ICOM Training: Supporting Disaster Risk Management in Armenia

This article was first published by ICOM.

Armenia is a country that has been affected by both natural disasters and armed conflicts. Initiated by ICOM Armenia, ICOM supported the organisation of a training course for museum professionals from the region.

The damages that have affected museums and their collections during the earthquakes, the war for Artsakh (in 1990s, 2016, 2020) showed that the museum community is not prepared enough to react on time and organise the safety measures for their collections and staff on time. Ani Avagyan, ex-Chair of ICOM Armenia, expressed a need regarding the organisation of a training activity on disaster risk management for the Armenian museum professionals to address a lack of knowledge and tools in the area. The training, which took place from October 24 to 28, provided 30 participants from the region with specific tools to prevent, prepare and implement disaster risk management strategies for their collections, staff and visitors in case of earthquake, flood, blast, war, structure collapse, etc.