Tuesday, 27th June 2023

Our Managing Director attended the ARCA (Association for Research into Crimes against Art) conference in Italy where he gave a presentation on the importance of learning and training, while doing the same.

The ARCA Conference is held annually in the town of Amelia, Italy where academics and practitioners from around the world come together to discuss the issues of Art Crime. This year our MD attended to learn from other learned colleagues but also to share with delegates the importance of training and education as a protective security measure. 

The first day concentrated on experiences and case studies/research projects that had been undertaken or were continuing. A lot of focus was on 'provenance' (it was actually commented that the word had never been used as much in any conference) but also many other interesting topics such as ethics, safeguarding and preservation. The more operational presentations covered the legal aspects and issues surrounding ownership, training, and some case studies about current activities being carried out by international law enforcement.

The presentation by Andy was well received and it gave much food for thought about the benefits of effective training programmes in protecting art and cultural heritage. Andy spoke in the same session as Wesley De Smet and Kim Covent from Belgium who were discussing the need for exercising and testing responses. While there were many cross-overs with our existing accredited programmes Andy enjoyed their presentation and approach to crisis management activities. 

At the end of the programme, Andy said, "It is always hugely beneficial to gain others' perspectives on areas you are involved in. Nobody has a monopoly on approaches as the security and protection sectors are ever-evolving. I especially enjoyed the more academic sessions as this caused me to think a bit more strategically and consider different approaches."

The whole conference was viewed as a huge success both professionally and personally. There may be a team of Trident Manor representatives attending the 2024 Conference.