E. Alaverdov and M. W. Bari, "Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones" (IGI Global, 2025)

Summary

Podcast Summary:

New Books Network — "Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones"
Episode Published: Nov 8, 2025
Host: Piot Pietzak
Guest: Professor Emilia Alaverdov (co-editor; David Avashembelli University of Georgia)
Book: Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones (IGI Global, 2025)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the urgent and multidimensional challenges of protecting and restoring cultural heritage in conflict and post-conflict zones, focusing on the experiences of Georgia and Ukraine. Professor Emilia Alaverdov discusses the motivation behind the book, its collaborative nature, and key insights across its many chapters. The conversation explores international law, digital preservation, agrotourism, public diplomacy, the difficulty of post-war economic recovery, and the roles played by global institutions and civil society. The tone is scholarly yet urgent, empathetic, and practical, with the underlying message that collective action and innovation are essential in safeguarding humanity’s shared heritage.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Genesis and Motivation for the Book

• Current Relevance: In a world “facing lots of conflicts” (05:08), wars threaten not only people but their cultural heritage, which often becomes an afterthought until the shooting stops.
• Gap in the Literature: Prof. Alaverdov found little existing scholarship on post-conflict cultural restoration, prompting her to build a diverse, multinational edited volume with numerous chapters covering legal, political, economic, and technological aspects.

2. Protection of Heritage Under Occupation (Georgia’s Case)

• Divided Responsibilities: The initial chapters detail Georgia’s efforts under occupation. Legal, historical, and political analyses combine to reveal that, “we try to do [heritage protection] somehow in a remote mode, to tell the truth, but it’s not enough.” (07:16)
• Need for Cooperation: Georgia lacks capacity to act alone, and “we are calling for engaging international cooperation.” (07:16)

3. Intellectual Property (IP) as Soft Power Tool

• Strategic Use of IP: According to contributor Miranda Gurgeniza, leveraging IP can foster “cultural resilience, economic renewal, cultural diplomacy, national brand, and global engagement.” (08:37)
• International Platforms: Using IP strategies at international forums can provide a protective ‘light’ for national heritage.

Memorable quote:

“All these can be just using IP strategically in international platforms... give us a kind of light to protect our heritage.” — Prof. Alaverdov, (08:37)

4. Russian Invasions & Violation of International Law

• Legal Framework: Russian actions in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2022) “really violated all international laws,” notably the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. (10:02)
• Broader Impact: Not only are lives lost, but UNESCO monuments and the “architecture of national sovereignty” are also targeted.

5. Global and European (In)action in Response to Aggression

• Regret over Missed Warnings: If Europe had listened to “Putin’s Munich speech, 2007,” subsequent conflicts “wouldn’t have happened.” (11:58)
• Critique: Western nations “start shifting to some other problems” instead of addressing looming threats, which led to more unchecked aggression.

Memorable quote:

“If they listened to him carefully, not Georgia, not Ukraine, not Crimea will happen really.” — Prof. Alaverdov, (11:58)

6. Shifting Neutrality and Security Norms

• Problem of Inaction: Europe’s neutrality is critiqued (“stay neutral means do nothing”) and seen as inadequate in today’s altered security landscape (13:59).
• Evolving Definitions: The book explores how states are compelled to refine neutrality in response to identity and security challenges.

7. Digital Tools for Heritage Preservation

• Virtual Museums/3D Archives: Digital platforms are embraced as secondary, yet increasingly crucial, means of preservation and education—especially when physical access is denied by occupation. (15:04)
• Challenges: Implementation is hindered by “need for resources, we need fundings.” (15:04)

8. International Organizations and Missions

• Limited Effectiveness: Global bodies like the UN/EU are, so far, largely limited to “recording” violations; substantive restorative action is lacking due to competing priorities and insufficient resources. (18:18)

Memorable quote:

“United nations also do not have so many projects for this. As I told. We have some peacekeepers and they record what happened. Oh, they violate. Okay, let’s only record it. And nothing.” — Prof. Alaverdov, (18:18)

9. Role of Universities in Recovery and Diplomacy

• Awareness-Raising: Universities organize workshops, virtual tours, and platforms for “cultural diplomacy and citizen diplomacy.” (19:07)
• Bridge-Building: Initiatives aim to engage students from both sides of a conflict, fostering long-term cultural bonds.

