History

In the 1950s, following world wars and civil wars, international delegates came together to write the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict which was opened for signature in the Hague in 1954. At one of the drafting conferences, the then Director-General of UNESCO stated:​

"It is our object today, Gentlemen, to lay the foundations of what I may call the Red Cross of cultural property, and have it accepted by all States and by public opinion, that property of cultural value is entitled to the respect which civilised peoples recognise as due to civilians, prisoners of war, medical personnel, and hospitals”.

Building on those foundations, in response to the growing recognition of the extent of heritage damage during armed conflict, and the changes in international law designed to prevent it, four non-governmental organisations representing professionals active in the fields of archives, libraries, monuments and sites, and museums, created the International Committee of the Blue Shield in 1996.
•    ICA (International Council of Archives)
•    ICOM (International Council of Museums)
•    ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
•    IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions)

​The four organisations worked together to prepare for, and respond to, emergency situations that could affect cultural heritage. In the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention (1999), the ICBS was legally recognised as an advisory body to the Inter-Governmental Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict. They took up the emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention as their symbol, in line with Article 17 of the Convention. 

​Today ICBS (now called Blue Shield International, or BSI) works globally to protect cultural heritage in emergency situations, with national committees around the world. In 2017, the Blue Shield rebranded to emphasise their wider work in disasters, and placed the emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention in a blue circle, to distinguish the organisation from the cultural property protected in the Convention. 

The logo of the Blue Shield Movement - the emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention in a circle, symbolising the wider remit of the movement's work in conflict and disaster.

Blue Shield United Kingdom began as a joint committee with Ireland - the UK and Ireland Committee of the Blue Shield (UKIRB), set up by Vanessa Marshall at the British Library in 1999. It was formed as a joint national committee since the National Preservation Office at the British Library had an historical brief that covered both countries, but it comprised the four pillar organisations only (ICA, ICOM, ICOMOS, IFLA). Eventually, UKIRB agreed that it would be better to separate the two committees to enable both countries to better lobby their government for ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention, and they were dissolved in 2012. Following Ireland's request for individual recognition, in 2012 the UK decided to take the same route. Professor Peter Stone (who later went on to become the President of the Blue Shield Movement), with the support of other attendees at the meeting, started preparing the documentation for the official recognition of the committee, and it was formally recognised as a Blue Shield national committee on 7 March 2013.

To read more about the History of Blue Shield visit its website, or read the pdf article – Twenty Years Blue Shield (1996-2016) by Krste Bogoeski, or read about other Blue Shield meetings.