For the inaugural talk in World Monuments Fund Britain's Heritage & Conflict series, we welcome Prof. Maamoun Abdulkarim, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums for Syria, to give the human story behind the global headlines, and James Davis from the Google Cultural Institute, to report on the latest international efforts to scan and document cultural heritage through advancing technology. The evening will be introduced by Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President of World Monuments Fund.
As conflict rages across the Middle East and North Africa, millions of people have been displaced, creating a refugee crisis of immense proportions. Alongside this human tragedy a cultural one is being played out, in which heritage is being deliberately targeted. We learn daily of the destruction of ancient monuments at places such as the World Heritage site of Palmyra, and elsewhere in the region.
