Materials that address the need to preserve the world’s cultural heritage are rarely aimed at the general public, and their message is often obscured by academic jargon. It’s urgent that we make that message generally available. SAFE does not propose over oversimplification or “dumbing down.” What we propose is clear and direct communication, delivered to the public in a way that’s powerful and accessible. SAFE proposes projects in the following areas. Keep in mind that these are just ideas for the moment; they need your contribution in order to progress to the next steps. If any of them resonate with your interests and you would like to participate, please contact us. And please be as specific as you can about your ideas, expertise, and level of participation. What we list here is just the starting point; it’s where you come in. Remember, SAFE is your organization; only your ideas and involvement can allow it to take hold. Let’s work together towards the common goal of preserving our collective heritage.

EDUCATION

Work with educators to:
1. Produce a turn-key program for the classroom. Model: Earth Day. http://earthday.wilderness.org/, with downloadable teaching aids.
2. Sponsor essay contest in schools, for example, "Why should we care about antiquities?"
3. Teachersource on PBS

MEDIA

Many relevant documentary films and videos already exist, and some have been broadcast on PBS, e.g., Islam: Empire of Faith and Secrets of the Lost Empires; but the materials generally focus on the “glories of the past." They stop short of showing what ancient cultures mean to average modern-day people. SAFE proposes projects that do both.
1. Documentary film showing the relevance of ancient civilizations to life today. Show specifically how modern life takes lessons from the ancient past. How we are connected to antiquities—the building blocks of the ancient world—without even knowing it: and how when those building blocks are removed, the context in which modern life is built is compromised.
2. Public-service announcements illustrating the damaging effects of the loss of antiquities in a graphic and compelling way. (30-sec spots on CNN, national TV). Straight talk from well-known people?
3. Recruit celebrities in the process. (Model: famous actors go on TV against colorizing old black-and-white movies for film preservation)
4. Interviews with archaeologists or museum curators on talk shows
5. Show how archaeology provides economic support for local communities—by employing local residents for work crews, supporting local legitimate businesses, and generating work for regional departments of antiquities. When legitimate excavations are disrupted, it exacerbates the already dire economic conditions of the local people. Looting only benefits the middlemen. That is why, in the long run, it is bad business for the looters themselves. Documentaries on archaeology often miss the opportunity to explore this aspect of the field.
6. Investigative report that focuses on the illicit antiquities trade. Start by showing what the archaeological sites/museums look like today and then lead viewers back into what was a great history. Educate the public on how the illegal trade works, perhaps following the path of a stolen artifact to its purchaser, usually in Europe or North America.

ADVERTISING

Develop a public awareness campaign about the illicit antiquities trade and why ancient civilizations should be everyone’s concern. This campaign will be multimedia and multinational. The most effective weapons in the struggle for safeguarding our cultural heritage are words and images, which communications and advertising professionals are most able to deploy in a way that will compel the world community to take action.

PUBLICITY

Publicize the formation of SAFE and its projects through the media and news. Hold fundraising events at museums and other cultural institutions.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Help communicate to the public that it is illegal to trade in antiquities. Publicize the efforts of Interpol, the FBI; help citizens report suspicious trade.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Support H.R. 2009, The Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act. This legislation intends to provide for the recovery, restitution, and protection of Iraqi cultural antiquities. It would prohibit the importation into the United States of any archaeological or cultural material removed from Iraq without appropriate documentation. Send messages of support directly to Congress through http://www.house.gov/writerep/. We have created a poster that can be downloaded and distributed to raise awareness and support for H.R. 2009. We urge visitors to our site to print out the poster and hang it wherever they can. This poster will be made available to Congressmen Leach and English.

PUBLISHING

Propose publications about ancient civilizations and antiquities for the general reader. Reinforce what we propose for museums, other institutions, and the media.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONS

Propose public briefings and lectures by experts while the events in Iraq are still fresh in people’s minds and interest has been stirred. Need to do more and need more publicity. Enlist the help of media. Join and promote the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and other archaeology associations in the belief that any trading of antiquities (illicit or otherwise) should be stopped.

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