10. Artificial Intelligence: Promise and Pitfalls

• Current Limitations: AI is “very new and challenging… we cannot rely on AI” due to accuracy issues and misrepresentation. (20:51)
• The Hope: Continued development is needed, but “for the moment it is not very helpful.” (20:51)

11. Public Companies and Heritage Funding

• Financial Gaps: Private sector involvement is limited; “public companies… are also very passive, unfortunately.” (23:56)
• Needs: More targeted investment and mission-driven funding, rather than support for “unreal projects.”

12. Agrotourism for Recovery and Preservation

• Holistic Benefits: Developing the agricultural sector supports not just economies but also cultural identities and post-war recovery. Agrotourism “catches the cultural elements and be aware and be familiar with cultural elements through agrotourism.” (25:21)
• Current Issues: Georgia’s lands are underused as people leave for work abroad; greater emphasis on local agriculture is needed, possibly inspired by international models.

Memorable quote:

“If we develop agro sector, we will develop agrotourism as well... From this agrotourism we can just catch the cultural elements.” — Prof. Alaverdov, (25:21)

13. Sacred Sites and Religious Tourism

• Vulnerability and Opportunity: Sacred sites drive regional economies via religious tourism, but are at risk of neglect/destruction. (28:29)
• Cross-sector Involvement: Restoration benefits religious institutions and broader society.

14. Economic Stability as a Foundation for Heritage Recovery

• Obstacle of Instability: Post-war countries struggle to attract investors due to “security threats,” hampering economic and thus cultural recovery. (30:36)
• Sequence of Priorities: Survival and rebuilding of people come first, but heritage follows closely in the process.

15. Building an International Scholarly Network

• Collaborative Spirit: Prof. Alaverdov’s books are born from “word of mouth” and her ability to create a “friendly manner” of cooperation, attracting contributors from 10-15 countries in each volume. (34:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the book’s genesis:
  “Why not create such kind of book projects? And really we had very, very many chapters… and totally recreated the book.” (05:08)

• On missed warning signs:
  “If they listened to him carefully, not Georgia, not Ukraine, not Crimea will happen really.” (11:58)

• On international organizations:
  “We have some peacekeepers and they record what happened. Oh, they violate. Okay, let’s only record it. And nothing.” (18:18)

• On digital preservation:
  “We can show them digitally… We can give them access to museum… But for this we need resources, we need fundings.” (15:04)

• On agrotourism as recovery:
  “If we develop agro sector, we will develop agrotourism as well… From this agrotourism we can just catch the cultural elements.” (25:21)

• On the limits of AI:
  “We cannot rely on AI… for the moment it is not very helpful.” (20:51)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction to Book/Guest Background — 02:37–05:08
• Project Genesis & Literature Gap — 05:08–06:55
• Georgia’s Heritage Protection Under Occupation — 06:55–08:28
• Intellectual Property as Soft Power — 08:28–09:35
• International Law & Russian Invasions (Georgia/Ukraine) — 09:35–11:31
• European Response & Missed Warnings — 11:31–13:42
• Neutrality and Security Norms — 13:46–14:36
• Digital Heritage Tools in Restoration — 14:36–16:44
• International/UN Interventions — 16:44–18:53
• Universities’ Role in Public Diplomacy — 18:53–20:18
• AI and Heritage Safeguarding — 20:18–22:03
• Public Companies & Funding — 23:36–24:53
• Agrotourism and Recovery — 24:53–27:33
• Sacred Sites and Geopolitics — 27:33–29:49
• Economic Stability for Heritage Recovery — 29:50–32:56
• Building the Book's International Scholarly Network — 32:56–34:43
• Multicultural Group Nonprofit & Academic Networking — 34:43–36:45
• Future Projects & Closing — 36:45–39:21

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Conclusion

This episode offers a comprehensive overview of Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones, blending practical insights, policy critique, and optimism about the power of international cooperation. It is especially recommended for policy makers, academics, business investors, and anyone interested in the intersection of culture, conflict, and recovery. Prof. Alaverdov’s reflections, both critical and constructive, capture the daunting realities but also the hope fueled by cross-border scholarly and civic collaboration.

