NSK scientific symposium: “Protection of cultural heritage under conditions of crisis”
Prompted by the need for a more active approach towards the protection of cultural assets under the conditions of crisis, primarily various man-made and natural disasters, the Preservation and Storage Department of the National and University Library in Zagreb is organising Protection of cultural heritage under conditions of crisis, a scientific symposium that will be held on 7 November 2019, in cooperation with the International Institute for Climate Action (Međunarodni institut za klimatske aktivnosti) and Cultural Innovation Center (Centar za inovacije u kulturi). The symposium is expected to contribute to the development of a high-level intra- and inter-sector debate and the exchange of information concerning the latest insights and developments related to the protection of cultural heritage during crisis. Also, it will create opportunities for a wider debate on the necessity of increasing cooperation and solidarity between cultural institutions.
Managing cultural heritage, approached as a set of diverse indispensable national resources, inevitably includes the development of all-embracing protection policies that should involve the wider cultural and scientific community, as well as institutions in the cultural and scientific sectors that should jointly act in this context based on the principles of solidarity and networking. Keeping in mind the present global threats, professional and scientific guidelines on the protection of cultural heritage, as well as the need for developing a carefully thought-out cultural heritage protection system, setting up a closely connected network of cultural institutions is essential. Owing to their vast quantities, unstable media that they are recorded on, a lack of adequate storage places and the clash between the growing requirements of library users on the one hand and standards for the protection of heritage on the other, library resources are at particular risk of damage and loss.
Since there are sometimes significant differences between regular and emergency procedures followed in libraries and all other heritage institutions when it comes to protecting their holdings and those followed by teams operating as part of the national civil protection system under the conditions of crisis, it is necessary to establish as close as possible cooperation between the two sectors. It is only through efficiently increasing collaboration between all heritage institutions and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, other authorised ministries, bodies of local and self-government, firefighting units, civil protection forces, and all other local and regional authorised bodies responsible for safety and coordination under the conditions of crisis that many challenges related to the protection of heritage may successfully be responded to.
The symposium’s programme will address various issues related to the protection of cultural heritage from the perspective of preventive measures, alert systems and operational measures.
It is expected that the symposium will prompt a wider professional and inter-sector debate focusing on the analysis of those segments of crisis management systems and procedures particularly in need of improvement.
All interested in attending the symposium may apply online until 4 November 2019.
The symposium programme (Croatian version only).
