Lisbon University, Portugal, housed the first workshop of CONCHA, Crossing Seas, Rising Islands, and Connecting People from 14 to 16 November 20108.  In the framework of this workshop the first visit of the UNESCO Secretariat of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage to the associated UNESCO Chair for the Ocean’s Cultural Heritage, took place.

Created in 2016 and led by Professor Joao Paulo Oliveira e Costa in 2016, the Chair now counts with a solid team including researchers and underwater archeologists.

The Secretariat of the 2001 Convention has been cooperating closely with the Chair since its installation and after this visit; cooperation has been increased and streamlined, in especially what regards cooperation in training activities. 

The CONCHA project is funded by de EC and brings over 50 researchers and 11-partner institutions together coming from Africa, the Americas and Europe with the purpose of sharing experiences, cultures, history and heritage of different locations in the Atlantic. The project will map geographies and frontiers that resulted from early transatlantic interactions, taking an integrative approach to a shared oceanic history.

UNESCO congratulates the Chair for raising awareness about the protection of the ocean’s heritage by promoting best practices, increasing public involvement, assisting States in the creation of legal frameworks, research and capacity building and addressing stakeholders at all levels.

During the visit, UNESCO also met with the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, as well as with authorities and researchers form several States. 

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