The evening, organised by the Forum for New Diplomacy, a joint initiative between the Academie Diplomatique Internationale (ADI), on which Mawlana Hazar Imam serves as President, and the International New York Times, engaged with leading figures on topics related to dynamics and challenges in global affairs. Ambassador Cousseran, of the ADI, emphasised the urgency and relevance of the evening’s topic ‘The Protection of Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict: Challenges and Threats’ given the recent crimes against cultural sites across Syria.
“Throughout history, attacks on physical objects have been a devastating consequence of war”, explained Madame Bokova. Today the tactics of war have, she emphasised, changed in nature and in scale particularly with the evolution of social media. Terrorist groups use social media platforms to target the youth through hate campaigns that are spreading the persecution of communities on the grounds of culture and religion. The international incident that arose following the Taliban’s heinous destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, just a decade ago, now sits alongside a large and ever growing list of new examples from Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Timbuktu.
No longer just funding sources, attacks on cultural heritage are a systematic method employed by war criminals to disseminate fear and silence citizens by taking away their voices and their histories. Cultural heritage is the legacy of society inherited from the past, maintained in the present and a gift for the future. It is a key element of living together as a diverse society. Madame Bokova stated that the destruction of cultural heritage ‘tears the fabric of society` and allow terrorists to force their ideology on people. Removing cultural evidence, that celebrates diversity, legitimises their narrow-minded cause and weakens the ground for peace.
To counteract the damage of this cultural cleansing, Madame Bokova highlighted the work of organisations including UNESCO and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), whose restoration projects are focused on renewal and regeneration. Both the Vice President of the Ismaili Council for the UK, who opened the event, and Madame Bokova cited work in Mostar as a symbol of unification, pride and peace for the diverse communities in the region.
More than just restoration work post event, fighting the battle against cultural cleansing needs to be achieved, by educating people about tolerance, inclusion and freedom of expression. Both the AKDN and UNESCO are creating tools for teachers and working with schools and higher education establishments to address the root causes of much of this destruction. Madame Bokova aptly pointed out that as war begins in the minds of men and women, the defence of peace also needs to be born there. She also highlighted the important part played by religious leaders in strengthening these values.
