Date: 12/12/08
The idea of culture is becoming synonymous with conflict and polarisation – and in the process putting some of the world’s most precious heritage sites at risk – experts will argue at a major international conference this week.
“Culture Wars: Heritage and Armed Conflict in the 21st Century”, which is being hosted by Cambridge University, will suggest that the very idea of culture is taking on a new meaning. While it was once associated with enrichment and engagement, participants will examine how cultural identity is instead often hijacked by national or ethnic interest groups.
As a result, organisers say, many sites of global archaeological and historical importance are in greater peril than ever before. The irrevocable damage done to Babylon by US and Polish troops during the Iraq War has been widely publicised in recent weeks, but the conference will suggest that numerous other sites are becoming either the victims, or weapons, of war.
The bombardment of Dubrovnik during the Yugoslav Wars, the Taliban’s deliberate destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, or the deliberate targeting of the Twin Towers as an icon of American and Western culture, illustrate how widespread the problem is.
The conference, which started yesterday (Thursday, December 11th), will be attended by speakers from universities, museums, libraries and non-governmental organisations from around the world. Among them will be representatives of the British Museum, the Iraq National Library, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Aga Khan Foundation.
Ismailimail 