Cultural Heritage under threat in context of Civil-War and Refugee-Crisis in Syria and Iraq

December 10th, 2015, 6:00 p.m., Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Bassano-Saal

REGISTRATION FORM

Hundreds of thousands killed in Syrian civil-war, millions of refugees flee their country and thousands of them are on their way to Europe, looking for help and solidarity. The ancient cultural landscape they are leaving behind gets brutally destroyed and plundered. Every day we are confronted with live-footage and statistics, that show the catastrophic consequences of that war for the people as well as the irreversible destruction and systematic plundering of Syria’s cultural heritage. ICOM and UNESCO recently have vehemently condemned those destructions, especially the cruel events in Palmyra. But the international community still has not found a solution for this conflict and hesitates to unite in the fight against ISIS (Daish). Can we only stand and watch, while the destruction continues? What can be done to stop this terror?

Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim is Professor for Archaeology at the University of Damascus. As the war in Syria broke out and the destruction of the historical center of Aleppo started in  2012, he accepted the nomination as Director General of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums. Since then Prof. Abdulkarim is in close contact with experts from UNESCO, ICOM, ICCROM, ICOMOS, INTERPOL, WCO and the EU trying to save what can be saved of antique excavation-sites and cultural heritage in Syria, fighting plundering and destruction. Prof. Abdulkarim will give us an overview of the current situation in Syria in his lecture, followed by a discussion together with renowned experts, analysing possible political solutions and measures to save our cultural heritage.

Programme:

Welcome-Message:

Dr. Franz Pichorner, Vice-Director General, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Dr. Danielle Spera, Presidentin ICOM Austria & Director Jewish Museum Vienna

Lecture:

Prof. Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim, General Director of Antiquities and Museums / Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), Syrien

Discussion:

Prof. Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim, General Director of Antiquities and Museums / Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), Syria

Gudrun Harrer, Journalist, Der Standard

Dr. Eva Nowotny, Retired Ambassador, President of the Austrian UNESCO Commission

Dr. Georg Plattner, Director Antiquities Collection, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Mag. Isabel Rauscher, Austrian Ambassador in Damascus, Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs