14 October. The first three weeks of the pilot course on First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict have been busy with several hands-on exercises and guest lectures.

During the second week, participants visited a conservation studio in the Roman countryside of Torrimpietra and worked on emergency first aid measures for textiles, leather, canvas paintings and wooden objects. They then received an overview of international legislation for the protection of cultural property in conflict situations and had the opportunity to discuss its practical application. A two-day workshop followed about the storage of collections in times of emergency, in which participants learned about principles of storage (materials, units, space) and verified their space-planning skills in a series of practical group activities. Participants were then introduced to the organizational structure of the Blue Shield Network and discussed how they could set up a committee in their own countries.

The second week ended with two case studies:

• the first from the Federal Office for Civil Protection's Protection of Cultural Property Unit (PCP), focusing on emergency preparedness measures in peacetime;
• the other from the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit (TPC) of the Italian Carabinieri, focusing on the Unit's activities related to the protection of cultural heritage from illicit trade, including a practical session on the use of their database of illicitly traded property (Banca Dati Leonardo).

During the third week, the military was introduced as an important actor in the conflict context. A general outline of the stages and patterns of conflict was provided, giving participants the chance to contemplate ethical considerations about working with the military as cultural heritage professionals. Participants were given key points on emergency first aid and stabilization treatments to stone objects, wall paintings, buildings, monuments and archaeological sites. This was complemented with a selection of case studies from South East Europe and Lebanon.

An emergency recovery simulation exercise was also organized in the ICCROM courtyard in which previously packed objects, which had undergone various forms of damage, were unpacked, documented, stabilized and assigned priority ranking for treatment.

On 7 October, the participants were invited to visit the historic centre of l'Aquila (affected by a severe earthquake in April 2009) by Luciano Marchetti, Vice Commissary for the protection of cultural heritage in l'Aquila. This gave participants insight on the methods used for building stabilization and emergency collection recovery, as well as inter-agency collaboration mechanisms.

Over the past two weeks, several participants have also shared their personal experiences in working in conflict-afflicted regions through presentations.

Member States represented: Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Colombia, Finland, France, Georgia, Iran, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Serbia, Sweden, United States.

updated on: 21 October, 2010