RVCC Holocaust Institute webinar on protecting historical artifacts
Dr. Richard Kurin, a distinguished scholar and ambassador-at-large from the Smithsonian Institution, discusses “Protecting Historical Artifacts and Cultural Preservation” in an online webinar. It’s for the Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg on Friday, March 15, from 10 to 11 a.m. It’s co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of West-Central New Jersey.
The free webinar will focus on the challenges of preserving historical treasures amid conflict and war and its impact on cultural preservation. Dr. Kurin founded the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake and has worked to save cultural heritage endangered by natural disasters and human conflict. In the United States, he leads the Smithsonian’s partnership with FEMA as part of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, which responds to damage to cultural resources in natural disasters. He also helped draft an international treaty to safeguard living cultural heritage; the treaty has now been ratified by 180 countries. Dr. Kurin has worked closely with the departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security and with local partners in Iraq, Syria, Mali, Afghanistan, and Ukraine to safeguard heritage, identify looted art, and monitor terrorist activity and war crimes directed against cultural targets.
For information, email Michelle Edgar at michelle.edgar@raritanval.edu or call (908) 526-1200, ext. 8735, or go to www.raritanval.edu.
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