An education program for Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage trainers in Turkey, organized with the cooperation of the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS), will soon be held around the world, associate professor Hakan Öniz, a member of Akdeniz University Underwater Research Center, has said.
Discussing the 18th International Kemer Underwater Days in Antalya's Kemer district, Öniz said: "The most important event was the scientific board meeting of CMAS. All activities related to diving in the world are carried out under CMAS through the federations of countries. The last management of CMAS was elected two-and-a-half years ago. However, the first meeting of the scientific board took place in Kemer. This meeting was attended by the CMAS scientific board representatives of approximately 16 countries including Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Russia and Egypt. There were some countries which attended through the internet, as well."
He said a number of important decisions were taken by CMAS to protect underwater cultural heritage in the meeting. "The most important decision was the introduction of Training for Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage trainers, which began last year in Turkey with the support of the Turkish Underwater Federation, the Ministry of Culture and UNESCO Headquarters, to the whole world. That is, this project, which has already begun in Turkey, will now be applied throughout the world through CMAS. There were not many protection projects before. But with this first scientific board meeting, some decisions were made about not only underwater archaeology but also protection of underwater flora and fauna. In this context, it was quite important," Öniz said. The meeting also discussed Turkey's important place in terms of underwater archaeology. Institutions such as CMAS, UNESCO and International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) admired the underwater cultural heritage protection programs held by the Turkey Underwater Sports Federation.
