IFRA-Nigeria provided airfare to enable Mr. Kolawole Adekola, IFRA-Nigeria fellow, lecturer at the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, to participate in the 7th World Archaeological Congress meeting held at the Dead Sea, Jordan, from January 13-18, 2013.

Adekola delivered two papers, chaired three sessions and served as a mentor for members of the WAC Student Committee.

The first paper entitled “Protection of National Patrimony: A Comparative Study of Legal and Educational Frameworks in Nigeria and the U.S.” generated much interest and was commended by Prince Al Hassan Bin Talal, the keynote speaker, during the opening ceremony at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre. Using Nigeria and the U.S. as examples, the paper discusses the inherent flaws in rules and regulations binding on the protection of cultural data and resources. It advocates for the primacy of education stressing that cultural materials are better protected when the citizenry is involved in its preservation. His second paper was on the Archaeology of North central Yorubaland: Results of Recent Research, a paper derived from his forthcoming thesis.

Over one thousand scholars from seventy countries across the globe attended the event. Adekola has since returned to his duty post at the University of Ibadan.