Transcript

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[Piot Pietzak]

We were returning home and one of the flight attendants asked Bronx if he wanted to see the flight deck and meet Captain Andrew.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

I got to sit in the driver's seat. I grew up in an aviation family and seeing Bronx kind of reminded me of myself when I was that age.

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That's Andrew, a real United pilot.

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These small interactions can shape a kid's future.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

It felt like I was the captain.

[Piot Pietzak]

Allowing my son to see the flight deck. Stick with us forever.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

That's how Good leads the way.

[Marshall Po]

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[Piot Pietzak]

Good morning everyone. My name is Piot Pietzak and this interview is recorded for New Books Network where we celebrate scholars who are not only leaders in their fields, but also the pillars of their academic community. And today it is my great pleasure to introduce a true inspiration, a real nonprofit hero and one of the most outstanding and recognizable academics from Georgia, Professor Emilia Al. Good morning to you.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Good morning dear professor, how are you today? Jack, thank you, thank you for invitation, for your invitation. Really it's a great pleasure for me to to have interview with you and to present our book. Our second editor will have also, I think in its parts, interview. So thank you and good morning once again.

[Piot Pietzak]

Thank you. Professor Alverdo serves as Georgia Technical University Scholar. She's also a head of public relations department at David Avashembelli University of Georgia. Her research focuses on migration, European studies, Russia studies and her scholarly contribution have reached a truly international audience. With an impressive record of more than 45 scientific papers, chapters 13 books authored by, by her or co authored by her and her co authors. Professor Alaverdov is uniquely able to present us this book today. She participated in over 50 international conferences, more than 20 international exchanges, Erasmus plus and many others. You love doing what you do, don't you? It's truly inspirational for all of us. Professor Alaveredov, you are a guiding force for young scholars. You're mentoring, supporting and helping them to reach their full potential. Your commitment to academic excellence and social responsibility is truly admirable. It's an honor, it's a true honor for me to host you here. Congratulations on your recent achievement. Congratulations on the publication of cultural heritage protection and restoration in conflict zones and post conflict zones. This is a terrific and timely publication. Could you tell us more about it? Could you tell us what inspired you to start this project?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Thank you, thank you for presenting me in such a rich way. I can tell I'm doing my best to develop myself, to like engage more, to like foreign audience, to be visible for everyone in my work also. Yeah, as for the inspiring, really, you know, I think that nowadays because the world face lot of conflicts which is very difficult to explain. These wars and the problems what wars get, I will just focus on that. Also cultural heritage and its protection is under the threat because while there is war, you cannot maybe Think about culture to protect cultural heritage. Because you think to protect your citizens, right? Not cultural heritage, like to go to the backspace. But in post conflict situation, when everything finishes, then we start thinking about cultural heritage. Okay, we lost this territory and what are the stars that we lost there as well? Yes. And I think that then I make some researches and I couldn't find too many books or too many like works about it. And I say, why? And I thought, why not? Why not to create such kind of book projects? And really we had very, very many chapters. Of course, some of them like had problems, some of them didn't pass peer review, etc. And totally recreated the book.

[Piot Pietzak]

Yeah, thank you very much for that. Your first two chapters deal with Georgia and occupied territories of Georgia. And you altered the first two chapters with your colleagues. Could you tell me more about how Georgia balances sovereignty and cooperation in protecting heritage under occupation of these territories?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

We are three quarters and we have really chapter about Georgian cultural heritage and protection needs. So we just split it. One author deals with like legal parts, you know, another is historical and me with political. So really Georgia faced the challenge of protecting its cultural heritage because we know that these territories are occupied and really we do not, we cannot do anything from here to protect them there. And really it is very difficult here. We try to do it somehow in a remote mode, to tell the truth, but it's not enough. And in this case we are calling for engaging international cooperation. Maybe international partners will help us to restore them, like to just save them, et cetera. But we cannot do alone, we cannot be without any cooperation.

[Piot Pietzak]

This proves to be very challenging. And could you tell me how the intellectual property serves as a soft power tool in this post conflict situation?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yes, we think that intellectual property, this chapter has very, very like a strong author. And the author is Miranda Gurgeniza of this chapter and she is expert in intellectual property and she described it very well. And she says that we need like fostering cultural resilience, economic renewal and international recognition, cultural diplomacy, national brand and global engagement. So all these, all these can be just using IP strategically in international platforms. So she just advised, and she gives her opinion that in international platforms using IP strategy will give us a kind of light to protect our heritage.

