PRINCE CLAUS FOUNDATION CREATES CULTURAL EMERGENCY

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 002459 SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/SHA LROEDER PARIS FOR USREP UNESCO E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: EAID SCUL IZ SUBJECT: PRINCE CLAUS FOUNDATION CREATES CULTURAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE MECHANISM REF: Roeder-Kushner E-mail of 9/25 ¶1. The Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and the International Committee of the Blue Shield combined forces September 26 to launch a "Cultural Emergency Response" (CER) initiative. The initiative is designed to provide emergency assistance - in the form of direct funding - to protect, preserve, or restore cultural property (documents, artifacts, monuments, etc) threatened by conflict or natural disaster. Politically or economically unstable areas of the world will be given priority attention by this initiative. ¶2. At the September 26 launch of the initiative, CER provided its first disbursement: twenty thousand euro to the Central University Library of Baghdad to ensure its ability to operate by the opening of the Iraqi academic year. In a separate donation commemorated at the CER launching, the British library donated several valuable manuscripts to the library. Present to accept these donations on behalf of Iraq was W. Muhammed from the Iraq Governing Council's Cultural Ministry. ¶3. The ceremony was attended by Prince Johan Friso and Prince Constantijn, honorary chairmen of the Prince Claus Fund. The key note speech was by Iraqi archeologist and New York University research associate Dr. Selma Al-Radi. Dr. Al-Radi used vivid photographs and prose to describe chronologies of cultural heritage destruction in the Beruit museum during the Lebanon Civil War, Kuwait Museum during the First Gulf War, and the Iraq museum during the recent conflict in that country. Her presentation was balanced and non-judgmental. Post can fax a copy of Al-Radi's presentation to interested addressees (contact: Todd Kushner (Kushnerta2@state.gov)). ¶4. Emboff provided CER organizers with the draft program of the 2004 Global Disaster Information Network conference (sponsored by the State Department and Government of Canada) and urged they consider providing a speaker. Sobel