Yesterday the second meeting of international experts to save Iraq's museums
and cultural property was held in London at the initiative of the British
Museum and UNESCO. The aim of the London summit was to decide what could be
done by the international community to restore Iraq's devastated heritage.


Donny George, the director of research at Baghdad Museum, showed slides of
the archives of his museum in various states of disarray and emphasised how
crucial archives were to museums. According to Mr George, Iraq's borders are
"wide open", although Jordanian authorities have seized boxes of antiquities
and assorted government documents, which foreign journalists had attempted
to smuggle out.


The Minister of State Tessa Jowell stated that action would be taken with
regards to supporting museums and libraries in Iraq but no mention was made
of archives.

The International Council on Archives (ICA) and the Society of Archivists,
including the Society's International Affairs Sub Committee, have issued
statements about this issue which I hope you will have read, both in the
daily papers and on list-servs. I would hope that the approach taken with
regard to the situation in Iraq would be a collaborative cross-sectoral one.
I would like to know of any action which is being taken with regard to this.
It seems unclear how our profession (i.e. archivist and conservator) is
being involved in supporting all endeavours to assist our colleagues in Iraq
in the reconstruction of Iraq's information infrastructure and conserve the
precious documentary heritage which still survives.

Yours, Patricia Sleeman Secretary of the International Affairs
Sub-Committee, Society of Archivists.

Please reply off-list.

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