Part of the Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference. Theme 1: What is happening? The significance of sites at risk, and the current situation. Dr Lamia al-Gailani ( UCL/SOAS). Iraq has lost many of its most valuable monuments, ancient and modern, to war, violence, re-development, and neglect . This talk discusses some of the urgent measures, immediate and long term, to preserve and document what is left.

Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference

When words fail. Iraq's lost heritage, and efforts to save it

The Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference aims to raise public awareness and develop understanding of the issues surrounding the protecting of cultural heritage at risk from armed conflict. Focussing on the Middle East, the area currently undergoing the greatest destruction and where the heritage is most at risk, we aim to demonstrate the importance of the heritage, why its destruction matters, and what can be done. Topics to be explored will include the material heritage of the region from international and local perspectives, and the living heritage of communities with rich and longstanding traditions, before exploring why such destruction is happening, and the beliefs that underlie extremist practices. Focus will then move to an overview of what is being done already, and what more the international community can do. This free conference is intended to provide information from a variety of cultures, perspectives, and organisations, including academics, archaeologists, the military, and the media, raising awareness of the multi-cultural nature of Middle Eastern heritage, and its global relevance in the past and today.

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Conflict and Cultural Heritage Conference