urge your Excellency to call on the appropriate organization of the United Nations to designate 29 of October as “International Day of Freedom of Conscience and Religion.” The World Cultural Heritage Voices is an organization dedicated to the preservation of the cultural heritage of each member of the international community, particularly those that have been ravaged by scourges of wars, sectarian violence, poverty and unrepresentative governments.

     In the last few decades the world has witnessed widespread eruptions of violent ideological and sectarian conflicts within a number of societies.  Such conflicts have, among other things, led to the rise of organized attempts to desecrate or otherwise destroy national, cultural and religious heritage of particular historical value to the community of nations. Such attempts often take place in societies where respect for individual’s freedom of conscience and religion has not yet been fully recognized as an essential principle of human rights.

Your Excellency:          

     It is upon these premises that we believe the designation of a day for celebrating the freedom of conscience and religion on the UN calendar will further signify the importance of respect for cultural and religious diversity which is the cornerstone of peaceful coexistence of peoples all over the world.

     We further believe that 29 of October is an appropriate date for celebration of this freedom, for it was on this date that Cyrus the Great issued his historic decree on religious freedom and tolerance more than 2500 years ago. More importantly, Cyrus followed his decree on tolerance, diversity of cultures and freedom of worship by deeds that included delivering the enslaved Jews in Babylon. This decree has therefore been considered by many as the earliest expression of the recognition of a fundamental human freedom. The permanent exhibition of the decree at the entrance to the chamber of the Security Council of UN bespeaks of the universal recognition of its importance.

     This year, the twenty-ninth day of October 2013, coincides with the ninth annual celebration of “Cyrus the Great Day” by Iranian people and many friends of culture across the globe. In 2005, it was the Pasargad Heritage Foundation- the first international NGO for preservation of the cultural heritage of Iran- that introduced the idea. At the time, Cyrus’ mausoleum in Iran- a monument registered on the UNESCO’s world heritage list – was in danger of being inundated and eventually destroyed. However, the hard work of this Foundation and timely intervention of UNESCO, human rights activists and organizations removed the danger and led to a world-wide recognition of Cyrus’ seminal contribution to the survival of our common human civilization. Such recognition has been further evidenced by the exhibition of Cyrus cylinder in a number of museums in major cities in United States of America. 

Your Excellency:

   At a time when, in a number of regions of the world, particularly in Africa and Asia, the basic rights and freedoms of millions of individuals have been curtailed, disregarded and violently denied by undemocratic and illegitimate governments, setting aside a day of celebration for freedoms of conscience and religion by the Parliament of Mankind will be of great and lasting importance.  Such a measure would also constitute another vivid warning to political leaders of countries whose prisons are filled with prisoners of religion, conscience and belief.

     Nevertheless, millions of people are still afraid of freely announcing their beliefs. Without any doubt, creating a special day for Freedom of Conscience and Religion would help the advancement of human rights.

     Fully cognizant of your Excellency’s abiding respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all peoples of the world, we are looking forward to receiving a favorable response to our plea. 

 
Respectfully Yours,
Shokooh Mirzadegi
Founder and Executive Director
 
 
Farid Hekmat
Legal Counsel

***

Please sign this petition

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/655/271/493/  

You may also sign without providing your address at:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/world-cultural-heritage-voices

ترجمه در خواست از سازمان ملل،

برای اعلام روز 29 اکتبر، به عنوان «روز بین المللی آزادی عقیده و مذهب»

 عالیجناب آقای بان کی مون

سازمان ملل

چهارم اکتبر 2013

درخواست از سازمان ملل، برای اعلام روز 29 اکتبر، به عنوان روز بین المللی آزادی عقیده و مذهب

عالیجناب:

ما امضا کنندگان این نامه، از جانب «صدای میراث فرهنگی جهانی» ماموریت داریم تا با احترام از آن عالیجناب مجدانه بخواهیم که از بخش مربوطه سازمان ملل بخواهند تا روز 29 اکتبر را به عنوان روز بین المللی آزادی عقیده و مذهب اعلام کنند. صدای میراث فرهنگی جهانی سازمانی است اختصاص یافته به حفظ میراث فرهنگی کلیه اعضای جامعه جهانی، به خصوص آن ها که به وسیله ی لطمه های حاصل از جنگ، خشونت های فرقه ای، فقر، و دولت های غیر انتخابی لطمه دیده اند.

در دهه های اخیر جهان شاهد طغیان گسترنده ی برخوردهای خشونت بار ایدئولوژیک و فرقه ای در میان اجتماعات مختلف بوده است. این برخوردها قبل از هر چیز منجر به پیدایش فعالیت های سازمان یافته در راستای تخریب و یا از میان بردن میراث های فرهنگی و مذهبی دارای ارزش های ويژه تاریخی برای جامعه ملل شده است. این رفتارها اغلب در جوامعی اتفاق می افتند که احترام به آزادی شخصی عقیده و مذهب هنوز به عنوان اصل گوهرین حقوق بشر کاملا به رسمیت شناخته نشده است.

