Museum Staff Training “protection of museum collections in emergency situations”

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.