AIC's 44th Annual Meeting

Why lose time in training when damage to cultural heritage is widespread and on the ground capacity for response is stretched thin? In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes of 25th April 20 15, the Department of Archaeology in Nepal had to confront this question, as over one thousand cultural heritage sites had been affected and the less than 100 staff of the Department had to respond. In order to do so they had to enlist the help of civil engineers, craftspeople and local residents while coordinating operations with Nepal army, police, and municipalities, as they were providing the necessary resources for humanitarian as well as cultural assistance. This paper describes the experience of an intensive field training organized in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Nepal. It explains how this “just in time” training helped prepare a national team of cultural first-aiders capable of leading the assessment, stabilization and security of damaged heritage in order to promote early recovery. Organized at the invitation of Nepal’s Department of Archaeology, this initiative set a unique example of inter-agency cooperation for international cultural emergency response as ICCROM, ICOMOS-ICORP, ICOM-DRTF and the Smithsonian Institution joined forces to train a mixed group of over 40 heritage professionals, craftspeople and members of Nepal army and police. To prepare for on-the ground assistance, ICCROM and its partners had set up Kathmandu Cultural Emergency Crowdmap. The information gathered through the crowd-map helped develop a consistent situation analysis, and identify key public as well as private actors engaged in the protection of cultural heritage. Through two workshops, participants developed tailored solutions and workflows for damage assessment, documentation, salvage, and stabilization for cultural collections and heritage buildings. Engaging the local communities in rescuing cultural heritage, identifying priorities for intervention, resource-mobilization and on-going risk management were some of the key issues that were addressed during the on-site work. Analysing the outcomes of the training, the paper will identify broader strategies that could be applied to strengthen local responses in future disaster situations.