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ANCBS wants to help the people of Haiti

The Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS) wants to help the people of Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti of 12th January has caused an enormous devastation. The amount of people that lost their lives is beyond imagination. At the moment basic humanitarian aid and the rebuilding of a functioning infrastructure is crucial.

However, as soon as the situation in Haiti has become more stable, Blue Shield wants to help to enable experts from all over the world to support their Haitian colleagues in assessing the damage to the cultural heritage and therefore to the identity of their country. Subsequently, Blue Shield wants to support recovery, restoration and repair measures necessary to rebuild libraries, archives, museums, monuments and sites.

An important task of ANCBS is to coordinate information. ANCBS needs to know who and where the experts are. ANCBS therefore calls upon archivists, restorers, curators, librarians, architects and other experts to register online as a volunteer.

ANCBS wants to be able to bring experts in contact with those organizations that will send missions to Haiti, and make sure that volunteers will be informed about the situation in Haiti.

Please join Blue Shield to help your Haitian colleagues.

You may find the application form via: http://haiti2010.blueshield-international.org/.

For the statement of Blue Shield on the Haitian earthquake see: http://www.blueshield-international.org.

The actions of Blue Shield can also be followed on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=247281734340 and Twitter: http://twitter.com/blueshieldcoop.

Please feel free to spread this message!

On behalf of ANCBS,

Karl von Habsburg, President

FRENCH TRANSLATION

ICBS Statement on the Earthquake in Haiti

Paris, 15.01.2010. - The Blue Shield expresses its sorrow and solidarity with the population of Haiti for the loss of lives and the destructions caused by the earthquake which occurred on 12th January.

Culture is a basic need, and cultural heritage a symbolic necessity that gives meaning to human lives connecting past, present and future. Cultural heritage is a reference full of values helping to restore a sense of normality and enabling people to move forward. Cultural Heritage is fundamental in rebuilding the identity, the dignity and the hope of the communities after a catastrophe.

The Blue Shield Mission is “to work to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict, natural and man‐made disasters”. While it appreciates that the immediate priority is to find the missing, and to help the injured and homeless, it places the expertise and network of its member organisations at the disposal of their Haitian colleagues to support their work in assessing the damage to the cultural heritage of their countries
including libraries, archives, museums and monuments and sites, and subsequent recovery, restoration and repair measures.

The Blue Shield calls on the international community, responsible authorities and local population to give the fullest possible support to the efforts, official and voluntary, underway to protect/rescue the rich and unique heritage of Haiti. The member organisations of the Blue Shield are currently liaising with Haitian colleagues, to obtain further information on both the situation in the area and on the possible needs and types of help required so as to mobilise our networks accordingly.

A more complete report on damages, needs and actions will be published subsequently, to facilitate coordination.

Download the PDF-version of this statement
Also available in : Français | Español | Русский | العربية | Deutch | 中文

Blue Shield Mission to Cologne - August 2009 - Press releases

On Monday 3rd August an international Blue Shield team will go to Cologne to support the rescue work on the valuable collection of the collapsed City Archive of Cologne. Throughout week about 60 heritage professionals from France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Great-Britain and Sweden will try to save as much of the collection as possible.

Please find herewith our press releases in several languages :

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