Professor Peter Stone, Chair of Blue Shield United Kingdom and Vice President of Blue Shield International, spoke in a panel on ‘Saving cultural heritage from conflict’ at the symposium ‘Culture under attack’ at the Imperial War Museum, London on Saturday 7 September. The Symposium is part of the wider ‘What happens when our culture is destroyed?’ series of free exhibitions at the IWM that is on show until 5 January 2020.
Stone was quoted in this article by Reuters:
Better military planning and training of troops could prevent cultural property damage, looting and vandalism during fighting, said academic Peter Stone, the first ever UNESCO Chair for Cultural Property Protection and Peace.
He said the British army recently established a cultural property protection unit and interest in safeguarding property during war was being shown by NATO as well as Italy and Austria.
“Lots of armies have damaged and pillaged … but the military are beginning to take this far more seriously,” said Stone.
“You can’t protect people without protecting their heritage … the two are completely indivisibly linked.”
Culture Under Attack is a season of three free exhibitions, live music, performances and talks at IWM London that explore how war threatens not just people’s lives, but also the things that help define us. Telling stories spanning 100 years, Culture Under Attack reveals why some try to erase or exploit culture, while others risk everything to protect, celebrate and rebuild it.
