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UNESCO and ICCROM train Ukrainian professionals in damage and risk assessment for cultural heritage
An intensive 5-day training took place in the city of L’viv in October 2023, bringing together more than 20 cultural heritage professionals from 14 regions across the country, including the cities of Odesa, Kyiv and L’viv. The training upskilled Ukrainian participants in risk management and documentation of post-damage cultural property.
Due to the ongoing war in the country, and constant attacks on cultural sites, the experts need new skills on swift response to the damages of the valuable historical buildings.
The programme consisted of theoretical and practical parts, tailored to the context in Ukraine. Participants also learned from the best practices for the protection of forensic evidence at a damaged cultural heritage site in L’viv, where a residential and cultural building had been hit by a Russian missile in July 2023.
We have gained the necessary knowledge that we can use when we go to assess a building, and we understand what the risks can be. It is extremely important to know how to avoid these risks, and we had the opportunity to learn this through lectures, supported by practical exercises
UNESCO joined forces with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to provide the training, in close coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
This on-site training is a follow-up to the online workshop in-situ damage and risk assessment which took place in October 2023, gathering more than 150 participants from diverse international and national institutions. The online discussion led to the development of a standardized methodology for on-site assessment of damage and risk to cultural property in Ukraine.
Using the new UNESCO/ICCROM methodology, aligned with the national legal framework and the 1954 Hague Convention, the trainees conducted an on-site damage and risk assessment of the architectural monument situated in the buffer zone of the World Heritage site “L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre” which was hit by a missile on 6 July 2023.
Thanks to this training, we have a common understanding and vision of how to work with different kinds of risks to the properties, because there are representatives of multiple cultural heritage protection institutions from all regions of Ukraine. This training gives us the tools with which we can all work in a unified way
This training is part of UNESCO’s comprehensive project to support Ukraine in different areas, funded by Japan. UNESCO remains committed to preserving Ukraine's rich cultural heritage from the impact of war and to helping the country’s professionals work closely with national, regional and international partners.
