From 24 June to 2 July 2024, the International Italo-Latin American Organisation- IILA, has organised the Second edition of the course “The Blue Helmets of Culture” in Rio de Janeiro. This training is funded by the General Directorate for Cooperation and Development of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (DGCS-MAECI), and implemented in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC), together with, on the Brazilian side, the Ministry of External Relations, the Ministry of Culture, the Centre Lucio Costa, the National Institute for Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), the Sistema Brasiliero de Museus - SBM, the Instituto Brasileiro de Museus (IBRAM), the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, the Federal Police and INTERPOL.
The course was aimed at sharing experiences and best practices for the possible creation of the “Blue Helmets of Culture” with an interdisciplinary audience of professionals representing the different institutions engaged in the management of cultural heritage in Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay: personnel from the Ministry of Culture - including restorers and architects -, experts from the Army and Police Forces, from the specialised units for the fight against the illicit traffic of cultural heritage, civil protection operators, firefighters and members from the commission of clerical assets management.
The around 55 trainees were welcomed by a video message by high-level representatives from the main organising institutions: Ms Antonella Cavallari, General Secretary of IILA, Mr Mario Turetta, General Secretary of the MiC and from Gen. D. Francesco Gargaro, from Commander of the Carabinieri-TPC. The opening ceremony concluded with speakers from the main Brazilian co-organizers: Claudia Feierabend Baeta Leal, Director of the Centre Lucio Costa, Daniella Xavier, Itamaraty - Rio de Janeiro, Massimiliano Iacchini, Consul General of Italy in Rio de Janeiro, and Claudia Saldanha, Director of the Centro Cultural do Patrimônio Paço Imperial.
After, course participants were introduced to the theme with theoretical sessions on the tools available for the risk assessment and management, and then focused on the mandate, role and organisational structure of the Italian Blue Helmets of Culture for the possible replication of this model in their Countries. After, the trainees presented their respective national systems for risk and cultural heritage management and shared case studies on real interventions.
Finally, a field exercise enabled participants to move on to practice with the setting up and organisation of temporary storages, the cataloguing, the transport and recovery of cultural assets, their management and securing.
The training course concluded with a proactive exchange between the competent authorities who developed a first draft of shared procedures for the implementation of the Blue Helmets of Culture within the framework of the regulations in force in each country.
Beyond the actual establishment of these specialized teams inspired by the Italian Blue Helmets of Culture which must certainly be adapted to the different organizational structures and national regulatory frameworks, such capacity building activities encourage the dialogue between sectors and facilitate the transfer of knowledge among experts that can have positive effects on the inclusion of cultural heritage in disaster risk management and community resilience.