First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis Handbook and Toolkit

Publication/report
Toolkit/framework/roadmap
Video

Resources

OCM Datasheet

Intended Audience

“Cultural heritage professionals and institutions that would like to develop coordinated emergency plans.

Community-based organizations and humanitarian aid professionals who are working to enhance disaster resilience in-risk prone regions of the world.

Civil protection, civil defence and military personnel, firefighters, and others in charge of protecting communities and their assets during disasters and conflicts.” (webpage description)

[Cultural heritage institutions and organisations, those responsible for training and development of heritage professionals and practitioners]

A. Tandon, ICCROM and Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development

2018

“Securing cultural heritage during large-scale and multilayered humanitarian crises is challenging for many reasons. One major reason is the lack of consideration for cultural heritage within national and international emergency management systems. Other reasons are encompassed in such questions as: if multiple cultural sites are affected, where does one start? Who can provide access? Who can assist? When is the right time to intervene? How should one intervene?

This Handbook and its Toolkit explain ‘cultural heritage first aid’: the immediate and interdependent actions taken to stabilise and reduce risks to endangered tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with the aim of promoting its recovery. Through a field-tested, three-step framework, it establishes when and how to protect endangered cultural heritage, and indicates all those who could assist in such operations. The steps and workflows provided can be adapted to different types of emergencies and their specific contexts.

This handbook aims to serve as a:

• Reference to train cultural first aiders, emergency responders and volunteers.

• Tool to improve the emergency preparedness and response plans of cultural heritage institutions.

• Guide to assist in implementing first aid operations in conjunction with humanitarian relief and recovery.

It identifies aspects of cultural heritage first aid, the coordinated implementation of which could help reduce the affected population’s vulnerability. By doing so, we hope to advocate for the inclusion of cultural heritage first aid in international, national and local emergency response and humanitarian relief systems” (Handbook, p.7)

Avaiable in

Arabic
English
French
Turkish

5Ps

Actions

SDGs LINKAGES

The resource can help implement activity that supports a number of SDG targets that support Disaster Risk Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. These include: SDG 2.5 (effective seed banks), SDG 4.4. (staff skills), SDG 11.4 (strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage), SDG 11.B (adopt Disaster Risk Reduction approaches), SDG 13.1 (strengthen ability to face natural disasters), SDG 13.3 (which includes education and institutional capacity for climate change adaptation and early warning), SDG 16.4 (combating organized crime), SDG 16.6 (effective, accountable and transparent institutions), SDG 16.10 (protecting access to information and fundamental freedoms), and SDGs 17.16 and 17.17 (international and multistakeholder partnerships respectively).

Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators

SDG 2.5: Maintain the Genetic Diversity in Food Production
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Collections development related to genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals (notably of local or at-risk varieties) and related wild species, for example in herbaria, museums, seed and gene banks, and seed libraries.
Number of educational programmes related to genetic diversity of domesticated plants, animals and wild relatives.
Number of educational programmes related to fair and equitable benefits of use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, following international agreements (e.g. Nagoya Protocol).
Number of educational and awareness programmes for people to ensure that they are aware of their rights and protections in terms of traditional knowledge, and exploitation of genetic resources.
Number of research activities that help understand traditional knowledge, and genetic diversity of crop plants and animals.
Ensure that producers of crop plants and animals are fairly compensated.
Policies and procedures in place to ensure seed banks are soundly managed, in terms of risk management and emergency planning.
Policies and procedures in place to ensure legal compliance with fair and equitable benefits of use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, following international agreements (e.g. Nagoya Protocol).
Number of partnerships at national, regional and international levels, as appropriate, to soundly manage seed and plant banks.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 4.4: Increase the Number of People with Relevant Skills for Financial Success
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Number of young people and adults in skills-development activities and programmes drawing on collections, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
Increase in number of young people and adults in such programmes.
Number and proportion of staff who have received training in the last year, to better support their contribution to the SDGs.
Programs and processes in place to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 11.4: Protect the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by type of heritage.
Plans, policies and procedures in place for the safe use of collections for a variety of purposes, protecting and safeguarding both collections and those who use them.
Plans, policies and procedures in place for the identification, safeguarding and protection of cultural and natural heritage at risk.
Collecting programmes in place to protect, safeguard and make use of cultural and natural heritage, addressing the needs of communities and stakeholders, and ensuring that collections can be an effective resource for sustainable development.
Number and diversity of educational, awareness-raising, research programmes, and partnerships that aim to strengthen protection of cultural and natural heritage.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 11.B: Implement Policies for Inclusion, Resource Efficiency and Disaster Risk Reduction
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030a.
Disaster Risk Reduction strategies and plans in place, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, to ensure collecting institutions and collections are factored into planning, and contribute effectively to Disaster Risk Reduction.
Collections-based institutions included in local plans for social inclusion, resource use, and Disaster Risk Reduction.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 13.1: Strengthen Resilience and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Related Disasters
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Plans in place for near and longer term to withstand and actively adapt to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 13.3: Build Knowledge and Capacity to Meet Climate Change
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Plans in place to enhance positive contributions to addressing climate change through use of collections. Plans in place to ensure collections, collections institutions and broader society can adapt effectively to climate change.
Plans in place for effective education and awareness raising on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
Plans in place to reduce negative contributions of collections-related functions, e.g. measuring greenhouse emissions with plans and targets in place to reduce them.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 16.4: Combat Organized Crime and Illicit Financial and Arms Flows
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Identification of stolen assets, return of stolen assets.
Collections development, education, awareness-raising and partnership activities relating to organized crime, with a view to combatting organized crime everywhere.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 16.6: Develop Effective Accountable and Transparent Institutions
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Proportion of the population [audience/users/non-users] satisfied with their last experience of public services.
Access to information, and accountability policies and mechanisms, in place.
Effective institutional arrangements, both for own working and for working in partnership with other sectors, in place.
Plans and arrangements in place for extraordinary circumstances such as natural and human-caused disasters.
Effective arrangements in place to fulfil legal and social obligations and responsibilities.
Effective arrangements in place for transparent communication and reporting of institutional performance.
Effective arrangements in place for transparent decision-making and accountability.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 16.10: Ensure Public Access to Information and Protect Fundamental Freedoms
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.
Plans in place, and plans implemented to enhance public access to information relating to collections.
Plans in place, and plans implemented to support fundamental freedoms, in line with human rights, national and international agreements and legislation.
Plans and procedures in place for public access to information relating to the operation and management of collections-based institutions.
Complaint mechanism in place for public to use where public access to information and fundamental freedoms not supported or fulfilled.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships involving developing countries that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close
SDG 17.17: Encourage Effective Partnerships
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of local, national and regional multi-stakeholder (public, public-private and civil society) partnerships that address the SDGs drawing on collections, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
Go to the SDG Target Page Close