On October 16th and 17th, 2024, the IAASF Committee hosted its fifth conference and the second at Redworth Hall Hotel, County Durham.

On day one, our speakers identified the existing threats to cultural venues including cyber attacks, climate change, illicit trafficking, terrorism, and protests. It is important that those operating at cultural venues, whether they are part of security personnel or not, are aware of the threats and the solutions available.

This led us into day two where we discussed the operational processes and proactive planning that should be considered to address the risks that may present themselves. Our speakers covered global case studies from Egypt and Saudia Arabia including the process they consider as well as crisis management, risk assessing and operational security.

Delegates had the opportunity to network in between speaker sessions and discover the latest security innovations at the exhibitors area where we welcomed Art Guard, Abloy UK, Charter Global, LCPB, Bre Academy, Stafford Bridge and Securiclad. We would like to share our thanks to these organisations who continue to support the cultural sector and IAASF.

We also hosted the IAASF Gala Dinner on Wednesday 16th of October welcoming our speakers, exhibitors and delegates to enjoy the fine-dining at Redworth Hall Hotel and to join us in recognising the winners of the Cultural Protection Awards (CPAs):

• Young Cultural Protection Leader – Chad Simpson
• Cultural Protection Training Initiative – Orfeas-Konstantinos Sotiriou
• Cultural Protection Ambassador – Cultural Safeguard Alliance
• Cultural Heritage Protection Initiative – The Enzo Hruby Foundation
• The IAASF Chairman’s Aware – Stephen Stenning OBE

Overall, we would like to thank everyone who was able to join us this year and we hope you found the conference beneficial for your knowledge development. If you have any comments for the IAASF Committee, please feel free to contact the IAASF Coordinator – [email protected]. We would love to hear your feedback so make sure to complete the form linked here.

Until next time…