عالیجناب:

 بر بنیاد این واقعیت هاست که ما باور داریم که تعیین روزی برای گرامیداشت آزادی عقیده و مذهب در تقویم سازمان ملل به اعتلای اهمیت احترام گذاری به گوناگونی فرهنگی و مذهبی که سنگ بنای همزیستی صلح آمیز مردمان سراسر جهان است کمک می کند.

ما همچنین باور داریم که روز 29 اکتبر روز مناسبی برای گرامیداشت این آزادی است چرا که در این روز بود که کورش بزرگ فرمان تاریخی خود را در 2500 سال پیش پیرامون آزادی مذهب و رواداری صادر کرد. مهم تر از آن این که او در پی صدور فرمان رواداری و پذیرش گوناگونی فرهنگ ها و آزادی نیایش، این نظر را با عمل خود به صورت آزادسازی یهودیان به بردگی گرفته شده در بابل تعقیب کرد. به همین دلیل است که این فرمان از جانب بسیارانی نخستین بیان پذیرش یک آزادی اصلی بشری تلقی شده است. به نمایش گذاشتن دایمی این فرمان در ورودیه تالار شورای امنیت سازمان ملل خود گویای شناخت جهانی اهمیت آن است.

امسال بیست و نهمین روز اکتبر 2013 با نهمین گرامیداشت سالیانه ی روز کورش بزرگ از جانب ایرانیان و مردمانی از فرهنگ های مختلف سراسر جهان است. در سال 2005 بنیاد میراث پاسارگاد که نخستین سازمان غیر انتفاعی بین المللی برای حفظ میراث فرهنگی ایران شناخته می شود فکر نام گذاری روز کورش را مطرح ساخت در آنزمان آرامگاه کورش در ایران که بنایی ثبت شده در فهرست میراث جهانی یونسکو است در خطر آب گرفتگی ویرانی ناشی از آن بود اما تلاش شدید این سازمان و دخالت به هنگام یونسکو، کنشگران و سازمان های حقوق بشری، از این خطر جلوگیری کرد و موجب آگاهی جهانی نسبت به دهش آغازین کورش در بقای تمدن مشترک انسان ها شد. شاهد چنین آگاهی گسترده ای برگزاری نمایش استوانه ی کورش در تعدادی از موزه های شهرهای بزرگ ایالات متحده آمریکا است.

عالیجناب:

 در زمانه ای که در مناطق مختلف دنیا و به خصوص در آفریقا و آسیا حقوق بنیادین و آزادی های میلیون ها انسان از آن ها دریغ شده، و مورد بی اعتنایی و انکار خشونت آمیز دولت های غیر دموکراتیک و نامشروع قرار گرفته است، گزینش روزی برای گرامیداشت عقیده و مذهب به وسیله ی پارلمان نسل بشر واجد اهمیتی عظیم و ماندگار است. این اقدام اخطاری آشکار به رهبران سیاسی کشورهایی است که زندان هاشان پر از زندانیان عقیده و مذهب و باورند.

با این وجود میلیون ها انسان هنوز از بیان آزادانه عقاید خود می هراسند و بدون شک گزینش روزی برای آزادی عقیده و مذهب موجب پیشرفت حقوق بشری خواهد شد.

با آگاهی کامل از احترامی که آن عالیجناب برای حقوق و آزادی های بنیادین همه ی مردم جهان قایل اند ما چشم انتظار دریافت پاسخ مثبتی به تقاضای خود هستیم.

با احترامات

شکوه میرزادگی

موسس و مسئول امور اجرایی  سازمان «صدای میراث فرهنگی جهانی»

فرید حکمت

وکیل سازمان «صدای میراث فرهنگی جهانی»

لطفا اگر مایل هستید این پتی شن را امضا کنید و برای دوستان تان بفرستید

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/655/271/493/

You may also sign without providing your address at:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/world-cultural-heritage-voices

It is not the first time that ancient remains are found while modern cities are being developed and expanded.  The latest news is that archaeologists working with London’s Crossrail project have uncovered 20 skulls believed to be from the Roman period.

The archeologists believe the bones were washed from a nearby burial site along one of London’s “lost” rivers.  In the last year archaeologists in London have also found about 10,000 Roman items at a nearby site. Could the latest finds give new insights into the lives of Roman people? One thing is for sure that the archaeologists believe that the Crossrail Project which currently operates over 40 worksites and archaeological investigations will lead to further discoveries hidden beneath the streets of London and say it could transform our understanding of Roman London.

