Overview
Who protects our cultural heritage? How does an artifact travel from its homeland, where it bears witness to the history of a civilization and the identity of a people, to the halls of auction houses and international art markets? And how can looted cultural property be traced, its sources verified, its illicit circulation prevented, and its return pursued?
Marking the International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, Qatar National Library’s Himaya Project, in collaboration with UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, presents an international online symposium on the protection and restitution of cultural property.
Bringing together experts in international law, cultural heritage protection, and provenance research, the symposium will explore how looted and illicitly traded cultural objects can be traced, documented, and recovered.
Discussions will examine the role of international conventions and national legislation, the responsibilities of cultural institutions and art market actors, and the importance of international cooperation in combating illicit trafficking and supporting restitution efforts.
The event will also consider practical approaches to strengthening legal frameworks, improving documentation and monitoring, and protecting cultural heritage for future generations.
Speakers:
- Abdullah Mohsen, a Yemeni researcher focused on tracking and documenting Yemen’s antiquities
- Fatima Al-Shammakhi, Acting Head of the Cultural Heritage Register and Combating Illicit Trafficking Section, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman
- Abdul Latif Al-Jasmi, Director of Cultural Heritage Protection at Qatar Museums, Qatar
- Roger O’Keefe, Professor of International Law and specialist in international cultural heritage law at Bocconi University, Italy
- Ana Filipa Vrdoljak, Professor of Law and holder of the UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia
- Artemis Papathanassiou, Legal Adviser and Head of the Special Legal Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece
- Vincent Négri, Researcher at the Institute for Political Social Sciences, École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay
- Charles Sabga, Head of Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the State of Qatar
Moderators:
- Rasul Samadov, Head of the Culture Unit, UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen
- Maxim Nasra, Head of the Preservation and Conservation Center, Qatar National Library
Target Audience:
Researchers, cultural heritage professionals in museums and memory institutions, and international law experts.
This event will be conducted online via Zoom.
