Blue Shield actions for safeguarding heritage in Haiti

Paris, 22 March 2010
PRESS RELEASE

The international Blue Shield network has worked hard in the last weeks on defining an action plan for helping our Haitian colleagues. You will find in this press release all the actions we are developing and proposing to our partners. Some have already been done, others are ongoing. If you want to help us by becoming a partner of these actions, please feel free to join us.

• Download the English press release
• Download the French press release

The Blue Shield

The Blue Shield is the protective emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention which is the basic international treaty formulating rules to protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The Blue Shield network consists of organisations dealing with museums, archives, audiovisual supports, libraries, monuments and sites.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), founded in 1996, comprises representatives of the five Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in this field:

• The International Council on Archives
• The International Council of Museums
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites
• The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
• The Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations

National Blue Shield Committees have been founded in a number of countries (18 established and 18 under construction). The Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS), founded in December 2008, will coordinate and strengthen international efforts to protect cultural property at risk of destruction in armed conflicts or natural disasters. The ANCBS has its headquarters in The Hague.

Contact Information: secretariat.ICBS@blueshield.museum

The actions of the Blue Shield can also be followed on:

• Our Website
• Our Facebook page: "Haiti 2010 Blue Shield Solidarity" group
• Twitter thread # blueshieldcoop