Asmara Art Deco Exhibition staged in the city of Paris, France.

By Yared Tesfay

H.E. Hanna Simon, Eritrean Ambassador of the State of Eritrea to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO opened the exhibition yesterday in Paris. Diplomats, officials of the government of Nigeria, Turkey, Kuwait, Serbia, Iran, Italy, German, Lebanon, Republic of Korea, Mauritius and Eritreans living in Paris attended the official opening.

The Eritrean Embassy in France indicated that the exhibition is being staged under the theme "Asmara: City of Dreams". It is part of the campaign underway in Paris and in London at the Royal Institution British Architect RIBA with a view to placing Asmara in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

H.E. Hanna Simon, gave briefing on Eritrean history during which she pointed out that Eritrea is endowed with yet untapped historical, cultural and natural heritages. She reiterated that Eritrea societal values based on living in harmony and respect to one other is a unique asset. The Ambassador said that "Asmara: City of Dreams" is a gem of world inheritance and has an excellent choice of becoming UNESCO's world heritage site.

Diplomats, invited guests such as Ambassador of Iran H.E. Ahmed Jalali, Ambassador of Serbie H.E. Darko Tanaskovic, who described Asmara art deco exhibition as astonishing and impressive.

According to Ms. Elif Okutueu, Consular of the Turkish Embassy and Mr. Al Shatti, Charge de Affair of the Kuwait Embassy to France and UNESCO, said that Asmara is a must to be enlisted into UNESCO world heritage. In 2001 the Eritrean government decided to protect the entire city centre of Asmara as a national monument.

Asmara is Africa’s secret modernist city, having survived the troubles of the Second World War, 40 years of Ethiopian occupation, and a thirty-year war of liberation almost unscathed, the city today is home to one of the largest ensembles of modernist architecture anywhere in the world.

Eritrea has applied to have, Asmara capital of Eritrea, put on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The goal of the exhibition is to support this application. This exhibition wants to draw international attention to this cultural heritage says Ambassador Hanna Simon during the opening briefing.

Visitors of the exhibition sign an appeal that Asmara's architecture becomes a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Exhibition Asmara; CITY OF DREAMS will be open until Monday 19th June 2017 in Paris at the premises of the Embassy of the State of Eritrea to France.

The Exhibition will move to the Side Event that will be held at UNESCO on Tuesday 20th June 2017 and It will attract culture minded people from all over the world to visit these cities and thereby help them preserve heritage.

The exhibition Asmara; CITY OF DREAMS wants to contribute to the debate about evaluation of classical modernism, the globalization of modern architecture, its historic value, and about effects in terms of urban planning. However, Asmara is the only larger city in the world where a whole variety of architectural movements and their predecessors is assembled in the centre in one ensemble.

Visitors signed in support of Asmara Art Deco to be enlisted into UNESCO world heritage, diplomats, friends of Eritrea residing in Paris attended the opening ceremony during which they put their signatures in the Asmara World Heritage Appeal document.