Recording and Archiving Conservation Education Approaches in Iraq, 2008–2017

In 2008, the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) was established in Erbil, Iraq, as part of the US State Department’s Iraq Cultural Heritage Program (ICHP). The goal was to provide Iraqi professionals with long-term theoretical and practical training in conservation and historic preservation. Years of war and sanctions left Iraq's cultural heritage sector unable to engage with the international preservation community and with limited access to resources. Over the past decade, the IICAH has become a model for conservation training in post-conflict areas. This paper documents the creation of an archive related to the IICAH’s development between 2008 and 2017 and the conducting of oral history interviews included in the archive. Individuals involved with the IICAH in varying capacities were interviewed, including advisors, instructors, and students, many of whom were responsible for its genesis. By presenting the methodologies and major themes of these interviews, it is argued there is great value in documenting heritage preservation professionals’ experiences with capacity-building projects for future analysis and reflexivity. The IICAH Archive is part of the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center archives and will serve as a resource for others creating and analyzing international conservation education programs.