[Piot Pietzak]

Interesting, interesting. And another chapter which is in this book, you are editor and there is I think 15 chapters in this book. So could you tell me how has Russian invasion in Ukraine tested international law on heritage protection? And also how this invasion in Georgia in 2008 affected also the initiatives in Georgia? Can you Advise on this one.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Really? Really. We saw that Russian invasion really violated all international laws. Like does matter in Ukraine or in Georgia. Really. Because under international laws we are sovereign states and no one is allowed to invade like neighboring or I don't know, faraway country. We can say that he violates convention hard convention for protection of cultural property and armed conflict. I mean about 1954 convention. Because while entering and like starting war with country. As I told before, not only people suffer and suffer all everything what is. And of course like the monuments that are under the protection of UNESCO also suffered everything. So it is violation in national sovereignty. And you know, UNESCO just rules and everything. So it tested that it was totally violation of it. And hostilities like attack on culture or we know that national like cultural heritage is a part of our culture, our. Our religion, our. I don't know. And all these are being violated.

[Piot Pietzak]

I guess that's if the western countries did a little bit more in 2008 to stop the invasion in Georgia, maybe the Russian intervention in Syria or Russian intervention in Ukraine wouldn't happen. And maybe the cultural heritage protection should have been more addressed back then in 2008. What do you think? What's your expertise in this field?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yeah, I want to go a bit back and start not with war in Georgia, but in Munich speech. Pure Putin's Munich speech. 2007. In 2007 he. In Munich he addressed and he starts like threatened the world. He starts speaking about that, his superpower, etc. But what did European Community do? Nothing. They even didn't pay attention to it. And after this, since European Community, I don't know. I don't know Angela Merkel or other people start think that oh, we have problem with global warming. Of course, global warming is very important. I understand it. And they start shifting to some other problems. They even didn't listen him carefully. They say, okay, let him speak whatever he wants. If they listen to him carefully, not Georgia, not Ukraine, not Crimea will happen really. But then after this exactly was followed Georgia invasion. And what they did nothing sends some peacekeepers to us or some water. Nothing was aided. And of course, of course then comes start with Ukraine. So I think that we should listen to each other. We should to catch messages to react to this. I don't say that start war with someone, but he just told very openly that he was going to do some serious steps. And we have to listen, we have to realize, we have to understand and react.

[Piot Pietzak]

Thank you much for that. That's very insightful.

[Marshall Po]

Thank you.

[Piot Pietzak]

There is another chapter which deals with shifting neutrality, which reflecting changing security and identity norms. Could you tell us more about this interesting chapter?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

So, you know, do not react like Europe start neutral with our war. You know, that you do not react to something. And it illustrates how changing security environments and evolving nation of identity push states to refine neutrality from passive or nonviolent. And that's why stay neutral. It means do nothing and really it's cause kind of problem also.

[Piot Pietzak]

Interesting, interesting. And the digital heritage tools, there is another chapter which suggests that fostering peace and dialogue after conflict should be also done through the digital platforms, such as virtual museums, 3D reconstructions, archives, oral history projects. How is that implemented on the ground in Georgia and. And in any other countries which. Which basically this book touches on.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yeah, it's very interesting, you know, because we live in a digital world now. Everything even we are having interview digitally, like yes, online. And I think that it is really. It's not, it's not quite a reality, it's not face to face, but when we do not have other choice. So digital platform, we should create digital museums, as we told digital like meetings. It really should work because we cannot for instance, show our youngest kind of cultural heritage that we lost in Abkhazia. Right. But at least we can show them digitally. We can give them access to museum, we can give them explanation of our some heritage. So these digital platforms, I think if we create, we don't have such many of them. Okay, we tried somehow, but for this we need resources, we need fundings. And if some organizations, some corporations fund this, I think it will work somehow. But. But if we, we should try to do something, at least not to just say, okay, we lost it, we had something there and it is destroyed and what can we do? It is occupied. I understand we cannot go from here to Akazi or station, restore something no one will allow us, unfortunately. But still we can, we can even raise awareness through digital platforms. But for this we need resources, findings, and it is really very poor.

