FACING THE CHAOS Heritage Protection in the XXI century
Facing the chaos (a Russian perspective) May 19-20-2016
An International Conference
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts
Dvortsovaya nab., 18, 191186 St.Petersburg, Russia
In the last two years the theme of cultural heritage destruction in the Near East became widely known, thanks to the activities of a terrorist group smashing monuments on purpose. However the hype created by such modern iconoclastic actions distracts
attention from the true reasons and meaning of the calamities that befell the shared human heritage in Iraq, Syria, but also in Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya and other countries.
It seems fair to say that, what the state- and private-sponsored terror
in these countries brought about, is not just the type of war destruction that humankind saw so much of. This time it is the very heart of our culture, the very roots of many things that formed today’s civilisation.
It was in this region that
the first ever writing system (cuneiform), the first urbanisations and statehood, the first written laws, scientific thoughts and poetic creations saw the light of day. It was there, the Eastern Mediterranean coast that many religions, including Christianity
were born and further developed.
What really has become the fate of the cultural heritage in the Near East, starting from the 1990s up to now? and what can we, the Russians, do to protect the world’s tangible and intangible heritage?
In this context we cannot just speak of stones and statues that were covered by earth for millennia. We must also speak of the people living with this heritage today trying to keep ancient traditions alive, as well as their ways of thinking and their specific
knowledge and love for their eternal lands.
The conference wants to start and stimulate dialogue and cooperation between all different Russian stakeholders dealing with cultural heritage in the event of conflict, traditional academic actors as
well as military parties.
As part of a conclusion, the conference aims at outlining measures and recommendations practically feasible from within Russia to protect and safeguard Near Eastern heritage.
The programme is subject to change. Updated version will be posted here: http://vk.com/wall-120012186, "The Braves", https://www.facebook.com/thebravesira
and at the site of the Institute, http://www.orientalstudies.ru
May 19-20- 2016
Lectures in random order (draft program 6 may version)
Irina Popova, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts;
Vitaly Naumkin, President of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia;
Mamoun Abdulkarim, Director General of Antiquities and Museums, Syria
A Brief Presentation of the DGAM response to the Cultural Heritage Crisis in Syria
(a video recording)
Abdulamir Hamdani, State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Iraq
The Story of the Destruction of Iraq's Heritage
Anna Paolini, Head of the UNESCO Office at Doha, Qatar
The work of UNESCO in Iraq, Syria and Yemen in Recent Years
Asya Engovatova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology, Russia
The Legislation of Russian Federation on the Prevention of Illegal Archaelogic Research and Sale of Archaelogical Artefacts from Areas of Armed Conflicts (Theory and Practice)
Vitaly Naumkin, President of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russia
Practical Aspects of the Russian Socotran Expedition
Rauf Munchaev, Head of the Syrian Archaelogical Expedition of Russian Academy of Sciences
Shahmardan Amirov, Senior Researcher of the Institute of Archeology, Russia
Research in Syria by the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1988-2010
Vladimir Zolotarev, First Class Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation, Major-General, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor at the Military University of the Russian Ministry of Defense
The Problem of the Heritage Protection as Seen by the Military
Joris Kila, Independent Researcher, The Hague, Netherlands.
Cultural Property Protection and the Military: Why, How, When?
Natalie May, Free University, Germany
Iconoclasm in the Near East, Ancient and Modern
Layla Salih, Curator of Mosul Museum, Iraq
The Events in the Mosul Museum
Alexei Jankowski, Alexander Foundation, Russia
An Overview of the Online Satellite and Ground Evidence of the Damage to the Archaelogical Sites in Syria
Dmitri Pirbari, Head of the Yazidi Council of Georgia, Head of the Georgian Centre for Yazidi Studies, Georgia
Sarsal, the Yazidi New Year Festival
Olga Zeitlin, Legal Counsel of the «Migrants and Law» Network of the Anti-Discrimination Centre «Memorial», Russia
The Status of Migrants in Russia in the Light of the Intangible Heritage Protection
Pascal Butterlin, Head of the French excavations at Tell Hariri / Mari, Syria - France
Mari and the Syrian Crisis (by Skype)
Natalia Koslova, Head of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum, Russia
The Hermitage Collection of Cuneiform Documents
Abdulamir Hamdani, State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Iraq
The Current National and International Archaeological Projects in Iraq
Talal Awwad, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Technical Commission on Soil-Structure Interaction (ISSMG TC207), Professor at Damascus University, Syria
Alexander Shashkin, General Director of the Georecontstruction Group of Companies
Vladimir Ulitsky, Head of the Department of Bases and Foundations at the St.Petersburg State Transport University, ISSMG TC207 Chairman
The Problems of the Rescue of Syrian Cultural Monuments
Ludovic Ehrhart, Head of the Central Office for the Fight against The Traffic of Cultural Goods, France TBC
Mounir Arbach, Researcher of the Laboratory of Ancient Semitic Studies, CNRS, France
Getting Yemeni Artefacts from Clandestine Digging back to Museums
Sergei Frantsouzoff, Head of the Middle and Near East Section of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russia
The Fate of the Inscriptions from Raibun, Yemen
Waddah Al-Jundi, Chairman of the St.Petersburg Center of Russian-Arabic Cooperation, Russia
Destructions in Syria and the Russian Public Opinion
