Blue Shield International, together with our partners, the Romanian Institute for Heritage of the Romanian Ministry of Culture, were delighted to welcome our guests to
Shielding the Past: 70 years of the Hague Convention
our 2024 General Assembly and Training Course in Bucharest, Romania, where we came together to celebrate the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict on its 70th anniversary. as part of the conference, Blue Shield was delighted to host the annual General Assembly of Members in person in hybrid format on 10th September.
Minutes
1.0 – Welcome
The meeting began with a welcome from the President, Professor Peter Stone (PGS).
2.0 Approval of Annual Documentation
All annual documentation is prepared according to the requirements under Dutch law. The President introduced the documents.
In Addition to the Agenda, the following Annual Documentation was circulated
2. Minutes of the General Assembly 2023
3. BSI Annual Report 2023 with Financial Report
4. Audit Committee Report
5. 2025 Budget
6. BSI 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
Members were asked to approve the annual documentation. Voting was completed using Election Runner, and results are available online. (One Member was unable to access the online portal and voted manually: all documentation and appointments were approved. The online numbers do not reflect the manual vote). All documentaiton was approved.
3.0 Appointment of Gerrit de Bruin and Ömer Dabanli to Audit Committee
In previous years, the Board have taken applications for election to the Audit Committee. Under Dutch Law it is now possible to appoint an Audit Committee. The members who have stood in previous years, Gerrit de Bruin and Ömer Dabanli, agreed to be appointed once more. Members approved their appointment.
4.0 Update on National Committee Activity
The Secretariat presented an overview of National Committee Activity. You can watch the presentation below, or read it in the Minutes, or download the slides.
The Annual Reports which this is based on are all available online. Read about the amazing work of the National Committees.
5.0 Update from Working Group on Countering Trafficking of Cultural Objects
Patty Gerstenblith, Chair of the Working Group provided a video report, which can be seen below.
6.0 AOB
There was no other business.
The President closed the meeting, thanking those present in the room and online.
Watch the Recording
The General Assembly was part of the Conference: Shielding the Past: 70 years of the Hague Convention.
Read more about this exciting event and the training course of conflict risk and safeguarding, held in partnership with the National Institute for Heritage, and Ministry of Culture, Romania, held in Bucharest from 10-12 September.
