In an exclusive interview with Iran Press on Saturday, Mohammad Hassan Talebian said more than 120 experts, supervisors, and heads of workshops have gathered in this conference to exchange ideas and experiences, bringing their knowledge and expertise up-to-date.
Asked about the importance of workshops for protection, restoration and repair of historic buildings and monuments, Talebian said, "more than a hundred and twenty experts and observers and heads of workshops manage different aspects of preservation, protection, restoration and repair of historic buildings and monuments and we need these people to educate and train other people in repair and restoration work. One way of educating, instructing is to hold workshops with the help of experienced skilled craftsmen at the national level, and members of the scientific committee for restoration and strengthening of old historic structures, known as 'Iscarsah', and these are top, reputable experts who are members of this committee."
In further remarks, the deputy head of cultural heritage organization added, "the skilled nationally-recognized craftsmen and scientific committee members will exchange their experiences and expertise, and co-operate with each other and will learn the intricacies of architectural restoration and repair methods, hopefully gaining a better understanding how to improve structural integrity, as well as repair and technical restoration of historic monuments.
Additionally, we can say the workshops are also field-based, and members of the scientific committee inspect a number of workshops closely and observe the building materials and equipment used in these workshops. Afterwards they discuss with each other any restoration work or refurbishment which needs to be done, the finer points of this repair and restoration, and this is very important and essential."
Talebian added, "what is clear is that Iran is a vast country with a very rich collection of important and historic buildings and monuments, and apart from those which are government-managed, the rest are owned by the public or the private sector.
So many historic monuments and buildings are privately owned in Iran; for example historic cities, historic houses and mansions, where the private sector is in charge of repair and restoration work."
"For the past 3 to 4 years, we have seen this movement grow steadily.
Also it is important for the private sector to be involved in restorative and repair work, and it is important to inform the general public about our activities."
