Hermann Parzinger at the G7 meeting of culture ministers in Florence
Press release from 03/30/2017
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, is attending the first meeting of G7 culture ministers under the Italian Presidency in Florence today. The meeting will focus on "culture as an instrument of dialogue between peoples" and will address issues of cultural diversity and the protection of cultural property. The meeting follows the adoption of the UN Resolution on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict, the first of its kind to include all types of threats to cultural heritage: from destruction, looting and pillaging to the trafficking of cultural property.
Following the initial discussions in the expert panels, Hermann Parzinger explains: "The events in Syria and Iraq in recent years have led to the G7 countries turning their attention to the preservation of cultural heritage: Destruction of cultural property should be prevented, as should the illegal trade in cultural property. However, cultural property is endangered worldwide, and not just since the conflict in the Middle East. A sustainable solution can only be found if we succeed in creating effective laws against the import of illegally traded antiquities, as has recently been done in Germany. We need to better understand the routes and players involved in illegal trade and also contribute to raising public awareness. All of this must be done in close international co-operation if it is to have a lasting effect: National efforts need to be much more interconnected."
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is involved in numerous projects and collaborations for the protection of cultural property worldwide. In capacity building projects, it helps people to help themselves and trains experts from various countries. The DFG-funded research project ILLICID, led by the Museum of the Ancient Near East, is analysing the dark field of illegal trade in endangered cultural property in Germany. Together with the German Archaeological Institute, the Museum of Islamic Art is compiling a database of Syrian cultural artefacts, which will form the basis for post-war reconstruction. In addition, projects have been successfully established that are directly localised in the countries of the Near and Middle East and enable cooperation on the ground.