ICCROM, UNESCO, and Fondazione Santagata's joint capacity-building efforts in post-conflict contexts have led to 24 international participants graduating from the Post-Conflict Recovery Summer School. The summer programme aims to enable heritage and disaster risk management professionals, public institutions, NGOs and donor organizations to engage effectively in planning and implementing heritage recovery projects following armed conflicts.
Organized under the project, in the framework of the Revive the Spirit of Mosul Initiative and in collaboration with Fondazione Santagata, it addresses the specific case study of Mosul, a city profoundly affected by conflict and cultural heritage devastation.
The comprehensive programme comprises two phases. The first is an online lecture series that delves into key themes related to cultural heritage recovery. This equips participants with a solid theoretical foundation, setting the stage for practical application. The second phase entails an in-person workshop held in Rome, Italy, where participants examine the Mosul case. They actively contribute their expertise and share their unique experiences, creating a collaborative learning environment that fosters growth and knowledge exchange. By combining theoretical insights with practical experiences and addressing the specific challenges faced in Mosul, the Summer School helps prepare participants to be catalysts of positive change in the challenging landscape of post-war recovery.
The collaboration between ICCROM, UNESCO and Fondazione Santagata underscores the importance of international cooperation in building a more resilient and culturally rich future for regions recovering from conflict. Graduates of the Post-Conflict Recovery Summer School emerge as champions of cultural heritage preservation and advocates for holistic, sustainable and resilient recovery in post-conflict contexts.
The Summer School graduation ceremony also marked the launch of a web platform. The digital platform features comprehensive learning materials from ICCROM and UNESCO's collaborative project for Mosul's recovery. It is a repository of knowledge that offers insights gained from the program's curriculum, with the broader goal of sharing valuable experiences and lessons for application in similar contexts.