ICOM has as a partner in the International Committee of the Blue Shield
(ICBS)long promoted the idea of an Emergency Fund which would give the ICBS
more opportunities to provide immediate material assistance in cases of
disaster. After a series of meetings between the Prince Claus Fund of the
Netherlands and the ICBS it was decided to establish a fund, for which the
Prince Claus Fund will initially provide financial support and in which the
members of the ICBS will also take part. It is hoped that the Fund will
expand by contributions of other concerned organisations. ICOM is therefore
extremely happy to be able to present this press release of the Cultural
Emergency Aid Fund to our members.


Press Release
September 2003


THE PRINCE CLAUS FUND IS LAUNCHING
A CULTURAL EMERGENCY AID FUND
FOLLOWING THE LOOTING OF IRAQ’S CULTURAL HERITAGE


Protecting cultural heritage against war and natural disasters.
On 26 September 2003 the Prince Claus Fund will launch a cultural emergency
aid fund called the Cultural Emergency Response. This initiative was
triggered by the news of the recent looting of cultural heritage in Baghdad
(Iraq). The aim of the Cultural Emergency Response is to provide emergency
aid to international cultural heritage that is damaged and threatened by
war or natural disasters so as to prevent further loss. Each disaster will
be assessed in terms of immediate needs; this will involve both local and
international expertise and networks.

The fund’s co-founder is the International Committee of the Blue Shield,
the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross. The first action of the Cultural
Emergency Response will be announced during the presentation on 26
September.

A lecture on the lethal relationship between war and cultural heritage.
Dr. Selma Al-Radi, an Iraqi archaeologist and the director of the Amiriya
Restoration Project in Rada (Yemen), will hold a lecture on the lethal
relationship between war and cultural heritage. She was a member of the
UNESCO mission sent this summer by the United Nations to assess the state
of the National Museum in Baghdad. Her lecture will be based on her
personal experience of restoring museums in Beirut and Kuwait.

The Prince Claus Fund.
The Prince Claus Fund is a platform for intercultural exchange. In co-
operation with individuals and organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America
and the Caribbean, the Fund undertakes contemporary activities and
publications in the field of culture and development. The annual Prince
Claus Awards are a part of this policy. Freedom of cultural expression and
respect for cultural identity are starting points for the development of
new activities. They also form the ideological basis for the founding of
the Cultural Emergency Response.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield.
The Blue Shield was established in 1954 as the symbol for cultural heritage
that is be protected from attack in the event of armed conflict. The
International Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in 1996 with the aim
of bringing together the knowledge,  experience and international networks
of four expert organisations, concerned with archives, libraries, museums,
monuments and sites, active in the field of cultural heritage and cultural
emergency aid.

Date:   26 September 2003
Location:  The Prinsenhof Museum, Delft (The Netherlands)
Time:   3.30pm

For further information, please contact:
Prince Claus Fund
Hoge Nieuwstraat 30
2514 EL The Hague (The Netherlands)
Press and publicity: Annette de Bock  tel. +31 (0)70 – 4274303 / (0)6 –
23938680
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html