The PROCULTHER-NET Technical Bulletins: a must-read publication for experts on cultural heritage protection at risk
Following the success of the two PROCULTHER-NET Technical Bulletins – published in March and June 2023, in April 2024, the PROCULTHER-NET 2 project launched through the members of the UCPKN Board a call for contributions for the next editions of this publication. The objective of the technical bulletin is to facilitate the collection, sharing and integration of knowledge, and the advancement of preparedness capacities at European and national level, encouraging cooperation both within and among several organisations and sectors of reference.
This third issue of the Technical Bulletin of July 2024 is introduced by a Foreword signed by Fabrizio Curcio, Head of the Italian Civil Protection Department, and coordinator of the PROCULTHER-NET project. The ten contributions featured were written by a variety of experts belonging to disaster risk management and cultural heritage authorities, Ministries, museums, universities, specialised institutes and research projects active in the field, coming from the Partner countries as well as from UCPM states, such as Hungary and Slovakia. The articles cover all phases of disaster risk management: this particular issue opens with two contributions dedicated to PREVENTION, providing information on risk assessment tools, while the PREPAREDNESS section illustrates several examples of efficient risk management and organizational strategies. The RESPONSE section presents two articles on fire and its impact on movable and immovable heritage while the section on RECOVERY concentrates more on the readers’ participation by encouraging them to learn more on the recovery of movable assets. The publication concludes with a special section – FOCUS ON – that presents the state-of-the-art and explores the cross-cutting issues regarding cultural heritage protection. In particular, this number includes two contributions: the first one addresses the vast subject of debris management in a cultural heritage setting, and the second one deals with the integration of cultural heritage in virtual reality tools and their application to increase preparedness and emergency capacities based on the findings of the report Feasibility study for the conception of CH focused virtual reality and learning tools to be integrated into the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network elaborated in 2023 by PROCULTHER-NET.
There is always time to contribute to the growth of the thematic community proposed by PROCULTHER-NET and to intensify the knowledge transfer processes it promotes; experts from UCPM countries wishing to share good practices or approaches relevant to the protection of cultural heritage at risk can contact their National Civil Protection Authority to find out how to apply for the next call for contributions scheduled for 2025.
In the meantime, don’t miss the next December issue and continue to follow #ProcultherNet to find out how to actively participate in the thematic community within the UCPKN!