KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Armenia Hayk Mkrtchyan donated the “First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis” Handbook and its Toolkit to the Chair of Museology, Library Science and Bibliography of the Armenian State Pedagogical University.

The books were edited by Director of the ASPU History Museum, Associate Professor Alvard Grigoryan and are designed for coordinating the “first aid” processes and promoting further studies, actions and awareness-raising.

As Hayk Mkrtchyan mentioned, Book Donation Day serves as a good occasion to present important handbooks to the 120 educational and cultural institutions in Armenia since these books are the fruit of the joint efforts of ICOM Armenia and the Association of Museum Workers and Friends.

Hayk Mkrtchyan notes that the Handbook and Toolkit help explain the concept of “first aid to cultural heritage”, that is to say, instant and interconnected actions that are taken to stabilize and reduce the risks of endangered tangible and intangible cultural heritage for their restoration.

The Handbook also lays down the characteristics of first aid to cultural heritage, the coordinated implementation of which will make it possible to reduce the vulnerability of the particular population affected by a disaster.

“The threat of crises sets forth a number of urgent issues for preservation of cultural heritage on the agenda of the global community,” Director of the ASPU History Museum Alvard Grigoryan told old.aspu.am and added that she attaches importance to the published Handbook and Toolkit.