"As part of the Heritage under Threat MOOC expansion, two experts were interviewed by Sada Mire on a range of subjects. Jos van Beurden, who is an affiliated researcher at the VU Amsterdam, and who has recently released his book 'Treasures in Trusted Hands – Negotiating the future of colonial cultural objects', discussed the effects of illicit trade, the return of colonial cultural objects, and the famous Benin heritage collection. Serge Brammertz is the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and he talked about cultural genocide, the relationship between crimes against culture and war crimes, and the importance of jurisprudence.
A third interview is currently being prepared with Fatou Bom Bensouda, who is chief prosecuter of the International Criminal Court and who led the investigation of the destruction of the Timbuktu shrines, ultimately leading to the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi. Needless to say, this will also be a very interesting interview, with topics which are both interesting and relevant to the students participating, and add to the unique value of this MOOC."