The first International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage was celebrated at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, on 20 August 2026. The event also marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
ICOMOS-ICUCH was represented by its President, Dr Chris Underwood, who participated online and delivered a presentation entitled “Protecting Underwater Cultural Heritage: The Role of International Cooperation”. He highlighted the shared responsibility of governments, professional organisations, researchers and heritage practitioners, emphasising that the challenges facing underwater cultural heritage cannot be addressed in isolation.
The programme also included expert presentations, films, a panel discussion, the photographic exhibition “The Egyptian Maritime Heritage: In the Footsteps of Honor Frost”, and the adoption of the Alexandria Declaration on Underwater Cultural Heritage: From Protection to Development.
The celebration held particular significance for Egypt, where the proposal to establish the International Day was initiated in 2023 by the UNESCO Chair on Underwater Cultural Heritage at Alexandria University. In November 2025, the UNESCO General Conference formally proclaimed 21 August as the annual International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage.