Conservation of the Religious and Cultural Sites in Artsakh
“The churches and monasteries of Nagorno-Karabakh must be respected and Protected”
(Pope Francis, The Angelus on 15 October 2023)
Programme:
Monday, 18 November 2024
10:00 Welcome Speeches
Chair: Fr. Hyacinthe Destivelle
Welcoming remarks: His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
Messages from:
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians
His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
His Eminence Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendoça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education
10:30 – 12:00 Session 1. Cultural Heritage, Religious Sites, Human Rights
Chair: Zara Pogossian
- Mark Vlasic (Georgetown University / Massey College), Culture in the Line of Fire: from Genocide to Cultural Heritage Destruction to Social Impact Entertainment
- Pierre d’Argent (University of Louvain), Cultural Destruction, Alteration or Negation as Racism: Armenia’s Case before the International Court of Justice
- Armine Aleksanyan (Member of the Diocesan Council of Artsakh), Diplomatic and other Means of Protecting Cultural and Religious Heritage in Conflict Zones: What can be done to Enhance them?
12:00-12:30 COFEE BREAK
12:30-13:30 Session 2. Conflict, Cultural Heritage, the Media
Chair: Heghnar Watenpaugh
- Vasco La Salvia (University of Chieti), Destruction of Cultural Heritage, Discrimination, and the Media
- Arsène Saparov (Rabdan Academy), The Media, Experts, Silences, and Presumed Neutrality
13:30-14:30 LUNCH
15:00-16:30 Session 3. Religious and Cultural Sites in Conflict Zones
Chair: Marco Bais
- Mikhaeel Moussa Najeeb, O.P. (Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul of Aqra-Iraq), The Ecumenical Dimension of the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: The Case of Christian Manuscripts in Iraq
- Peter Petkoff (Oxford University), Weaponising of Religious-Cultural Heritage and Geopolitical Consolidation
- Tasoula Hadjitofi, A Strategy for Artsakh: 50 Years’ Lessons Learned from Cyprus
20:00 CONFERENCE DINNER
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
9:30-11:00 Session 4. Endangered Armenian Monuments: Artsakh in Context
Chair: Vasco La Salvia
- Heghnar Watenpaugh, (University of California, Davis), The Fate of the Armenian Cultural Heritage of Nakhichevan: A Grim Portent for Artsakh?
- Jasmine Dum-Tragut, (University of Salzburg, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography), Monuments in Syunik and Tavush: Border Regions and Cultural Heritage
- Alain Navarra de Borgia (Hyestart NGO), Religious Sites and Shared Cultural Memory in Artsakh
11:00-11:30 COFFEE BREAK
11:30-13:30 Session 5. Endangered Cultural and Religious Heritage of Artsakh
Chair: Jasmine Dum-Tragut
- Marco Bais (University of Rome La Sapienza/Pontifical Oriental Institute), The Use and Abuse of Classical and Medieval sources about Caucasian Albania
- Jost Gippert (University of Hamburg), Albanian inscriptions in Artsakh?
- Annegret Plontke-Lüning (University of Jena), The Architectural Heritage of Artsakh: a Historical Overview
- Hamlet Petrosyan (Yerevan State University), The Current Situation of Monuments in Artsakh
13:30-14:30 LUNCH
15:00-16:00 ROUND TABLE and CLOSING REMARKS
Zara Pogossian and Marco Bais: Moderators
FREE ENTRANCE
Organizing committee: Prof. Marco Bais, H.E. Khajag Barsamian, Fr. Hyacinthe Destivelle, Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan, Prof. Zara Pogossian, Dr. Anush Torunyan
