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Power of Archives During Moments of Crisis
On Friday, November 1, 2024, MEAP Program Director, Rachel Deblinger, moderated the panel "Protecting Culture During Conflict" at the Endangered Archives Programme Timeless Archives, Timely Connections Conference(opens in a new tab) held at the British Library. The panel included presentations by Dagnija Baltiņa, Director of the National Library of Latvia, Nadiya Khalak, visiting researcher at the University of Warsaw (Poland), Hana Sleiman, a Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Edinburgh, and Peter Stone, the President of the Blue Shield (opens in a new tab)and the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Property Protection and Peace at Newcastle University, UK.
The presentations highlighted the meaning of archives in times of war, violence, upheaval and crisis. In particular, panelists highlighted how cultural heritage can support community cohesion, stability, and a sense of meaning during displacement and uncertainty. Importantly, Baltina discussed the role cultural heritage plays in validating voices on the global stage. Preserving and amplifying voices from the past can give those same people and communities power to represent themselves in the present and the future. Archives have the ability to validate some experiences over others, some voices over others and, in this way, act as drivers of trust and power in contemporary global discourse.
While recognizing the importance of preserving cultural heritage, the panel also asked hard questions about the viability of preservation and conservation work during times of crisis, and especially during times of war. The panel asked how communities and institutions can set priorities about cultural heritage when community focus is on saving people? Who takes responsibility for protection and preservation if cultural heritage collections are threatened or targeted?
The Question of Digitization
Throughout the discussion, panelists toggled between considering the value of physical conservation and digitization to create portable surrogates. Ideally, both the physical materials and digital surrogates would be available and protected, but the ideal is so rarely attainable - especially in the face of war, violence and destruction. Towards that end, panelists raised questions about funding, trust and access, recognizing the need for external funds to conduct digitization and create meaningful metadata that can enable access.
Digitization was overall seen as part of a process of preparation and disaster planning so that digital copies of physical materials could serve as documentation that collections existed if they are destroyed.
Expanding our Definition of Endangered
Among many other themes, the panel discussed the need for peacetime preparations and planning. The panelists noted how international relationships, existing practices, and organized plans can allow a cultural institution to respond swiftly to urgent threat. And, how, during times of crisis, it is often too late to procure equipment needed for digitization or foreign funds needed for additional preservation work.
By identifying the need for preparation work, the panel pushed against existing approaches to "endangerment." The numerous crises currently ongoing around the world suggest that it is impossible to identify every kind of threat and every possible risk. Instead, cultural heritage stewards around the world must acknowledge that planning for loss and for potential emergency is a necessary part of preservation work. Funders, like MEAP, must also consider expanding our understanding of endangerment in recognition of growing crises and the urgency of preparation to ensure that collections are safeguarded.
MEAP Poster
MEAP also participated in the conference Poster session, offering an overview of our program -- from funding grants to creating global access to nearly 75,000 unique digital objects. View our poster now(opens in a new tab)