As a consortium partner of ANCHISE, a cooperation project funded under the Horizon Europe Programme, ICOM participated in this international event, held on 3 April 2024 at the Palais des Académies in Brussels.
Introduction to the project and background
| What’s the ANCHISE project? ANCHISE – “Applying New solutions for Cultural Heritage protection by Innovative, Scientific, social and economic Engagement”
Based on a multidisciplinary approach and building on experiences of previous EU projects such as NETCHER (2019-2021), which created networking opportunities and other projects fostering the use of technologies such as PREVISION (2019-2021), ANCHISE aims to extend these experiences by creating an operational set of tools applicable to European contexts and beyond. |
Recap of the forum on 3 April 2024
Following an opening speech by Professor Didier Viviers, President (Secrétaire perpétuel) of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium, the floor was given to EU representatives to contextualise the implementation of ANCHISE “Applying New solutions for Cultural Heritage protection by Innovative, Scientific, social and economic Engagement” (2023-2026). Christina Sarvani (DG RTD) and Dr. Rodrigo Martin Galan, Research Programme Officer of the ANCHISE project (from the Research External Agency) presented the project in the framework of the EU Action Plan against Trafficking in Cultural Goods.
 |
| Introduction to the project and background – Christina Sarvani, Dr. Rodrigo Martin Galan, Prof. Véronique Chankowski, Prof.Didier Viviers © ICOM Heritage Protection Department |
Professor Véronique Chankowski, Director of the Ecole française d’Athènes (EFA) – the coordinating organisation of ANCHISE – focused on the implementation of the project highlighting the main challenges and objectives. These topics were also addressed in the presentation of the first ANCHISE policy brief, presented by Marco Fiore from Michael Culture MCA.
 |
 |
| Prof, Veronique Chankowski © ICOM Heritage Protection Department | © ANCHISE project |
Innovative ways to protect cultural heritage: ANCHISE toolkit
The tech partners of the project presented the six tools that are in development, and which will be tested by museum professionals, police, and archaeologists during the course of the project.
They highlighted the innovative functionalities of the tools, including the use of fluorescence emissions to identify and date manuscripts; image recognition technology for object identification to help law enforcement and museum professionals identify objects that were potentially looted and trafficked; satellite technology for site monitoring and protection; as well as database design with interoperable data. More information on this toolkit can be find here.
Panel discussions on the existing measures and instruments in the fight against the illicit traffic of cultural property and the path to be followed
While the first panel brought together policy makers such as representatives of the European Commission, the Greek and French Ministries of Culture and UNESCO, the second was dedicated to an exchange between heritage professionals, including the staff of ICOM, together with other professionals from Europa Nostra, Europol and Bibcrate.
 |
| ICOM’s intervention during the second roundtable gathering heritage professionals © Michael Culture MCA |
Hélène Ventimiglia, the ANCHISE coordinator at ICOM, took the opportunity to recall ICOM’s long-standing commitment to the fight against illicit trafficking and the existing tools developed by the organisation, in particular the ICOM Red Lists and Object ID, stressing that “it will be crucial to ensure that museum professionals take ownership of the tools developed by the technical partners by involving them in the various stages of development”.
ICOM’s role in ANCHISE: bringing together innovative technologies and museum professionals to meet current needs in heritage protection.
The strength of ANCHISE lies in the fact that the technological tools will be tested by potential end-users from museums, archaeological sites, and law enforcement agencies during the three years of the project. In this context, ICOM is responsible for organising such test demonstrations in museums, which will include an assessment and evaluation process in cooperation with the respective National Committees involved in the project, to ensure that the tools meet the needs of the museum community. In this spirit, representatives of ICOM National Committees (including ICOM Belgium, ICOM Greece and ICOM Sweden) have been invited to participate in the Forum to enrich the dialogue between the different stakeholders and to provide their initial feedback on the ANCHISE tools that are under development.
In conclusion, this ANCHISE Forum provided a space for dialogue and reflection between professionals, building on existing networks and creating new opportunities for collaboration. It was also an occasion to receive tangible feedback from heritage professionals, including museum professionals, on the development of the tools, thus enabling the collaborative advancement of the project.
***
General Links on ANCHISE project
European Commission ANCHISE Fact Sheet
Social media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anchise-project-horizon-europe/about/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnchiseProject
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXu–XrwxS-TaJMrdLPinLw