1954 HAGUE CONVENTION ANNIVERSARY EVENT “MILESTONES & WAYS TO GO” IN BRUSSELS

On 2 July 2024, as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the 1954 Hague Convention, Blue Shield Austria co-organized the symposium “Milestones & Ways to Go” at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU in Brussels. The event was held in collaboration with the German Society for Cultural Property Protection e.V., the Swiss Society for Cultural Property Protection, Blue Shield Germany, and the Fraunhofer Society, under the patronage of the Austrian Embassy to Belgium and with support from the Austrian Cultural Forum. Bringing together key stakeholders from across Europe, the symposium provided a platform to reflect on the achievements of the Hague Convention and to discuss future challenges in the protection of cultural heritage. The event was structured into two parts: an expert symposium in the afternoon and a public evening with a keynote speech and high-level roundtable discussion in the evening.
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The symposium opened with welcoming remarks by Waltraud Strommer, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum Brussels, followed by introductions from representatives of the organizing committee: Nelly Cauliez (Swiss Society for Cultural Property Protection), Anna Puhr (Blue Shield Austria), and Constanze Fuhrmann (German Society for Cultural Property Protection e.V.).

The opening session set the stage for interdisciplinary discussions on strengthening cultural resilience and advancing protective strategies across sectors, including cultural heritage, disaster risk reduction, civil protection, humanitarian policy, and the armed forces.  

This was followed by presentations from Bastien Varoutsikos (ALIPH), Hans Ulrich Gössl (DG ECHO) and Giovanni De Siervo (PROCULTHER-NET). Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, President of Blue Shield Austria, provided insights into the founding principles of Blue Shield in Europe and the organization’s ongoing efforts to enhance international cooperation in this field. 

The second part of the expert symposium focused on advancing the legal integration and operational implementation of the Hague Convention within EU policies. Through interdisciplinary dialogue, a set of “Seven Recommendations to the European Union” was developed focusing on integrating the 1954 Hague Convention and its Protocols into EU policy to strengthen the EU's global commitment to the protection of cultural heritage, align the protection of cultural heritage with EU policies to promote resilience and safeguard critical infrastructure that is essential for the preservation of cultural heritage.

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The evening event was opened by H.E. Franz Wirtenberger, Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the EU, H.E. Bálint Ódor, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU, as well as Louise Haxthausen, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels. Aleida Assmann, Pioneering Scholar of Cultural Memory and Professor of English, Literary and Egyptology at the University of Konstanz gave a keynote speech. 

​The subsequent high-level roundtable brought together Emma Cunliffe, Senior Research Associate at the Newcastle University & Secretariat of Blue Shield International, Sanne Letschert, Director of Cultural Emergency Response (CER), Alfio Gullotta, Cultural Heritage Policy Officer at the European, External Action Service (EEAS) and Manfred Pinnegger, Security / Risk Manager for Cultural Institutions and Austrian Contingent Commander in the EUAM Ukraine Mission (2021-2023). Bijan Rouhani, Senior Researcher at the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project at the University of Oxford, moderated the discussion. 

++ Photos: Lucinde Wahlen ++