The Walbrook river which was paved over in the 15th Century, divided the western and eastern parts of the city, its moist muddy walls providing exceptionally good conditions for artifacts to be preserved. The discoveries were found about 3 meters below ground and underneath the Bedlam cemetery, a burial ground where hundreds of skeletons have been unearthed. Roman law required burial outside the city, which meant there were burial sites circled around the town and the skulls were probably buried in different environments, shown by their shades of brown and grey as reported by BBC.

Even though forensic studies are still needed to be done, the scientists and archeologists say that more information about the sex and age will emerge through further investigations. For example chemical markers on the teeth could reveal where these people came from and what sorts of food they ate making it easier for students of archeology to learn more about life in that period and location.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24351460

The United Nations’ (UN) World Habitat Day is annually celebrated on the first Monday of October to reflect on the state of human settlements and people’s right to sufficient shelter. It also aims to remind people that they are responsible for the habitat of future next generations.

World Habitat Day reflects on the state of human settlements and promotes the right to sufficient shelter.

What do people do?

World Habitat Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, including in places such as Angola, China, India, Mexico, Poland, Uganda and the United States. Various activities around the world are organized to examine the problems of rapid urbanization and its impact on the environment and human poverty.  Activities may include awards ceremonies, including the “Habitat Scroll of Honour” award.

Public life

World Habitat Day is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Background

The UN’s World Habitat Day was first celebrated in 1986 with the theme “Shelter is My Right”. Nairobi was allocated as the host city for the observance that year. This annual event is held on the first Monday of October with a new theme each year. Previous themes included: “Shelter for the Homeless” (1987); “Our Neighbourhood” (1995); “Future Cities” (1997); “Safer Cities” (1998); “Women in Urban Governance” (2000); “Cities without Slums” (2001) and “Water and Sanitation for Cities” (2003).

An important highlight of the day is the “Habitat Scroll of Honour” award, which was launched by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHSP) in 1989. It is believed to be the world’s most prestigious human settlements award and aims to acknowledge initiatives that make outstanding contributions in areas such as shelter provision, highlighting the plight of the homeless, leadership in post conflict reconstruction, and developing and improving the human settlements and the quality of urban life.

Symbols

The UNHSP logo and slogan are often associated with World Habitat Day. The logo features The logo features a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of an olive tree encapsulating a circle. Within the circle is a figure of a person with his/her arms stretched out. The figure appears to be standing in front of a triangle. Underneath the image are the words “UN-HABITAT”. The slogan: “Shelter For All” is written in capital letters and sometimes appears next to the logo.

It is not a big surprise that modern buildings are designed to have a lifespan of a few decades. However, we would like archeological sites like Pompeii, to stand the test of time and be preserved for future generations. With the greatest number of UNESCO world heritage sites, Italy has long worried about how to protect its heritage sites from ruin and now the country is going to rely on the latest technology.

Italy has now started a  €105 mil wide-ranging rescue project in February which is also jointly funded by the European Union and a new director general for the “Great Pompeii project” has been appointed. The goal is to carry out sweeping restoration works and boost visitor numbers by 300,000 to 2.6 million a year by 2017.

The researchers participating in the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project intend to concentrate on one of Pompeii’s apartment buildings, known as an insula. From 2014, they will embark on an ambitious conservation program, taking in everything from elaborate murals to the smallest wall. The researchers will use nanotechnology to make the lime more fluid, thus stabilizing the frescos through backfilling. The experts intend to conserve the topmost layer of the paintings using lime and silicon compounds.  Researchers from various disciplines will be working alongside restoration experts and archeologists in the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project. The ancient city will be accurately surveyed both on the ground and through aerial photographs.

The key partners in the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project are Technische Universität München (Chair of Restoration, Art Technology and Science of Conservation), Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics), and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), which is attached to UNESCO. These institutions will be assisted by the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei and the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, which is a body of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage. The University of Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment, the Department of Ancient History at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, the German Archeological Institute (DAI) in Rome, the University of Pisa and the Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) are supporting the project as research partners.

http://www.tum.de/nc/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/short/article/31030/

Helping and Promoting Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Education: From Centre for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology, NanoScience Center, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

A nanometer is 1000 million (one billion) times smaller than the world of meters. To put this in perspective, a stack of one billion Dollars bills would reach over 63 miles high. For comparison, a Boeing 747 airliner typically operates at an altitude of 35,000 feet or approximately 6 miles. Now imagine, you are sitting 63 miles high above and looking for a Dollar bill on the ground. The one Dollar bill is the nanometer scale.

