21 September – 26 October 2012

Eighteen participants from 17 countries have gathered at ICCROM to attend the third international course on Course on First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict. The course aims at building capacity for cultural heritage protection in conflict afflicted areas of the world.

On the evening of 24 September, an official inaugural reception took place at ICCROM with welcome address by the Director-General, Stefano De Caro. In attendance at the event were representatives of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC), and representatives from embassies of the countries of the participants.

Through carefully chosen case studies, hands-on training and emergency simulations, the participants will enhance their ability to act and secure cultural heritage in conflict situations. The most valuable aspect of the training, however are the case examples that the participants have brought from their own contexts. These will inform the discussions on topics such as conflict analysis, mediation and negotiation, ethics and principles of conservation in conflict situations and protection through international legislation. This year, the group is composed of professionals from the following fields: movable heritage (archives, museums), immovable heritage (sites, monuments), humanitarian aid, national armies, and international development and cooperation.

Held in collaboration with diverse organizations including UNESCO, the Blue Shield Network, the National Archives of the Netherlands, the Italian Red Cross, the Italian Carabinieri and the international humanitarian NGO, INTERSOS, the training will last for five weeks. 

The Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and MiBAC have co-funded the course.

Regular updates on the course will be given in the coming weeks.
Please see related section (right menu) for more information on the course, including participants, teaching team and programme.

Member States represented: Australia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mali, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe