Three years after its announcement at MONDIACULT 2022, UNESCO is launching an innovative initiative: the Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects. This global platform harnesses cutting-edge digital technology to raise awareness of the illicit trafficking of cultural property, one of the most pervasive challenges for cultural heritage globally. The event will take place at the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2025, on Tuesday 29 September in Barcelona, Spain.
The launch event of the “UNESCO Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects” will celebrate the public release of the platform and offer participants an immersive experience of the Museum. In the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, and introduced by the Museum’s architect Francis Kéré, the platform will be officially revealed through a guided tour of its spaces and features. Participants will be able to explore the Museum first-hand, either directly on their own devices or via dedicated screens and virtual reality headsets installed on site – as the platform is made accessible globally for visitors across the globe. Unveiling the Museum design, interactive tools, digitised objects and educational content, the event will allow participants to discover the Museum’s potential to raise awareness and mobilise audiences worldwide.
Harnessing innovative technologies including 3D modelling and virtual reality, the UNESCO Museum digitally reconstitutes and presents stolen cultural objects selected by Member States. This new platform also offers educational narratives and testimonies from affected communities to highlight the cultural and historical significance of the objects. A dedicated room for displaying cases of successful restitutions will further illustrate the importance of good practices and international cooperation on the matter of return and restitution efforts.
Announced by the UNESCO Director-General during MONDIACULT 2022, the UNESCO Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects was developed in response to the call of Member States for a coordinated strategy to raise awareness on illicit trafficking. As the first global initiative of its kind, the project, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Francis Kéré, is supported financially by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and implemented in collaboration with INTERPOL.
With its unveiling at MONDIACULT 2025, the initiative marks the establishment of a global platform that combines innovation, education, international cooperation and community engagement in protecting the world’s common heritage and fighting against the looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property.