BLUE SHIELD AUSTRIA AT MONUMENT'S DAY 2021

On the occasion of Monument Day, which is coordinated by the Federal Monuments Office and takes place every year on the last Sunday in September all over Austria, Blue Shield Austria organized a symposium that addressed the relevance of cultural heritage and the protection of cultural property on a national and international level. This took place at Castle of Grades which is a medieval castle whose history goes back into the Middle Ages. It has been carefully revitalized and made accessible to the public since 2015 by our board member Constantin and the extensive renovation work actually finished on Monument’s Day.

The program started with guided tours through the castle which included the visit of Austria’s oldest intact open fire kitchen, later there was actually a fire burning. In addition, a photo exhibition by the Austrian-Lebanese photographer Tanya Traboulsi took place showing the complex and restless relationship to terms such as “home” and „memory“ that has influenced Tanyas photographic work over the years.

In the afternoon, Blue Shield Austria organized a symposium on cultural heritage that included topics such as the preservation of monuments, CPP in the military sector, the threatened culture in Armenia as well as an overview of Blue Shield’s international missions.

The event ended with a final reception in the castle's courtyard.