Rita Zara participates in a seminar on cultural heritage and security

On May 7, a professional development seminar titled “Safeguarding and Rescuing the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latvia’s Historical Lands in Times of Crisis” was held at the Mazsalaca Cultural Centre, organized by the Latvian National Centre for Culture. The Vidzeme seminar was already the third event in the series, following earlier sessions in Latgale at the Upīte Cultural Space and in Kurzeme at Apriķi. By bringing together representatives of cultural heritage communities, local memory institutions, municipalities, civil services, and other stakeholders, the organizers encouraged participants to recognize and identify threats, understand the importance of protecting cultural heritage, and become familiar with risks, the role of prevention, and possible courses of action in emergency situations.

The seminar was also attended by Rita Zara from the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia and Ieva Vītola from the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies at the Latvian Academy of Culture, both representing the research strand “Resilience of Heritage Communities in the Context of National Security” within the National Research Programme project “HOME: Latvian Identity and Knowledge Strategies as Resources for Societal Resilience.” The seminar opened with Rita Zara’s lecture “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Security: Risks and Response,” followed by a presentation on civil protection systems in Latvia by Agrita Vītola, Senior Inspector at the Civil Protection System Operations Coordination Division of the Civil Protection Administration of the State Fire and Rescue Service. Participants were also addressed by Ričards Gailums, Deputy Chair of the Valmiera Municipality Council for Civil Protection, Security, and Social Affairs. The current perspective of national cultural policy makers was presented by Alma Kaurāte, expert at the Archives, Libraries and Museums Division of the Ministry of Culture. Seminar participants also had the opportunity to complete practical exercises simulating the rescue of heritage assets in crisis situations.

^{In the photo: Rita Zara explains the methodology for identifying threats developed by the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Photo: Ieva Vītola.}