Egypt won a seat in the executive council of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) after holding a secret ballot in which representatives of the governments of 133 member states participated. Meanwhile, Culture Minister Mohamed Saber Arab approved nomination of Jehan Zaki, director of the Egyptian academy of art in Rome to represent Egypt in the ICCROM general assembly's meetings. The ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, cooperation and advocacy programs. It aims to enhance the field of conservation-restoration and raise awareness to the importance and fragility of cultural heritage. The creation of the Centre took place as a result of a proposal at the UNESCO General Conference held in New Delhi, in 1956. Three years later, the Centre was established in Rome, Italy, where its headquarters remain to this day.