Press Release (96)95 17 June 1996

Civil Emergency Planning Conference With Cooperation Partners in Cracow, Poland, 18th-21st June 1996 From 18th to 21st June 1996 the Republic of Poland will host a NATO Partnership For Peace Conference on "Cultural Heritage Protection in Wartime and in State of Emergency" to be held in Cracow, Poland. This will be the first Partnership For Peace (PfP) activity on this subject. The Conference is being organized by the Polish Civil Defence in cooperation with the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Culture and Art, the Voivoide of Cracow and Civil Emergency Planning Directorate (CEPD). Mr. Tadeusz Grabowski, Vice Minister of National Defence will give the opening address and Dr. Lyndel V. Prott of UNESCO will give the keynote address. The Conference will be chaired by Professor Andrzej Tomaszewski who is the Chief Conservator of Cultural Heritage in Poland. An estimated 106 participants from 16 Cooperation Partner and NATO countries and international organizations are expected to attend. The objective of the Conference is to develop better working relationships at national, regional and local levels between those responsible for the protection and conservation of cultural heritage and those responsible for civil defence and emergency services. Conference participants will include plenary sessions, practical demonstrations (both in Cracow and in the ancient salt mine at Wieliczka), and in separate working group sessions. For further information, please contact Mr. Stephen C. Orosz, NATO Civil Emergency Planning Directorate, (Int'l +) 32 2 707 4143.