The Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield, despite the limitations related to the coronavirus epidemic, actively works for the protection of the cultural heritage in danger and to disseminate the idea of the Blue Shield.
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
Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield, is participating in a project entitled “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“. The project benefits from a EUR 183,000 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants. The aim of the project is to develop a new field of postgraduate studies from scratch. As part of the project, online workshops are being organized on the issues of the protection of endangered heritage, which are conducted by expert practitioners from various fields. Krzysztof Sałaciński has so far conducted two of them concerning the protection of cultural heritage in a crisis situation:
- February 18, 2021 under the title “Protection of the cultural heritage in crisis and armed conflict. Tasks of the armed forces“
- June 17, 2021 under the title “Rules of conduct of cultural institutions in the event of a crisis and war threat – law and practice“
- The participants were familiarized with the following topics:
legal aspects of protection in the event of specific threats (the area of defense and crisis preparations, protection of collections and institutions); - institutions specialized in the protection of cultural heritage;
- cooperation and collaboration of different actors in the implementation of tasks for the security of cultural heritage (central government, local government, non-governmental organizations);
- the program of the Blue Shield (the activity of the Blue Shield International and the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield);
- preparation of exercises on the protection of the cultural heritage in the cultural institutions (practical advice on how to prepare them);
- in what direction we are going (what is happening in the international and national backyard for the safety of cultural heritage).
Lectures given and workshops attended
Protection of cultural heritage in the event of an armed conflict and crisis situations. Law and practice, May 13, 2021
Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield, as part of the cooperation of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield with the Polish Red Cross, on the eve of the anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention, gave a lecture as part of the 23rd course of the School of International Humanitarian Law organized by the Polish Red Cross at cooperation and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport. The lecture was entitled: “Protection of cultural heritage in the event of an armed conflict and crisis situations. Law and practice”.
International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts Lecture Contributions, 19 – 20 May 2021
Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield, as part of cooperation between the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield and the Ministry of National Defense, conducted a series of lectures for officers of the Armed Forces. They concerned the principles of protection of cultural heritage in the event of threats. The lectures were conducted as part of the course on the protection of cultural heritage in the International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts, organized by the Military Center for Civic Education. The course was attended by representatives of various types of the Armed Forces. The lectures were conducted as part of the course covering the issues of protection of cultural heritage included in the International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts organized by the Military Center for Civic Education of the Ministry of National Defence. The course was attended by representatives of various types of the Armed Forces.
Protection of cultural heritage in military operations, May 28, 2021
Representatives of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield took part in the 13th National Scientific Conference of International Humanitarian Law entitled “Contemporary challenges for the International Humanitarian Law” organized on-line by the Command and Naval Operations Department of the Naval Academy in Gdynia and the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk. During the conference in the panel on “Protection of cultural heritage in military operations”, Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish National Committee of the Blue Shield discussed issues related to the protection of cultural heritage in military operations in terms of opportunities, threats and challenges from a global, European and national perspective, and Lidia Klupsz, Board Member of Blue Shield, presented the mission, goals and strategies of the Blue Shield.
Expert and Stakeholder Meeting on Cultural Property Protection: Global Capacity and Financing, June 22-23, 2021
Krzysztof Sałaciński, President of the Polish National Committee and Lidia Klupsz, Board Member of Blue Shield, took part in the Expert and Stakeholder Meeting on Cultural Property Protection: Global Capacity and Financing, organized by The Nordic Center for Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict and the Blue Shield International.
Planned undertakings
25-26 November 2021 – The Polish committee of the Blue Shield are co-organising the International Conference “Protection of cultural heritage in the event of special threats – climatic, environmental, pandemic and fire threats. Directions of activities“.
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