International Day of Monuments and Sites
18 April 2019 – Established by ICOMOS in 1982, 18 April is observed as the ‘International Day of Monuments and Sites’ (IDMS), and is celebrated annually around the world to promote cultural heritage and raise awareness about its significance as well as its vulnerability.
In 2019, as per the theme on ‘Rural Landscapes’ a field excursion was organised by EFT in collaboration with ICOMOS Pakistan Secretariat at Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology, to Fateh Bagh Graveyard in Tando Muhammad Khan, District Badin. An open call for participation was announced by a formal invitation from the ICOMOS Pakistan platform. The excursion was joined by a good number of heritage conservators, architects, students and faculty members.
The delegation arrived at the site of graveyard around noon and was received by the EFT team of conservators on site. A detailed guided tour of the site with special focus on the Tomb of Mir Muhammad Khan was conducted. Post visit discussions regarding potential ways to preserve the site were much appreciated and were well documented by the local news agencies. Few of the suggestions made in the discussion included the need for a publication on the site, a stone cleaning workshop for volunteers, community rehabilitation efforts to acknowledge their role in the upkeep of the site, and the mobilisation of university students to facilitate community based programmes.