Central American museums strengthen their capacities in collections conservation and risk management

In Central America, as in the rest of the world, illicit trafficking of cultural property is a danger that threatens the pre-Columbian, religious and colonial cultural heritage of all countries in the region. To address this danger, UNESCO has organized a series of webinars on the management of museum collections with a focus on risk management and the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, aimed at museum staff in Central America.

The webinars, which take place between April 19 and 30, are aimed at 25 museum officials from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. All participants work in management, conservation, research, education or communication in various museums in their respective countries, mainly in regional or provincial museums. Through two seminars, participants will strengthen their knowledge and skills on topics such as registration, cataloging and research of cultural property, preventive conservation of collections, technology and pathology of inorganic materials, emergency response, among others.

For UNESCO, the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property is a key aspect for the protection of cultural heritage and the diversity of cultural identities and expressions. For more than 50 years, UNESCO has been developing the legal framework for the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property: the 1970 Convention, which provides a common framework for States Parties on the measures to be taken to prohibit and prevent the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. Within the framework of this Convention, UNESCO regularly carries out training and awareness-raising activities to provide countries with more and better technical and legal tools to deal with this scourge.

These training activities are part of the efforts to combat the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property as established by the 1970 Convention and also responds to the principles contained in the 2015 Recommendation concerning the protection and promotion of museums and collections, their diversity and their role in society. The training is provided by Ms. Cecilia Santinelli, an expert in the management of cultural heritage and museums, and Mr. Andrea Papi, an expert in museology and conservation.

These seminars have been organized by the Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Havana, Cuba, with the participation of the UNESCO Cluster Office in San José and the UNESCO Office in Guatemala.