Turkish restoration labs network launched

ISTANBUL

The “International Turkish Restoration and Conservation Laboratories Network” has been launched to ensure the protection of Turkish cultural heritage and its transmission to future generations.

Established under the initiative of the Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Turkic World Foundation, the platform’s “Experience Sharing Program” was held through a series of events in Ankara and Istanbul.

The program, supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry as well as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), brought together experts from seven countries on a scientific platform.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation Project Director Nuri Aksu described the program as a significant milestone in institutionalizing the determination to protect Turkish cultural heritage through scientific methods at the international level.

“Experts had the opportunity to examine Türkiye’s more than half a century of laboratory experience on site,” Aksu said, noting that specialists working in the preservation and restoration of Turkish heritage from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hungary participated in the program. He emphasized that the initiative was designed not as a one-sided transfer of knowledge but as a process of mutual learning, methodological comparison and joint capacity building.

According to Aksu, technical contacts began at the Ankara Restoration and Conservation Regional Laboratory and gained academic depth through visits to institutions such as Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University and Middle East Technical University.

In Istanbul, practical examples were observed at the Istanbul Restoration and Conservation Regional Directorate, while advanced analytical infrastructure, including carbon-14 testing facilities at the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, was examined. Participants also visited underwater archaeology laboratories at Istanbul University.

Aksu underlined that the most important outcome of the program was the formal establishment of the Turkish Restoration and Conservation Laboratories Network. “This network is built upon concrete goals such as a direct communication mechanism among experts, cooperation between joint analysis and reference laboratories, standardization of training and certification programs, risk management and emergency response coordination, and serving as an institutional platform for joint projects and funding applications,” he said.

Stressing that the preservation of cultural heritage is not merely a technical issue, Aksu described it as a matter of identity, memory and civilizational continuity. He noted that climate risks, smuggling, destruction and natural deterioration across the broad geography of Turkish heritage require coordinated technical capacity and cooperation beyond individual efforts.

The program concluded with a joint declaration and a seminar held at the historic Hekimbaşı Hunting Pavilion in Istanbul’s Ümraniye district. Certificates were presented to participants at the end of the event.