The Polish Blue Shield Committee is organising and participating in various initiatives concerning the protection of cultural property in both peace and war.
Blue Shield Poland held a conference entitled Purpose: Heritage. Protection of cultural assets – Polish responses to current challenges on 21st April in Krakow. This presented the results of the two-year project Intersectoral challenges: specialist for the protection of cultural heritage in the event of a crisis and war – developing a postgraduate study program, dedicated to employees operating on the borderline of fields (2020-2022). The President of the Polish Committee of the Blue Shield and participant of the project, Krysztof Sałaciński, gave a talk at the conference entitled Implementation of tasks for the protection of cultural heritage under war conditions. A follow-up workshop – Monument protection plan in the event of a crisis and armed conflict – theory and practice – also took place on 22nd April. BS Poland believe that the conference and workshop are especially important in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The Polish Blue Shield Committee, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and with the US Army, will train American soldiers. The subject of the training will be the protection of cultural heritage, taking into account the specificity of the region and their activity as the Polish Blue Shield Committee in this area. This prospective project will hopefully be implemented in the next few years. BS Poland are also preparing to train other armies.
BS Poland are also organizing a number of interesting initiatives at the civil-military interface, including those addressed to the youth community. On April 22, 2022 , they started a two-year project called “Safe Collections, Safe Heritage” with the participation of the Polish UNESCO Committee. It is a series of open lectures for students of 120 Polish schools affiliated UNESCO.
Currently, training courses on CCP for representatives of the armed forces are held at the International Center for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger in Wrocław.
From 9 to 11 May this year, a training course for directors of the largest museums in Poland will take place. Krzysztof Saąciński, President of the Polish Blue Shield Committee, will present a speech on the protection of collections in the event of war and crisis in the light of current security challenges. BS Poland are also planning cooperation in this regard with partners from the Baltic states.
In cooperation with the Polish Red Cross, in May this year, we are implementing the 24th edition of the School of International Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts, where on May 19 this year, Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish Blue Shield Committee, will present the issues of protection of cultural property in the event of war and crisis, practical aspects.
The Polish Committee of the Blue Shield took the honorary patronage over the scientific conference entitled Protection of cultural property in crisis situations and armed conflicts, which will be held on June 10, 2022 at the Naval Museum in Gdynia. Krzysztof Sałaciński , President of the Polish Blue Shield Committee, will present a speech entitled Safe Collections – Safe Heritage. An attempt to answer the current challenges.
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