Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq (SHOSI)

Project Highlights

Smithsonian works on the ground with Syrian and Iraqi museum and cultural professionals to provide training and technical support for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage

In July 2014, Smithsonian organized an emergency workshop for Syrian museum professionals to share Smithsonian expertise in emergency care for museum collections

1,600 square feet of priceless mosaics protected at the Ma'arra Mosaic Museum in Idlib Province, Syria

LOCATION(S): Syria | Iraq

Culture & the Arts

Topics: Cultural Resilience

In Syria and Iraq, political instability and conflict threaten the integrity and safety of cultural heritage. Smithsonian works with international partners to support Syrian and Iraqi museum and cultural professionals and protect and preserve at risk cultural heritage.

The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project (SHOSI) is a consortium of Smithsonian and the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Shawnee State University, The Day After Association, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Through research, trainings for local museum professionals, public outreach, and the use of modern technologies to monitor destruction, SHOSI is responding to the threats against cultural heritage in the Middle East.

People

Corine Wegener

Corine Wegener is Director of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI), an outreach program dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage in crisis situations in the U.S. and abroad.

Brian I. Daniels

Brian I. Daniels is the director of research and programs for the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and a research associate with the Smithsonian Institution Archives.