Construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is underway at a fast speed in the neighborhood of the three Great Pyramids in Giza. After completion, it will be one of the largest museums in the world with a site area of 480 thousand square kilometers, housing more than 100 thousand precious artifacts of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt including those belonging to King Tutankhamen.

JICE has been partnering with Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA) to implement the Grand Egyptian Museum Joint Conservation Project (GEM-JC), JICA’s technical cooperation project to improve the capacity of the Egyptian counterparts in conservation of the artifacts, since November 2016. JICE’s role is to support transportation of the artifacts from the current Egyptian Museum and all over the country to the newly established Conservation Center in the compound of GEM as well as conservation of those in the run up to the grand opening of GEM.

GEM-JC Project is steered by the 3rd Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) composed of the project authorities from JICA, JICE and GEM. The 3rd JCC was held at a hotel in Giza on 29^th November 2018 with the attendance of Dr.Tarek S. Tawfik, Director General, GEM, and the representatives of the relevant technical departments on GEM.

Attended from the Japanese side were: Mr. Mizuki Matsuzaki, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Egypt Office; Mr. Kei Sakamoto, Representative of the same; and the JICE Delegation consisting of Mr. Nobuaki Hirakawa, Secretary-General of JICE; Mr. Mikio Nakamura, Project Chief Advisor; Ms. Akiko Nishisaka, Deputy Project Manager/Conservation Planning Specialist; and Ms. Misako Moriyama, Project Coordinator/Procurement Manager of the Japanese side.

The Japanese technical experts who attended the JCC were Dr. Yasushi Okada, Representative Director, Wooden Sculpture Cultural Properties Conservation Laboratory (Chief Technical Advisor/Wooden Artifacts Conservation Specialist); Dr. Mie Ishii, Associate Professor, Saga University (Textile Conservation Specialist); Dr. Yoshiko Shimadzu, Associate Professor, National Museum of Japanese History (Diagnostic Analysis Specialist); Dr. Motonari Oyama, Assistant Professor, Tohoku University (Wooden Artifacts Material Examination Specialist); Ms. Kumi Masuda, Masuda Conservation Studio (Mural Paintings Conservation Specialist); Mr. Yoji Masada, Advisor, Fine Arts Business Divison, Nippon Express Co., Ltd and Mr. Hidemasa Tokuda, Manager, Kansai Fine Arts Branch of the same. (Packing & Transportation Specialists)

*The titles in the brackets indicate the respective roles in the GEM-JC Project.

The committee meeting began with a briefing by Ms. Nishisaka on the progress of the GEM-JC Project followed by a detailed reporting by each Project Team: Wooden Artifacts; Textiles and Mural Paintings and ended with an active discussion on the upcoming activities of the Project.

The whole world is watching over the progress of GEM-JC Project which will unveil the treasures not just of Egypt but of all mankind. JICE’s responsibility is so grave that we will wholeheartedly dedicate our time, knowledge and efforts in close cooperation with the Japanese and Egyptian experts to ensure a successful opening of GEM.

In the Middle East, JICE is also engaged in the human resources development projects in UAE and Saudi Arabia. JICE will be further committed to boost human resources development in various fields and in many countries.

Please refer to the following website about GEM-JC Project.

http://www.jicagem.com

International Training Department

Administration and Overseas Project Division

Shino Narazaki