[Piot Pietzak]

Interesting, interesting. And there's many challenges because I know from my research in Syria, I know how new occupiers basically destroy the cultural heritage of any land which they conquer. And this is very systematic when it comes to the Russian policy in. In Georgia, in Ukraine and in many other areas. So I guess the local people and regional people from the regions, they cannot really protect themselves on their own. So how the global institutions can step in to help to protect the heritage of occupied Georgian territories? What's the chapter dedicated to this issue? What do the scores out who altered these chapters what do they say about it?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

You know what they say? They again they mention international cooperation. Georgia cannot go and protect and restore them. But for instance, a kind of mission from European Union can go and like restore, not protect, but restore it. And for this also we need international cooperation or all. All goes through international cooperation, nothing else. Yes, I think they should create a kind of mission observation and fund this.

[Piot Pietzak]

Yeah, that's how the United nations is helping with. With these initiatives.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Unfortunately, not much. Not much. United nations also do not have so many projects for this. As I told. We have some peacekeepers and they record what happened. Oh, they violate. Okay, let's only record it. And nothing. They don't care to tell the true about cultural heritage. Yes. Maybe they have much more to do. Maybe they care for people, for like citizens, but not for this stuff. No, not resources. Not enough resources. Yeah.

[Piot Pietzak]

And how about the universities? Because universities, one of the chapters dedicated especially to universities and the role in driving cultural recovery after conflict. How Georgian communities is helping in this respect.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yeah, university, they organize kind of workshops, they organize kind of again, virtual tours. And they just raise awareness. And also universities, I think universities should do their best. Universities should engage youngsters from both sides. Even online platforms create just to promote cultural diplomacy and citizen diplomacy. You know, it works because when people public diplomacy, it's better to say public diplomacy. If universities create platform for public diplomacy, it will work better. Once I remember in 2015, if I'm not mistaken. Yes. Ministry of Education of Abkhazia in Georgia in exile, they held really conference about essence of public diplomacy. And I participated in it and their touch as well, cultural heritage. And really it was very, very useful, Very, very insightful. Yes. So we should work in the matter of cultural diplomacy, because there is no way out. What can we do?

[Piot Pietzak]

Amazing. Thank you much for that. And another chapter which is even more interesting is dedicated to AI and the new tools which are used to safeguard heritage in the config zones. How does this work? Because we know that AI is changing the landscape of our discussions. But AI is not perfect. And sometimes there are some issues with some AI tools which are basically misrepresenting the reality. So what's your opinion on that one?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Okay, it's very good. All questions are really, really very interesting. But this is very new one and challenging. To tell the truth, we cannot rely on AI. I want to tell that when I just, just to test it, I type some hotels and say, oh, please, can we help me to find hotels in, for instance in Latnaka with breakfast with something like and you know, he gives me totally. Yeah, he gives me name but he gives me wrong destination. He gives me a bit of wrong information. I think AI all generates everything from size and give you and we cannot really. Yes. And maybe sometimes it works. Sometimes it gives you just correct information, but sometimes. So we cannot rely it. We should try. Maybe it's not a matter of my like practice, but who creates them, they should develop it. And I don't know, maybe through AI they want to introduce kind of cultural heritage, protection of cultural heritage. But really for the moment it is not very helpful.

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[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

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[Piot Pietzak]

That's what I suspect that we still need to work on AI tools in order to well help in this area. Another chapter which which deals with cultural heritage, deals with the public companies, how they can support this noble initiative. Basically.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Again, we go to finances. I think these public companies should make some donations, some finances. I think if create some missions, for instance, maybe if we make small excursion to there, maybe nothing will happen, who knows? But for this we need funding, they should fund kind of missions, public companies. Now I know that they are just businesses, they are doing their business. But besides this, maybe they can help not to donate in some unreal projects, some for projects that give us nothing. We know that many projects are financed just for nothing, just for doing some researches, to take from sites, some informations and paste them and say, oh, we did something. No, and this is the real stuff. And they are also very passive, unfortunately.

