Culture is a basic need. A community thrives through its cultural heritage, it dies without it.
Cultural heritage consists of tangible and intangible, natural and cultural, movable and immovable assets inherited from the past. It is of extremely high value for the present and the future of a country. Access, preservation, and education around cultural heritage are essential for the evolution of people and their culture.
The preservation and restoration of cultural heritage has always been a priority for IFLA.
It is essential to monitor areas at risk, to advocate for and raise awareness about conflict and disaster prevention. With an increase in cultural heritage being abused for political propaganda and destroyed to serve certain agendas, the protection of cultural heritage has never been more important.
Next to the possible destruction of cultural heritage through war and occupation, the illicit traffic of cultural objects is also a threat to the survival of cultural heritage. In times of upheaval and confusion, cultural heritage can be displaced or illegally sold.
IFLA is working together with UNESCO and the International Committee of the Blue Shield to prevent this from happening and ensure that (physical) cultural heritage remains in safe conditions in their place of origin.
Furthermore, it is not only man made threats that pose a danger to cultural heritage; natural threats can also affect the heritage of a region. IFLA sets out to monitor disaster areas around the globe and help with preservation as well as reconstruction once disasters have happened.
Última actualización: 24 Mayo 2013