The Destruction of Memory
5 April, 2017
Runtime: 81′
Synopsis
Over the past century, cultural destruction has wrought catastrophic results across the globe. This war against culture is not over – it’s been steadily increasing.
In Syria and Iraq, the ‘cradle of civilization’, millennia of culture are being destroyed. The push to protect, salvage and rebuild has moved in step with the destruction.
Legislation and policy have played a role, but heroic individuals have fought back, risking and losing their lives to protect not just other human beings, but our cultural identity – to save the record of who we are.
Based on the book of the same name by Robert Bevan, The Destruction of Memory tells the whole story – looking not just at the ongoing actions of Daesh (ISIS) and at other contemporary situations, but revealing the decisions of the past that allowed the issue to remain hidden in the shadows for so many years.
For more on the film, click here.
by Tim Slade
Download the Handout
Background information on the film, topic and speakers
The film was followed by a panel discussion with:



Fernando Ponz Canto
Deputy Head of Division for Mexico, Central America and Caribbean
European External Action Service (EEAS)

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