[Piot Pietzak]

Okay. And there is another very interesting, unusual chapter which deals with agrotourism. And the authors of this chapter basically suggested that agrotourism is essential to post war recovery and restoration and preservation of identity of the affected territories and the people. Could you tell us more, because this is really fascinating.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yes. You know, I want to highlight that agrotourism is really very interesting and very, how to say, important, significant one. As we remember, America recovered Great Depression through agro sector. And if we develop agro sector, we will develop agrotourism as well. Yes. So if you do not have developed sector, how can you develop tourism as well? And it's good because when we go to agrotourism and we saw culture, because every country, every, like every region has its culture. Yes. For instance, someone plants potatoes, someone plants, I don't know, maybe beetroot, who knows? Yeah. And from this agrotourism we can just catch the cultural elements and be aware and be familiar with cultural elements through agrotourism. And also, also not tourism. But agrosphere is very, very important. For instance, now in Georgia, no one, they don't want to work on their lands. They leave these lands for nothing and they go to work, I don't know, in Poland or somewhere, I don't know why. But if we work in our just lands, and if we develop it in this case, we will also develop agrotourism and we will also develop our economy. As I told that America just recovered, start recovering slowly from Great Depression through agronomy, through just. Yes, through this one. Because they pay attention, they plant, they grow, they gave it, it was a part of their like plan. So first we have to develop it. Agrosphere ends and people will come and see our cultures, our. For instance, wine or. I don't know potatoes, etc. But unfortunately it also doesn't work. Maybe, maybe the book will give some kind of like inspiration to work over it.

[Piot Pietzak]

Amazing. It's a multi dimensional issue and definitely business people should also read it because this particular chapter gives a lot of ideas how to, how to help cultural heritage and also how to make money as well in this particular sense because this is a part of recovery, people getting richer. And the richer people get, the less likely war becomes. The waging war is becoming less important for the majority of the population. I just want to shift the conversation because the next chapter is approaching the issue from totally different dimension. The authors of this particular chapters basically focus on sacred sites and how they share the regional geopolitics. So could you tell us more about this chapter because it sounds very fascinating.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yes, we know that the sacred sites are very precious for everyone and, and unfortunately they are also not preserved. And maybe the secret site should be maybe like religious from the religious point of view. Maybe churches can pay attention or kind of religious organization because these secret sites, when you go to somewhere and you want to explore like religious tourism for instance. Yes. Secret sites are a way to promote religious tourism. And that's why we have to pay attention to this also to this religious tourism and just restore them. And again, business like you mentioned, businessmen can help it also they can make money because while restoring they will employ some things they will take from and then they will develop their tools as well. So the secret sites are very, very precious also the, they are a part of our cultural and religious elements, you know, and people are very sensitive to these sites. Amazing.

[Piot Pietzak]

Thank you very much for that.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Thank you.

[Piot Pietzak]

Indeed, people, religious people tend to travel to cultural sites to, to the sacred sites. And places like Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Rome or many other places around the world are frequently visited by, by the travelers from various places of the world. And it's not only some people, it's the whole families who go there. And that's why the preservation of culture heritage also. Yeah, so important. And I think one of the chapters is dedicated to economic stability and the how it supports the post war heritage recovery. Could you tell me a little bit more about this particular chapter?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yes, of course. Also I want to highlight that I have book about religious tourism. It was published in IGI globally in 2020 and really it directly went to Scopus because I think they like it. And it was about pilgrimage like you tell Medina makers and family travel. And really it's very interesting because countries are developed religious tourism as well. There is recreational tourism, religious Tourism and it's really very important. Unfortunately for our countries who are still under the occupation, it doesn't work. Because these countries that we mentioned, they are not occupied and people can go freely and do whatever they have in their heart inside. As for economic, of course in post war countries they need stable economy. First countries should recover from damages. And then to care for their heritage first they should care for their people who are alive and what to do. And for this they need stable economic system. But for to have stable economic system system, they need stable security system. What is really, really a bit difficult and challenging. For instance, how we can have stable economic system, we need investors, right? And when investors see that oh, it is not stable, there is dangerous, there is for instance, criminal, there is a security threat from some country, they do not invest their money, right? And economic really just got into the stagnation, okay, government, whatever government tries doing, still it's not enough. Still we need investors, right, to recover from this. And it is a. The issue of like cohesion. And I don't know how, how they. It is not we need a regional stable country, but how it can be stable after post war situation. We need investors, but how can they invest in the country when you are not stable? So it's a very difficult situation and really very difficult to overcome.

