Risk Preparedness
Risk Preparedness – Blue Shield Georgia assists museums, archives, sites and libraries in the development of risk preparedness and risk management plans
“Planning for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Gori, Georgia”
Donnor: ALIPH Foundation (The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict)
Georgian National Committee of the Blue Shield with support of ALIPH fund will undertake a project “Planning for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Gori, Georgia” at Sergi Makalatia Gori Historical and Ethnographic Museum.
Outcomes of the project will be:
- A pilot DRM (Disaster Risk Management) plan for the Gori Museum;
- A detailed documentation of part of the Gori Museum collections and their improved storage conditions;
- An enhanced capacity of museum staff from Gori and 15 other museums from the Shida Kartli region in preventive conservation, disaster response and first aid to cultural objects;
- An enhanced civil-military cooperation among state authorities engaged with cultural heritage protection in times of disasters.
Partners of the project are: Municipality of Gori, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Georgia, Georgian National Agency for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, The Emergency Management Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, The Ministry of Defense National Guard.
Project Duration: March 2020 – March 2022
Emergency response to mold outbreak at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Library
Donor: Prince Claus Fund Cultural Emergency Response (CER)
1) Evaluate the general storage conditions affecting special collections at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Library to halt a large mold outbreak; 2) Define a protocol for handling and cleaning the mold-damaged books that will protect Library employees’ health and not cause further damage to 200,000 affected rare books; and 3) Specify a protocol for correcting the humidity problem in the Library’s basement so the basement space can be reused without fear of a recurring mold outbreak. Recommendations will focus on integrating preservation needs with an overall sustainable plan for preventative collection care. The project will also improve awareness among the management and staff of institutions in Tbilisi housing paper based collections about the hazards associated to mold outbreak.
Project Duration: 15.12.2016 – 31.03.2017
Enhance the capacity of Mtskheta museum reserve staff in risk preparedness and emergency response action
Donor: Prince Claus Fund Cultural Emergency Response (CER)
Within the framework of the project a 2 day introductory training in risk preparedness and risk mitigation measures for museums professionals from Mtskheta and Shida Kartli region was held in the town of Gori on October 21-22nd, 2015.
Recommendations for a risk-preparedness for Mtskheta Archaeological Museum’s new building were developed.
Project Partner: WATCH International and Georgian National Agency for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.
Enhance the capacity of Mtskheta museum reserve staff in risk preparedness and emergency response action
Between October 19 and 23, 2015 under the project Enhance the capacity of Mtskheta museum reserve staff in risk preparedness and emergency response action,organised by Georgian National Committee of the Blue Shield with the support of the Prince Claus Fund’s Cultural Emergency Response Programme (CER) was held a practical training for the staff of major museums of Shida Kartli region and of Great Mtskheta Archaeological State Museum-Reserve on the topic: “Protection of museum collections in emergency situations”.
The training was conducted by the experts of International Association WATCH.
During the first day of the training the participants were introduced to some basic rules and concepts to be considered while working in emergency situations. The theoretical training was dedicated to the emergency team composition and duties and the compilation of the classification form of the artifacts in danger. The participants were also introduced to the different salvage techniques to be used, in different scenarios involved, such as water damage, fire damage, insect infestations and so no.
The second day was dedicated to fire simulation. The participants were split in three groups, each of them had to salvage about 15 artifacts from the museum in fire. They had to set up working stations and pack artifacts according to the materials of composition.
At the end of the day, participants received certificates of participation in the training.