April
2003
On
April 16, a group of 16 national organizations broadly representing the U.S.
cultural heritage community met at the headquarters of the American Association
of Museums in Washington, DC, to begin to share information and coordinate
efforts regarding the Iraqi cultural heritage crisis.
Before
considering future plans or action, the group stressed the absolute importance
of establishing contact with Iraqi museum, library, archive, and heritage
professionals on the ground in Iraq and obtaining from them a list of their most
pressing needs. This, the group agreed, is the first priority.
The
group reached consensus on the need to:
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Communicate
with cultural heritage professionals in Iraq to obtain a list of needs and
priorities
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Call
for the immediate protection of cultural resources and assets located in
Iraq
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Call
for the inclusion of cultural heritage needs in the U.S. Agency for
International Development’s list of reconstruction activities for Iraq
(see http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/activities.html)
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Identify
private, business, and government funding to support the cultural heritage
reconstruction work in Iraq.
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The
group agreed to work toward achieving the actions outlined above, to share
further information as it becomes available, and to collaborate on future
planning.
Organizations
represented were (in alphabetical order):
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American
Association of Museums
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American
Historical Association
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American
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
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American
Library Association
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College
Art Association
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Council
of American Overseas Research Centers
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Council
on Library and Information Resources
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The
Getty Conservation Institute
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Heritage
Preservation
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International
Council of Archives
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International
Foundation for Art Research
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National
Coalition for History
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National
Humanities Alliance
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Smithsonian
Institution
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Society
for Historical Archaeology
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US
Committee, International Council on Monuments and Sites
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