[Piot Pietzak]

Thank you much for that. Could I ask you about the project from the perspective of the people? How do you get all of these incredible scholars to write for you to write together and publish such an incredible publication? How, how you make them make, make all of these people work for you so efficiently and share their insights in such a incredible manner?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

That's so interesting question. Really. You know, all my books, I'm right, I'm editing Books since 2020 in IDEA Global and all my books have very like vast, very large international impact and also international cooperation. I don't know, just I post the call for paper in my Facebook and because I have many friends, many collaborators, I love to, I love to collaborate with my foreign colleagues and of course they spread this. It is like a word of mouth or something like yes, matter of mouth and they spread to each other. Oh, you know, there is a book there and interesting who are interested in this one. They start to sending their proposal and then I start to cooperate. Like you know, if I don't, if something doesn't fit, I don't sell. Oh, your, your book doesn't fit, etc. I start to cooperate. Let us do this, let us maybe change this one and like in a friendly manner, in a Friendly manner, really. We can, we can engage a lot of countries, lot of scientists, scholars really. I don't know how it happened, but it happened mostly in every book I have minimum 10, 15 countries.

[Piot Pietzak]

Amazing, amazing. And can you tell me more about your organization, about nonprofit, which you are ahead of?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Yeah, thank you. It's interesting. By the way, I'm having conference in the end of December and you are invited there as a keynote speaker as usual. Thank you for your cooperation with me and my organization. And I established in it in 2021. It is called Multicultural group because really I love multiculturalism. I love socializing with different people with different backgrounds. And I have annual conferences. This is 5th annual conference in December and I call it, you know, friendly meeting, meeting, meeting of scholars, meeting of friends, just to exchange ideas, just to cooperate with others and set plans. Also I'm cooperating in ERASMUS plus projects as a partner, thanks to my foreign friends. Because Georgia and Ukraine and other post Soviet countries cannot be applicant country, you know. And that's why my friends, my collaborators from other countries, they just invite me to be a partner. Yes. And really I have two partnerships for next year as well. One is in April and another is in May. And this year I also had one partnership and also have many ideas just to apply. Let us see what happened. We don't know will we gain projects, will we win it or not? But for the moment I have two projects already said I'm going to be partner for sure because my foreign partners, they have this project already funded and they invited me as a partner. And really I'm very glad for it. All we need is networking.

[Piot Pietzak]

Amazing. Congratulations on your great achievements and congratulations on creating such an incredible network. Can you tell me what's in the pipe, what's in the pipeline, what what's future holds for you and for the organization, what kind of projects you are working on at the moment?

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

At the moment I don't have at the moment we are finishing our like year, what we have done and summarizing, you know, and not new ideas. But I'm waiting the ideas from my foreign partners, they will maybe we have, you know, at the beginning of the year, when the year starts, we always have online meetings and like just draw some ideas for the moment. No ideas unfortunately, because we need to finish what we start and in January let us see what we have. But also idea to work in European Commission, in Erasmus plus usually I like working with them.

[Piot Pietzak]

Amazing. Thank you very much for that and fingers crossed for all of your projects.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Thank you. Good luck.

[Piot Pietzak]

Thank you. Very much for your time and I strongly recommend everyone to reach out to this book and any other publication by Professor Ala Verdor. The publication is called Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration and Conflict on Post Conflict Zones. It's an edited work together with Professor Mohammed Wasen Barry and Professor Emilia Alaverdov. And I'm sure that our readers and our listeners will definitely find this position very interesting. I'm sure that our viewers will reach out to this publication. I wish you all the best and thank you much for your time.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Thank you. Thank you very much for your time for inviting me for cooperation. Really, I'm very glad for it and I'm sure we will have good projects together as well.

[Piot Pietzak]

Of course. Definitely we will continue our great collaboration in the future. Thank you for, for being also an inspiration and a mentor to me and I look up to you and this is incredible to have a chance to speak to you. Thank you for all of the work which you do for young, young scholars. This is, this is incredible. All the best from Sofia, Bulgaria to tbdc, Georgia.

[Professor Emilia Alaverdov]

Thank you. Thank you very much. All the best from Georgia as well.