By zooming into the nanoscale, we can study how the matter actually works. By understanding the science of nano we can make objects at this incredibly small scale and solve many problems; this is called nanotechnology. Interesting things happen at the nanoscale. Materials and substances behave differently and show strange chemical and physical properties compared with their larger-particle kin. This incredibly low scale allows for unique interactions among atoms and their constituent parts and opening the path for the materials of the future. For example, carbon, as in graphite, is soft and brittle, but becomes very hard and shows many other unique properties at nanoscale in an arrangement called a nanotube with many applications spanning electronics, textile industry, construction industry and medicine. Another example is gold, an unreactive metal, which becomes chemically reactive at nanoscale.

It is not surprising that nanotechnology is radically transforming every part of our daily lives and world economies. One is being the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage and treasures. Cleaning and preservation of artworks is a complex and challenging task since a wide range of materials has been used to construct an art piece. Accordingly, applied methodologies must ensure maximum durability, chemical inertness, and compatibility with artefacts’ materials. Indeed, nanotechnology has offered unprecedented solutions for restoration of Renaissance masterpieces, old books, wall paintings and frescoes and other objects. Examples include Masaccio’s wall paintings in Cappella Brancacci, Beato Angelico’s wall paintings in San Marco Abbey, cave murals of the Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth, and consolidation of the murals of the archaeological site of Calakmul, Mayapan and other regions of Mexico. So how does the nanoscience of art restoration work?

Consolidation and protection of the wall paintings and limestone

Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) was often used as a binder in wall paintings and frescoes. The size of ordinary calcium hydroxide particles is very large and when applied to artefacts it leaves a white glaze over. Instead, calcium hydroxide nanoparticles are now being used as effective agents in wall painting restoration. Because of their very small size, these nanoparticles penetrate the painted surface layers better and have superior optical properties over ordinary large-sized calcium hydroxide particles. Indeed, calcium hydroxide nanoparticles do not leave visual residues on wall paintings and frescoes after application.

Wall paintings of Masaccio’s in Cappella Brancacci (left column) and Beato Angelico in San Marco Abbey (right column), Florence, Italy, before and after nanoparticle technology treatment

Preservation of paper and wood artefacts

Acidity causes degradation of the artefact. Nanoparticles are also helping to de-acidify paper and wood artefacts and diminish acid formation. For example, the wood in the Swedish Vasa Warship, sank during its maiden voyage in 1628, shows high acidity, due to oxidation of sulfur inside cellulose fibers. This generates sulfuric acid, which threatens the preservation of Vasa. Magnesium and calcium hydroxide nanoparticles have offered simple and cost-effective ways to fight sulphuric acid in the wood, which can be applied by either brushing, spraying or immersing the object in the nanoparticle suspension. The nanoscale size improves material spreading and penetration, and enhances reactivity (deacidification). Here, magnesium hydroxide generates magnesium carbonates on exposure to the carbon dioxide in air. Similarly, same type of treatments, and the generated magnesium carbonate, reduces the rate of oxidative degradation of cellulose in paper, caused by light irradiation, thereby enhancing preservation of old paper documents.

Cleaning of art-work

Since 1960’s polymeric resins have been used for coating and protection of canvas paintings. Unfortunately, these coatings generated a yellow tinge to artefacts. Also, once the polymer resins aged, they lost their chemical and mechanical properties resulting in further damage to the paintings. One such example is a coating material called Paraloid B37, which has been very difficult to remove from the surface of treated artefacts. Here, nanotechnology has offered another remarkable solution. Scientists have designed a lightweight nano-magnetic sponge/gel, which can be loaded with safe chemicals that can draw the material to be removed from the artefact surface. Since nanomagnetic particles have superior magnetic properties compared with its bulk material, the gel can easily be removed at distance with a permanent magnet without touching. The ‘magnetic sponge’ can also be cut and shaped for application to sculptures, thus offering flexibility in the cleaning and preservation processes of many artefacts.

Ongoing advances

Silver nanoparticles embedded in polymeric resins exhibit antibacterial and optical properties, which are also receiving attention for preservation and protection of cultural heritage.

Another interesting approach is ‘atomic layer deposition’, which creates a transparent metal oxide films that can be applied to an artefact (such as silverware) and reduce the rate of corrosion.

Scholarly readings:

P. Baglioni, G. Rodorico (2006) Soft and hard nanomaterials for restoration and conservation of cultural heritage. Soft Matter 2, 293–303.

M. Baglioni, D. Rengstl, D. Berti, M. Bonini, R. Giorgi, P. Baglioni (2010) Removal of acrylic coatings from works of art by means of nanofluids: understanding the mechanism at the nanoscale. Nanoscale 2, 1723–1732.

Further Links:

http://archive.org/details/ScienceNationsilverSaver-NanotechnologyKeepsTheShineOnSilver

http://www.nanoforart.eu/