On 6 February 2020, the GEM-JC project held the 4th annual Joint Coordination Committee meeting (JCC). This committee is headed by Maj.Gen. Atef, General Supervisor of Grand Egyptian Museum and Surrounding Area; the meeting was held with participation by main GEM-CC, JICA, and JICE stakeholders. Firstly, Dr. El Tayeb Abbas, General Director of Archaeological Affairs briefed about the progress of activities related to the display, followed by a presentation by Dr. Hussein Kamal, the project manager, about the latest progress of conservation work in GEM-CC on the target artifacts, and concluded by a presentation by Dr. Eisa Zidan, General Director of the Executive Affairs for Conservation, about the transportation work.
In this annual meeting, the project reviews the progress, confirms the important decisions to be made, and proposes the new planned activities for the future. As the planned project period was until November 2019, the project needed an extended period to oversee additional activities related to the transportation and installation of objects in GEM galleries, and display plan, which will ensure the long-term preservation of the conserved target artifacts.
Moreover, Ms. Akiko Nishisaka, Deputy Project Manager, explained the proposed PDM version 4 and plan of operation for a new term of the project. The main proposed tasks are the continuation of cooperation in packing, transportation of the target artifacts from GEM-CC to GEM, and then the installation of these artifacts inside showcases. The project schedule of transportation will be merged with the GEM schedule and will continue working jointly within the same framework.
Through the 4th JCC meeting, we are glad to announce the confirmation of the new PDM version 4, which confirms the start of an extended period of 1 year, during which the project will be working on the internal transportation, installation of target artifacts in their showcases. The technical cooperation in this term will also include adding visual displays to showcase the project outcomes, working collaboratively on building sustainable activities in GEM-CC, while at the same time, working on finalizing academic contributions such as scientific articles, presentations, and books to summarize all the project activities and findings.
