MARINE - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Cultural Heritage Specialist
• Member of the ICOMOS International Committee of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Dr Arturo Rey da Silva is a maritime archaeologist with a large experience in the field of international cooperation, capacity-building, and heritage diplomacy. Between 2011 and 2018 he was part of the UNESCO Secretariat for the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, where he worked giving technical assistance to the Member States to advance research and capacities in maritime archaeology research and heritage protection, as well as providing guidance for heritage policy development. Since 2018, Arturo has worked with UNESCO Headquarters as well as with several UNESCO Field Offices, notably in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America, establishing regional capacity-strengthening strategies, outreach initiatives, policy-oriented programmes, and results-based frameworks. Previously, He worked at the Spanish National Museum for Underwater Archaeology ARQVA (2009-2010). He got his Ph.D. in January 2021 from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, after undertaken a research fellowship at the Spanish School of History and Archaeology in Rome, with a thesis that looked into the institutionalization of underwater archaeology within international cooperation schemes, and its contribution to sustainable development. Arturo is also visiting lecturer in several universities (i.e. The University of Alexandria in Egypt, the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, The University of Cadiz in Spain, or University Externado in Colombia) and was elected Member of the ICOMOS International Committee for Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH) in 2019. Arturo is a member of the ICOMOS International Committee of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH) and sits on the Scientific Committee of the PERICLES Project.

Job Titles:

• Natural Heritage Specialist

Georgia is an interdisciplinary Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Edinburgh. With a background in both marine biology and archaeology, Georgia's research focusses on the interconnections between natural and cultural marine resources; and addressing the management of these resources within integrated policies and frameworks for the sustainable development of the ocean and coastal communities. Her PhD research examined the benefits marine heritage can provide to society and the surrounding ocean through communicating the shared values between nature, heritage and the blue economy into policy and practice https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/453787/1/PhD_Thesis_Georgia_Holly_Library_Copy.pdf. Further to her academic research, Georgia has worked on multiple ocean survey projects from underwater excavations to coral reef surveys, and continues to look for opportunities to bridge the gap between these two disciplines in both industry and academia, as well as through interdisciplinary capacity building and public engagement. After completing her post-doctoral post with the Rising from the Depths Network, Georgia has gone on to lead in research projects which focus on the integration of heritage and communities into environmental protection frameworks such as Marine Protected Areas, and coastal climate change mitigation plans. Alongside managing the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme - an official Action of the United Nation's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, Georgia currently works across multiple projects in East Africa, the Philippines, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Southern Pacific.

Job Titles:

• EMA Director
• the Marine Representative of the Scottish Strategic Archaeology

Jon Henderson is an archaeologist with specific research interests in submerged settlements, coastal societies, marine archaeology and the development of innovative techniques for the survey and presentation of underwater sites. His current research focuses on the potential of coastal and marine heritage to lead research that addresses the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Jon has directed projects in the UK, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Poland, Jamaica and China. He is currently leading a major research project, entitled ‘Rising from the Depths', which aims to use marine cultural heritage in East Africa to help develop sustainable social, economic and cultural benefits in the region. Recently Jon was part of the UNESCO delegation at the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York supporting the implementation of SDG 14 ‘Life Below Water' where he presented on the role marine cultural heritage can play in the sustainable development of the oceans. Jon is the Marine representative of the Scottish Strategic Archaeology Committee and is on the Organising Committee of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network, which recently launched the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme (CHFP) as an official Action of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-20.

Job Titles:

• Cultural Heritage Specialist