Swansea professor trains Irish UN peacekeepers on how to protect cultural sites in conflict

A Swansea University professor has trained Irish UN peacekeepers on how to protect cultural sites in conflict zones.

Professor Nigel Pollard, an expert on the destruction and protection of cultural heritage in conflict, including historic buildings, archaeological sites and museums at Swansea University held the course for the peacekeepers along with various other groups.

There were 45 people in attendance and this included members of the Irish Defence Forces, Garda, Irish Government, cultural institutions, and the armed forces of the UK, Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

Professor Pollard’s expertise means that he is frequently asked to advise and train military personnel, including the UK military Cultural Property Protection Unit, the descendants of the Second World War “Monuments Men”, and he even featured in the George Clooney film of the same name.

During a recent Cultural Property Protection Course, which was run for the Irish Defence Forces UN Training School Ireland (UNTSI), Professor Nigel had taken on the role of lead civilian tutor.

The UNTSI trains Irish Defence Forces for deployment on peacekeeping duties, particularly in UNIFIL and the UN force in southern Lebanon, where the impact on cultural heritage is a current issue.

The course is designed to teach participants how to advise military commanders on protecting cultural sites and is run in collaboration with Blue Shield International and the Red Cross.

It also included remote contributions from the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL and some participants were able to contribute their experience of conditions on the ground in the UNIFIL area of operations.

Furthermore, there was a simulated exercise at St Patrick’s Cathedral and the Military Archives, both in Dublin.

Most Read

Molly from Love Is Blind had a past career as an NBA dancer, and the pics are insane

What happened to Belle Gibson’s boyfriend, son and family after her scam in Apple Cider Vinegar

Here are the 11 questions police officers must now ask under the Gabby Petito Act

The training also coincided with the 70^th anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention on the protection of cultural property in times of crisis, a convention which Ireland was involved in signing.

Professor Pollard is currently researching “Allied Soldiers as Cultural Tourists in Wartime Italy”, which is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. He is using archival memoirs, diaries, letters and photographs, to examine military personnel responses to heritage sites such as Pompeii, Florence and Rome, and how they were shaped by factors like class, education, gender and nationality.

His research on the bombing of Pompeii by Allied forces during WWII was featured in a Channel 5 programme with historian Dan Snow.

Talking about the course, Professor Pollard said: “Cultural heritage is fundamentally about people, not just buildings and historic sites. Protecting it can strengthen groups who are under stress, help to reduce sectarian conflict and reconstruct communities that have been through war and displacement.”

Feature image credit: Swansea University