UNESCO, Interpol planning virtual museum of stolen cultural objects
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is planning a virtual museum of stolen cultural objects.
The digital experience was first announced in September last year. It will launch in 2025 with 600 works of art on the list of Interpol, the international police organization.
Last week, UNESCO held a meeting with a first look at the museum’s design by Francis Kéré, a native of Burkina Faso and the winner of the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Via a statement on UNESCO’s website, the $2.5 million project will “contribute to raising awareness among general public to the consequences of illicit trafficking of cultural property and contribute to the recovery of stolen objects”.
“Behind every stolen work or fragment lies a piece of history, identity and humanity that has been wrenched from its custodians, rendered inaccessible to research, and now risks falling into oblivion,” said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay.
“Our objective with this is to place these works back in the spotlight, and to restore the right of societies to access their heritage, experience it, and recognise themselves in it.”
UNESCO said visitors will explore virtual spaces as they would in a real museum, also accessing educational digital materials, and stories and testimonies from local communities.
The organisation said in an announcement for last week’s meeting: “The virtual museum will be a game-changing tool to raise awareness on the illicit trafficking and the importance of protecting cultural heritage among the relevant authorities, culture professionals and the general public, notably young generations.”
Following the alleged theft of around 2,000 artefacts from the British Museum, the institution has asked the public to help it identify and recover its lost treasures.
Elsewhere, nearly 2,000 items – including coins, ceramic tiles and medals – have gone missing from Welsh museums.