Lecture

Heritage & Conflict

Syria’s Battle to Protect its Past

For the inaugural talk in World Monuments Fund Britian’s Heritage & Conflict series, Prof. Maamoun Abdulkarim, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums for Syria, will give the human story behind the global headlines, and James Davis from the Google Cultural Institute, will report on the latest international efforts to scan and document cultural heritage through advancing technology. The evening will be introduced by Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President of World Monuments Fund.

With cultural heritage dominating the media for the most shocking of reasons in recent years, Prof. Maamoun Abdulkarim comes to us from Syria’s frontline efforts to protect its irreplaceable heritage from insurgent forces. As the destruction of ancient monuments and artefacts in the Middle East and North Africa continues to provoke global condemnation, and heritage is caught in the crossfire, deliberately targeted to gain the media spotlight or looted to fund extremist activity, what can be done – if anything – to protect what remains?

Join us as we discuss the attack on cultural heritage and the international response.

 

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