Venezuela and UNESCO activate technical plan to protect cultural heritage affected by earthquakes

Published at: 19/07/2026 06:16 PM

The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) agreed on a technical cooperation plan to address and protect the cultural heritage affected by the earthquakes of last June 24.

According to information from Venezolana de Televisión, the decision was taken during a meeting held at the National Art Gallery (GAN), in Caracas, led by the Minister of Popular Power for Culture, Raúl Cazal; the director of the UNESCO Regional Office, Anne Lemaistre; and the Venezuelan ambassador to UNESCO, Ernesto Villegas.

The meeting made it possible to define immediate actions to evaluate the damage caused by the earthquake, with priority given to the structural diagnosis of the Liberator Forum, a complex that houses the General Archive of the Nation and the National Library of Venezuela. As part of the preventive measures, 287 volumes of the Simon Bolivar Archive and the work La Colombeia by Francisco de Miranda were protected, both registered in the UNESCO Memory of the World Program.

The authorities reported that the transfer of these documents was carried out under strict international inventory, packaging and conservation protocols to security vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela, as well as to the headquarters of the National Library and the General Archive of the Nation.

They also presented a balance sheet of the inspections carried out in Caracas and La Guaira, in addition to the cultural activities carried out in the temporary camps for affected families.

During the meeting, it was also recalled that the Memory of the World declaration protects other Venezuelan documentary collections, including the Collection of Illustrious Proceres (1810-1893), The Orinoco Post Office (1818-1822), the 19th century Photographs of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Audiovisual Testimonies of the Center for Cultural Diversity.

As part of the cooperation plan, UNESCO provided a certified methodology for evaluating the social and economic impact of earthquakes on cultural heritage. In addition, the technical commissions of the international organization and the Venezuelan State will begin field surveys on public and private buildings on July 20, with the purpose of defining the actions necessary for their recovery and conservation.

Mazo News Team