On March 6-7, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the ALIPH Foundation (“International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas”) forum #ALIPH2023 was held, in which the chairman of the National Committee of Blue Shield of Georgia, Manana Tevzadze, took part.
The event was co-organized by the ALIPH Foundation and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi, with the participation of 200 professionals from 30 countries. The working topic of the Forum was the growing challenge of heritage protection in the face of growing conflicts and climate change.

Manana Tevzadze presented a report at one of the thematic panels entitled “How museums can respond to crises” and presented the results of the project “Planning for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Gori, Georgia” funded by the ALIPH Foundation in 2020-2022.
Two key themes emerged from the Forum. Firstly, the pressing need to protect cultural heritage in conflict and post-conflict areas is not behind us but still ahead, as most recently demonstrated in crises in places such as Ukraine and the Caucasus. Secondly, that beyond conflicts, the deleterious impact of climate change and natural disasters on cultural heritage should be better addressed.

In this context, emphasis was placed on the need to develop concrete projects that promote sustainable development, on-the-job training, community engagement, traditional materials and know-how, environmentally friendly practices, and strengthening preventive measures (such as inventories of collections, 3D digitisation, etc.) as well as rapid response mechanisms during a crisis. All these elements will be reinforced in ALIPH’s roadmap for the coming years.
The ALIPH 2023 Forum was held at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi – a modern heritage landmark of Abu Dhabi that supports cross-cultural understanding and cultural diplomacy.