Seminar on emergency procedures in museums to be held in Istanbul

Rezan Has Museum and Pera Museum will host the launch of a new book "Müzelerde Acil Durum Prosedürleri El Kitabı" (Handbook for Emergencies at Museums) published by the Association of Museology Professions (MMKD) along with an international seminar on museums on Sept. 29-30.

The MMKD continues its publications with a new book to raise awareness of museums and contemporary museology in Turkey within the principles of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The launch event is organized by the MMKD and the International Committee for Museum Security (ICMS). The seminar focuses on emergency situation procedures that should be adopted by museums. The book was prepared by the ICSM and explains what measures should be taken against man-made and natural disasters in museums. Museum professionals from different countries will share their experiences through examples. The book was translated into Turkish upon the initiative of the MMKD.

During the seminar, action plans to be used in case of an emergency and applied risk analysis will be discussed by international guest speakers. Participants will talk about how social incidents like war and terror threaten cultural heritage and museums as well as emergency situations due to natural disasters like flood and earthquake.

To be chaired by Canan Cürgen, the chairwoman of the MMDK, the seminar will host ICOM Advisory Board President Suay Aksoy, ICMS Chairman Willem Hekman, board members Michael John and Hanna Pennock and experts from Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, such as Professor Mustafa Erdik and Research Assistant Bilgen Sunday. Assistant Professor Sultan Karaoğlu of Kocaeli University Movable Cultural Heritage Protection and Maintenance Department will also attend the seminar. The speakers will deliver presentations on action plans and risk analysis.

Natural or man-made disasters can happen anywhere in the world and destroy cultural heritage. Avoiding disasters is a hard job, but if the necessary measures are taken, unfavorable results can be decreased, saving museums much grief. The new book will provide information to avoid problems.