Scientific Conference: “Cultural Heritage on Occupied Territories”
On December 3rd, 2018 Georgian National Museum hosted a scientific conference “Cultural Heritage on Occupied Territories”. The conference was not limited to scientists and experts and was attended by government officials from the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic and the Administration of South Ossetia.
The Conference aimed at discussing the current state of cultural heritage behind the occupation line and the challenges faced in the process of preserving this heritage.
Even the scarce sources available to the presenters are enough to illustrate that cultural heritage in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region is a very poor state of conservation. In order to safeguard it, the Georgian side has to use all means of communication and platforms available to them both inside and outside the country. The challenges faced on international level were discussed by the chairman of Georgian National Committee of the Blue Shield Ms. Manana Tevzadze in her presentation titled: “Preservation of Cultural Heritage on Occupied Territories: Hague Convention and Georgian example”.
It is obvious, that the closed borders and almost complete absence of information flow from the occupied territories make it difficult to achieve real changes, but the participants of this conference showed their readiness for further dialogue and partnership with the people in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. For them it is clear enough that cultural heritage, which is in need of preservation, belongs equally to those living on either side of the occupation line.