On 17 October, ICCROM's flagship programme, First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR), convened its partners in a productive strategic planning meeting. The objective of the meeting was to identify ways to amplify our efforts in meeting new and unknown risks to heritage stemming from climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, widening economic inequalities, financial instability, as well as protracted armed conflicts.
The meeting was attended by 15 representatives of partner institutions and Member States. Commencing the meeting, ICCROM Director-General Dr Webber Ndoro highlighted the FAR programme’s significant achievements since its conception in 2020 – building on 10 years of training. Further introductory remarks from ICCROM-FAR Senior Programme Leader Aparna Tandon and ICCROM Programmes Unit Manager Valerie Magar reiterated the importance of collaborative efforts between FAR and its 132 partners over the last three years.
The FAR team delivered a comprehensive presentation during the meeting, elucidating the programme’s mission, vision and impact. The scope of the FAR Programme's work was highlighted, ranging from developing capacity for disaster risk reduction to emergency preparedness, response and recovery. The programme is leveraging the processes involved in risk management of heritage for climate action, peacebuilding and beyond. This presentation set the stage for a subsequent brainstorming session, where partners actively identified existing gaps in the management of disaster and conflict risks to cultural heritage. The FAR partners contributed valuable insights, highlighting one significant gap: risk prevention is often seen as separate from in-crisis response, while it should be an integral part of any risk management strategy.
The meeting concluded with a group discussion exploring ways to reinforce ongoing initiatives. This collective effort underscores the commitment of all involved parties to addressing challenges and innovating solutions. It is also testament to the importance of cross-sectoral communication and coordination to best reach our shared goals.
The ICCROM-FAR programme team sincerely thanks all partners for their contributions to the meeting and ongoing support:
- ALIPH Foundation
- British Council
- Directorate for Cultural Heritage Norway
- Indian Institute of Heritage
- Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
- Italian Ministry of Culture
- Principality of Monaco
- Swedish National Heritage Board
- Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
- Independent expert from the United Kingdom
- Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
The success of this partners' meeting not only exemplifies the efficient cooperation between ICCROM-FAR and its partners but also establishes a strong foundation for future endeavors. The positive outcomes and insights gained here will further enhance the risk management of cultural heritage, protecting it from the overlapping and cascading risks of disasters and conflicts that are increasingly intensified by the climate crisis.