50 years of UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property

26.10.2020
 

On 14th November 1970, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property which looks at return and restitution of cultural property as a means of protecting them and safeguarding the identity of peoples and communities. In the year of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of this convention, institutions worldwide have engaged in a reflection on the implementation of this Convention, its successes, failures and challenges. For its anniversary, Blue Shield Germany has jointly worked with the Chair of Cultural Management and the Heritage Management Unit of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg in collecting different perspectives from notable members in the cultural heritage field on the successes, failures and challenges of the 1970 convention.

In the framework of the project "Communicating Culture and Heritage: Strategies for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property", students from the Master´s programme World Heritage Studies worked on the creation of short-interview videos and the development of a social media campaign to raise awareness on the importance of the 1970 Convention and the work that needs to be done to strengthen this Convention and its real-life implementation.

This study project aimed to equip students with an understanding of the importance of communication for the fields of culture and heritage and how social media can be used in supporting other heritage institutions and interacting with fellow organisations and peers.

Starting from the 2nd of November 2020, the project´s campaign "Tra(ffi)cking culture - Voices on the Implementation of the UNESCO 1970 Convention" will be presented on the Twitter channel of Blue Shield Germany, leading up to the international online conference "Cultural Heritage and Multilateralism: Regional and International Strategies for the Protection of Cultural Heritage", which takes place from 16 - 18 November 2020 on the occasion of the anniversary. Full interviews are available on the Youtube channel of Blue Shield Germany. More information on the planned festivities of UNESCO on the occasion of the 50th anniversary can be found here.

Tra(ffi)cking Culture - Voices on the Implementation of the UNESCO 1970 Convention

Project coordination: Elisabeth Korinth (Blue Shield Germany) and Nicole Franceschini (Chair of Cultural Management, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg)

Project assistant: Felipe Echeverri

Team: Dipannita Banik, Mathilde Bretz, Mary Cain, Tania Contrucci, Idil Gümüs, Meetali Gupta, Tathiana Vanesa Sanchéz, Azad Thapa