Plan of Work

The Organizational Outline and Plan of Work, drawn up January 2014 presents a brief overview of the NGO Heritage for Peace; its structure, purpose, organizational needs; completed work and proposed work.

About Heritage for Peace

Heritage for Peace (Syria) is an NGO whose mission is to support heritage workers as they protect their collections, monuments and sites during armed conflict. As an international group of heritage workers we believe that cultural heritage, and the protection thereof, can be used as a common ground for dialogue and therefore as a tool to enhance peace.

Currently our efforts are focused on Syria, where the ongoing conflict has damaged World Heritage sites, threatened museums, bombed libraries, and led to an epidemic of looting of cultural artefacts. Heritage for Peace is impartial in the conflict; our programs are focused on training heritage professionals and other interested parties to deal with the unique challenges of protecting cultural collections, monuments and sites during armed conflict, and on educating all military forces on their obligation to protect Syria’s precious cultural heritage under international law. We aim to assist all Syrians in their efforts to protect and safeguard Syria’s cultural heritage during the armed conflict, and we call on all Syrians of any religion or ethnicity to enter into a dialogue and work together to safeguard their mutual heritage.

Heritage for Peace was founded in March 2013, and is based in Girona, Catalonia – Spain.
Heritage for Peace is incorporated as an NGO under Catalan law.

Problem Statement – the Crisis in Syria

Syria has been a crucible of human culture for hundreds of thousands of years. The country is home to some of the world’s first cities, as well as globally important sites from the Akkadian, Sumerian, Hittite, Assyrian, Persian, Greco-Roman, Ummayyad, Crusader, and Ottoman civilizations. This rich heritage, including six World Heritage sites, has been seriously damaged by the armed conflict that began in 2011.

To give just a few examples: shelling and small arms fire have damaged the Ummayyad mosque of Aleppo, the Citadel of Damascus, and the Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers. Museums at Apamea, Aleppo, and Raqqa experienced thefts, and the archaeological sites of Deir ez-Zor, Mari, Dura Europos, Halbia, Buseira, Tell Sheikh Hamad and Tell es-Sin have all been damaged by looters. Open fighting continues in many areas, while organized gangs of looters have targeted archaeological sites and museum collections, hoping to smuggle artefacts out of the country for sale abroad.

Many Syrian heritage professionals, including the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) has worked valiantly to safeguard monuments, museums, and sites, but the challenges of operating during wartime require special expertise, and staff cannot operate in many parts of the country. There are no disaster plans for museums and sites, and Syrian heritage professionals lack crisis training. International organizations in many cases lack the budget or authority or have other reasons not to intervene. Recognizing that solutions must come from within Syria, Heritage for Peace’s initiatives aim to address these problems by working with all Syrians to raise awareness, safeguard collections, protect monuments and sites, stop the looting, and prepare for postwar reconstruction.

Working Principles and Objectives

Working Principles

Heritage for Peace believes that heritage can serve as a key focus of dialogue between communities, nations, and ethnic and religious groups: heritage can, in fact, become a basis for constructing peace. Heritage for Peace is unique in that its special focus is on protecting cultural heritage during conflicts: by providing training and support in heritage protection to local communities, Heritage for Peace works to mitigate damage to Syrian’s heritage and lay the groundwork for reconstruction.

Heritage for Peace’s work engages its staff’s local knowledge and previous expertise in conflict situations to promote capacity-building and knowledge transfer in order to create self-sufficiency in heritage management among heritage workers and local communities. As a neutral NGO unaffiliated with any government, Heritage for Peace is in a unique position to work with all parties in the conflict and reach all parts of the country with its programmes.

Heritage for Peace differs from other heritage organizations. While we can work with all parties, governmental and intergovernmental organizations can only work with heritage authorities that are supported by the recognized state authority, and with whom there are existing diplomatic relations. International professional heritage organizations can only support those heritage organizations that are a member of their professional organization, and many are constrained to work only with departments of the formally recognized government.

Moreover, almost all international legislation on the protection of cultural heritage in times of conflict only operates between formally recognized nations who are party to it.  A nation which does not have diplomatic relations with another nation, or which may not be formally recognized as a nation cannot request for this legislation to be upheld.

Making matters even more complicated, in a civil conflict there can be many non-state parties with control of or access to certain regions but who are not legally recognized by international treaties, conventions and legislation. These non-state parties in a conflict therefore suffer from a lack of heritage support or aid from many heritage institutions.

Again, Heritage for Peace is not troubled by those constraints and can and will work with any party that is supportive to the protection of Syrian’s heritage during the crisis.

