30 years of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturgutschutz e.V.- this must be celebrated! The event took place from August 25 to 27, 2023 in Grimma. The program included speeches with a champagne reception, a day of lectures with a panel discussion and a small cultural program. Congratulations on 30 years of civil society commitment to the protection of cultural assets!
Cultural assets are unique testimonies to the past and present. They create identity for a community and shed light on our view of the world. Those that reflect the history and identity of a country in a special way are considered to be nationally significant cultural assets. Many such cultural assets were not only destroyed in both world wars – even today, cultural assets of humanity are under threat in many countries as a result of armed conflicts. The aim of cultural property protection is to protect nationally significant cultural assets and preserve them for future generations. This year, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturgutschutz e.V. is celebrating its 30th anniversary and this was celebrated.
The event took place from 25 to 27.08.2023 in Grimma and the program included speeches with a champagne reception, a day of lectures with a panel discussion and a small cultural program at the end. It took place in the town hall of the historic town hall in Grimma. Among other things, the results of the EU expert report “Strengthening Cultural Heritage Resilience for Climate Change.” were presented.
Dr. Jonas Feltes (Consultant for Cultural Property Protection under the Hague Convention at the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance) spoke about “Cultural Property Protection under the Hague Convention at the BBK”, while Anna Puhr (Deputy Secretary General of Blue Shield Austria) spoke about “The Blue Shield & Cultural Property Protection from an Austrian Perspective”. Of particular interest was also the contribution by Alexander Gatzsche (Special Representative for Military Cultural Property Protection of the DGKS, PhD student at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich) on the topic “Turning point in the Bundeswehr – an opportunity for cultural property protection?”. On Sunday, 27 August 2023, a tour along the Grimma flood protection wall, led by Mayor Matthias Berger, was on the agenda. Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert (Secretary General of the Kulturstiftung der Länder) gave a video presentation on the topic of “Volunteering: the role of the German Society for the Protection of Cultural Property and the importance of civil society in the protection of cultural property.” On 26 August, Dr. Flavio Häner (Co-President of the Swiss Society for the Protection of Cultural Property) spoke about “The SGKGS and the protection of cultural property in Switzerland” and Hofrat Dr. Paul Ertl (Secretary General of the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property / National Defence Academy Austria) recalled “70 years of cultural property protection in Austria and the special role of the ÖKGS”.