Heritage & Conflict: Syria’s Battle to Protect its Past
Where: Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR Thursday 12th November 2015, 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm)
What: Syria’s Monuments Man speaks on what it’s like to be “the world’s saddest Director of Antiquities”
As conflict rages across the Middle East and North Africa, millions of people have been displaced, creating a refugee crisis of immense proportions. Alongside this human tragedy a cultural one is being played out, in which heritage is being deliberately targeted. We learn daily of the destruction of ancient monuments at places such as the World Heritage site of Palmyra, and elsewhere in the region.
Image © iStock RPMGas
To launch an important new World Monuments Fund Britain programme of issue-based events, Professor Maamoun Abdulkarim, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums for Syria and James Davis, Programme Manager for the Google Cultural Institute, will tell the human story behind the global headlines and report on the latest international efforts to document cultural heritage. The evening will be introduced by Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice-President of World Monuments Fund.
With the loss of cultural heritage dominating the media, in his first visit to the UK, Professor Maamoun Abdulkarim will talk about Syria’s frontline efforts to protect its irreplaceable heritage from insurgent forces. What if anything can be done to protect what remains?
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