Blue Shield Poland supports Conference “Cybersecurity in the protection of cultural properties”

On 14 May 2024, the International Centre for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger held the conference “Cyber-Security In The Cultural Property Protection”, in cooperation with the Department of Culture and Heritage Education of The Ministry of National Defense and the War Studies University in Warsaw.

The conference was held under the honorary patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Polish National Committee for UNESCO, and the Polish Committee of the Blue Shield.

The choice of the date of the conference was not accidental. 70 years ago, on 14 May 1954, the Convention on the Cultural Property Protection in the Event of Armed Conflict was signed in The Hague. It was a landmark document clarifying the area of cultural property protection, giving expression to respect for national identity, culture, and cultural heritage in a universal manner, not limited to a selected region of the world at the time of danger. The Convention noted that every nation, every state, through its heritage, has a part to play in shaping world culture. All the previously scattered provisions on the protection of cultural property were brought together in one document.

In order to honour the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Hague Convention and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Second Protocol of March 26, 1999 to this Convention, the conference began with a concert of the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army, and then honored the people for whom working for the protection of cultural heritage is not only an obligation but also passion and challenge.

The Director of the Center, Col. Paweł Nawarycz, at the request of the Chapter of the Center’s Commemorative Badge, in recognition of merits and achievements in the field of protection of cultural property, awarded a commemorative badge of the International Center for Training and Research on Cultural Heritage in Danger to, among others, Mr. Krzysztof Sałaciński, Counsellor for defense affairs at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the President of the Polish Blue Shield Committee.

During the two conference panels, a number of important issues were discussed in the following areas:

• cyberspace as a 21st century challenge in the protection of cultural property;
• the role of databases and IT systems in the protection of cultural heritage;
• cybercrime and related threats to cultural heritage.

Speakers representing various circles and professional groups, while drawing attention to the enormous benefits offered by technological developments in the field of the protection of cultural property, were clear about the threats posed by cybercrime. Securing digital data and its functioning in the virtual world is a huge challenge and involves the combined forces of IT professionals, museum professionals and law enforcement agencies. As was emphasized, many good solutions in this area already exist in the world of art and science and should be used and implemented in our national context. Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish Blue Shield Committee presented a speech “Protection of cultural property in times of war and crisis situations – current circumstances”.