Objectives

The Objectives of Heritage for Peace are:

  • To promote the safeguarding and protection of all cultural heritage in Syria irrespective of religious or ethnic identity
  • To recognize that all forms of cultural heritage in Syria are valued as equal in importance
  • To promote understanding across diverse communities of the communal value of heritage
  • To recognize that the holdings of cultural repositories are also locations of the tangible expressions of human history
  • To document and preserve knowledge of the damages to cultural heritage in Syria during the present conflict
  • To develop, maintain and support a wide network of contacts and volunteers dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage through effective practices
  • To create an open electronic platform with hands-on information for heritage workers operating during a violent conflict
  • To provide practical knowledge and simple technologies to protect and preserve cultural heritage
  • To provide instructive material to develop basic skills in computer use, management, bookkeeping and English
  • To assist in the preparation for the post-conflict situation
  • To liaise between heritage workers operating during a violent conflict and the international heritage community

The Organization

Staff

The association Heritage for Peace was founded in Girona, Spain, on March 1 2013 under Catalan law. The association runs its office from Girona: Hotel d’Entitats, Rutlla, 20-22, 17002 Girona,  Catalonia – Spain. In addition to the (Syrian) Chair, Secretary and the Treasurer, there is a General Coordinator, a Point of Contact/Press Officer, and a Funding Coordinator.

In addition to the defined posts, Heritage for Peace is composed of an international network of volunteers: academics, heritage professionals and independent advisers or researchers from Syria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and many others. They are all experts in either heritage protection in conflict situations or Syrian heritage.
To know Who We Are, click here…

Partnerships and endorsements

Heritage for Peace is kindly supported by:

PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS UNDER REDEVELOPMENT

Goals

The goals of Heritage for Peace are a direct reflection of our mission statement and objectives, and are realized through the projects listed in the following section.

Short Term Goals

  • Develop contacts within state institutions, local NGOs, and key persons in Syria
  • Develop contacts within key non-state parties
  • Build a network of relevant contacts throughout Syria
  • Provide information and instruction to all institutional staff, NGOs  and individuals who work inside Syria to protect Syria’s heritage
  • Act as a neutral liaison on heritage issues between Syrian and international organizations, and between Syrian heritage organizations and individuals
  • Develop contacts within relevant organizations in the neighbouring countries  Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan
  • Train staff of the state and non-state organizations in Syria in managing the heritage assets in their care during conflict, developing longer-term partnerships and ongoing support networks.
  • Secure funding to provide assistance on the ground in site and collection preservation
  • Provide training in the legal framework of heritage protection for those who may be unfamiliar with it but who may be in a position of authority
  • Activate foreign missions who have previously worked in Syria to provide information and assistance during the conflict
  • Encourage the co-operation of national and international NGOs who are working to protect Syria’s heritage
    • Mitigate the illicit trade and illegal excavations in Syria
    • Mitigate the illicit trade in artefacts in the neighbouring countries, especially in Lebanon and Turkey
    • Raise awareness of the illicit trade in Syrian artefacts globally
    • Raise awareness of the importance of Syria’s heritage nationally and internationally
    • Develop long-term policies to protect Syria’s heritage in conflict
    • Assist in preparations for eventual reconstruction and preservation in the post-conflict phase

Medium Term Goals

  • Train staff of the state and non-state organizations in Syria in managing the heritage assets in their care during conflict, developing longer-term partnerships and ongoing support networks.
  • Secure funding to provide assistance on the ground in site and collection preservation
  • Provide training in the legal framework of heritage protection for those who may be unfamiliar with it but who may be in a position of authority
  • Activate foreign missions who have previously worked in Syria to provide information and assistance during the conflict
  • Encourage the co-operation of national and international NGOs who are working to protect Syria’s heritage

Long Term Goals

  • Mitigate the illicit trade and illegal excavations in Syria
  • Mitigate the illicit trade in artefacts in the neighbouring countries, especially in Lebanon and Turkey
  • Raise awareness of the illicit trade in Syrian artefacts globally
  • Raise awareness of the importance of Syria’s heritage nationally and internationally
  • Develop long-term policies to protect Syria’s heritage in conflict
  • Assist in preparations for eventual reconstruction and preservation in the post-conflict phase

Projects

Heritage for Peace’s projects in Syria are focused on building capacity within Syria to address the interlocking challenges of site and museum protection, stopping looting, monitoring damage, and preparing for postwar reconstruction.

Completed Projects

Details of our completed projects are available here.

Short Term Projects

  • Needs Assessment, designed as a e-Survey that will be send to all staff of DGAM.
  • Workshop Handling, Packaging and Storing in Evacuation of Heritage collections for DGAM staff.
  • Workshop Handling, Packaging and Storing in Evacuation of Heritage collections for non-state heritage workers in cooperation with the Syrian National Coalition
  • Co-organize with the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – CSIC) a symposium on ‘Lessons learned to safeguard cultural heritage in conflict situations’ early 2014 in Barcelona
    • Training Damage Assessment, how to Document the Damaged Archaeological Sites and Historical Monuments in Syria
    • Opposing Forces Heritage Law Training
    • Reduce Illicit Trade and Illegal Excavation on the Turkish-Syrian Border
    • Foreign Missions in Syria Meeting

Medium Term Projects

  • Training Damage Assessment, how to Document the Damaged Archaeological Sites and Historical Monuments in Syria
  • Opposing Forces Heritage Law Training
  • Reduce Illicit Trade and Illegal Excavation on the Turkish-Syrian Border
  • Foreign Missions in Syria Meeting

Long Term Projects

  • Reduce Illicit Trade and Illegal Excavation on the Turkish-Syrian Border
  • Foreign Missions in Syria Meeting

 

 

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