The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis Programme, in partnership with the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester are pleased to announce an international conference scheduled for 28th February 2023, exploring the past and present risks of military conflict to heritage.

‘Heritage at War: Plan and Prepare’ will bring together voices from Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia to explore how lessons learned from past experiences of conflict can inform our approaches to the safeguarding of cultural heritage today. We will discuss how the heritage sector, the military and other stakeholders collaborate to protect cultural heritage under attack, navigating the specific risks of direct military conflict on the ground.

In the first of two sessions, ‘Learning from the Past’ will explore case studies from previous conflicts which highlight interdisciplinary efforts to protect heritage, drawing guidance from these experiences and comparable strategies for the present.

This one-day, in-person event will be hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. The conference will be free to attend and simultaneously streamed to online audiences around the world.

The conference is aimed at those working in the Heritage Sector, with specific relevance to those engaged in Cultural Property Protection and including those working in related interdisciplinary fields.

Date: Tuesday 28th February 2023

Time: 10:30 -17:00

Location: Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, The Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London.

Format: In-person meeting supported by live streaming and recording.

To reserve a place, email us directly at cultureincrisis@vam.ac.uk with the following information:

• Name
• Role
• Institution
• Online or in person

This conference is generously supported by the University of Leicester’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Award.