SISMA - a project for protection of cultural heritage

By: Svetlana Dicheva, Bulgarian National Radio

It is always too late to react when the worst happens - this saying is widely spread on the Balkans. The common history of upheavals and twists is the reason of such earthly-minded philosophy. That's why it is better to be prepared in advance instead of being taken by surprise. The project SISMA - System Integrated for Security Management Activities to safeguard and protect historic centers from risks - is dedicated to evaluation of the vulnerability of architectural and cultural heritage due to seismic activity in the territories of CADSES area (Italy, Greece, the Balkan Countries, Slovene Republic, Slovak Republic). The final target of the project is to protect and safeguard human life and cultural heritage trough the development of methodologies successfully applied in the countries involved in the project - Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Slovakia. How citizens could be the first rescuers of cultural heritage, is the public opinion in these countries strong enough to influence the local governments and municipalities in their budgetary decisions to guarantee money for reconstruction works before and after earthquakes, these are some of the questions Svetlana Dicheva from the Bulgarian National Radio asked seismologist George Drakatos, research director of the National Observatory of Athens. He visited Sofia to inform his Bulgarian colleagues about the last developements of the project.

• SISMA project by: hatto fischer - 08.05.05 01:29

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