Coordinated by Cranfield University, this year’s Cultural Heritage Crime Conference (CHCC) features an international festival of online events hosted by a global network of institutional partners, to shed light on pressing issues in cultural heritage crime and protection. Taking place 1 - 3 August, throughout the day.
- Historic England estimates that 200 heritage crimes are committed in England every day.
- The European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) has flagged the disruption of organised criminal networks illegally trading in cultural goods as a 2022-2025 priority.
- Recent events in Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Ukraine continue to highlight how political instability and armed conflict threaten priceless cultural heritage.
Following the success of CHCC 2021 which attracted 600+ attendees from over 70 countries, this year’s global festival will see Cranfield University partner with a network of academic institutions in North America, Africa and Australia. Each partner organization will design and deliver sessions showcasing the work of local experts. Through this collaborative programme of conference sessions CHCC 2022 seeks to engage and educate the global public, whilst providing a platform for sharing the insight and experience of local cultural heritage stakeholders, practitioners, academics, military, and law enforcement personnel from all around the world.
CHCC 2022 sessions will address current issues in cultural heritage crime including threats posed by armed conflict, political instability, organised crime, illicit excavation, and trafficking. Opportunities and mechanisms for improved security, digitisation, preservation, protection, and restitution of cultural heritage will also be discussed in relation to fine art and antiquities, sacred artefacts, heritage sites, manuscripts and human remains.
