For Release: Immediate
Contact: Tessy Shirakawa
Phone: 970-529-4628

Mesa Verde Hosts Sister Cultural Parks Conference, Signs Partnership Agreement with Mexican Public Lands

Mesa Verde National Park will sign a partnership agreement with two Mexican public lands, Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán and Zona Arqueológica de Paquimé, on Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. on the Spruce Tree House overlook at park headquarters. The partnership agreement affirms these three World Cultural Heritage Sites commitments to collectively:

Elaborate and extend the productive sharing of management, research, preservation, and education techniques and methods;

Sustain positive and productive communication among the sister parks;

Identify and implement mechanisms to institutionalize this international partnership and train new leaders to highlight the shared stories of these public lands on the world stage;

Increase the exchange of scholars, historians, artists, performers, and cultural workers to enhance understanding and awareness of a shared heritage embedded in our cultural sites and landscapes; and

Invigorate the communities surrounding the sister parks to engage with public land managers in broadcasting messages of international cultural cooperation and preservation.

This signing ceremony comes at the conclusion of an international conference, Sister Cultural Parks: Linking Heritage and Communities Across Borders. The conference has brought park mangers, artists, scholars, cultural works, philanthropists, and foundations together to generate an action plan for creating and sustaining international public lands collaborations.

For further information, please contact Dan Puskar, International Education Initiative coordinator, at 970-529-4616.

~ NPS ~