Blue Shield UK’s Conflict and Military Activity Working Group hosted a webinar today presenting the findings of a new white paper on risk assessment and cultural property in the United Kingdom. Assessing Risks to Tangible Cultural Heritage, led by Dr Elena Perez-Alvaro with contributors from academia, the armed forces and the heritage sector, brings international approaches to cultural heritage risk assessment into a UK context, identifying the principal conflict-related, human and environmental risks facing tangible heritage, examining the relevant legal framework, and setting out tools for assessing vulnerabilities and developing mitigation measures.
The webinar brought together three speakers closely involved in the paper’s development, Dr Perez-Alvaro, Dr Tom Pinfold (a serving Royal Naval Reserve officer and Blue Shield UK Trustee specialising in human security and cultural property protection), and Laura Searson, Senior Programme Manager of the Culture in Crisis Programme at the British Council and a Member of the Board of Trustees at ICOM UK.
Speaking after the event, Laura said: “Collaborating on events such as these important webinars produced by Blue Shield UK, reaffirm ICOM UK’s commitment to supporting the protection of heritage in the UK and beyond, as well as facilitating more joined up working across the heritage sector. Everyone should read the report!”
The paper is intended as a practical guide for integrating cultural heritage risk assessment into policy development, military training, academic research and strategic planning.
