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FALL REGISTRATION BONUS Register for the IFCPP 28th Annual Conference, Seminar & Exhibits by October 15, 2026, and receive a $100 credit toward any IFCPP training or certification course! Use your credit toward:
Conference: April 10–14, 2027 Baltimore, Maryland Hosted by the Maryland Center for History & Culture, Walters Art Museum & Baltimore Museum of Art Strengthen your professional skills while saving on your next IFCPP educational opportunity. Register by October 15 to take advantage of this limited-time bonus! Register today: IFCPP - IFCPP 2027 Annual Conference, Seminar, Exhibits at the Maryland Center for History & Culture and contact us at office@ifcpp.org to claim your $100 training credit! The Foundation's 2027 conference will be held at MCHC and Hotel Indigo Baltimore Downtown in the heart of the "Monumental City's" arts and cultural district. This not-to-be missed in-person gathering will include all-new conference sessions presented by industry leaders and local experts, security manager and director certification and re-certification, pre-conference workshops, library protection track, excursions to several world-renowned cultural institutions, group meals, industry exhibits, out-of-the-classroom educational and networking events at host institutions, and our traditional lineup of outstanding presenters, timely topics, and networking activities.
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Next Up: To Arm or Not to Arm: Evaluating Firearms in Private Security Operations When: September, 24 Webinar Time: 10:00a MT Q&A / Forum: 10:45a MT Register here: IFCPP - To Arm or Not to Arm: Evaluating Firearms in Private Security Operations
As threats to cultural institutions and public spaces continue to evolve, the decision to arm private security personnel remains one of the most complex and consequential challenges facing security leaders today. This session explores the real-world process of evaluating and implementing an armed security program at a major museum.
Presenters include Jon Barnwell, Associate Vice President of Safety & Security at the National World War II Museum; Eric Drewry, Founder & Principal Consultant of Drewry Consulting Group and Director of Protection Services at the Detroit Institute of Arts; Jason Goodrich, Director of Global Consulting at CriticalArc; and Norris Yarbrough, Senior Manager–Armed Security at the National World War II Museum.
Together, they will share a multi-layered case study covering:
Attendees will gain insight into the collaborative decision-making process, legal and ethical considerations, public perception challenges, and practical steps for launching or refining an armed security program tailored to their organization’s mission and risk profile
IFCPP's free monthly webinar series and live Q&A forum provides valuable educational content and resource-sharing throughout the year. Webinars will continue to feature recognized practitioners, subject matter experts, and industry leaders discussing current challenges, emerging threats, lessons learned, and innovative solutions for protecting cultural institutions and their collections. Stay tuned for a list of upcoming topics, with a wide range of timely presentations already scheduled each month into 2027... Presenter Interview Check out our interview with webinar presenter, Eric Drewry, here!
Following each 45-minute presentation, attendees are invited to participate in an Open Forum and Live Q&A, providing an opportunity to ask questions, discuss real-world challenges, and engage directly with webinar presenters and fellow professionals. The new member forum will include monthly Zoom gatherings, hot-topic discussion, member-to-member problem-solving, extensive resource-sharing, and recorded discussions for ongoing reference. Practitioners responsible for protecting cultural institutions, collections, visitors, and staff are encouraged to participate. Register at: IFCPP - To Arm or Not to Arm: Evaluating Firearms in Private Security Operations
Reposted from CISA/DHS
Emergency Services Sector and Information Technology Sector Webinar
Please join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Emergency Services Sector and Information Technology Sector for a webinar highlighting practical cyber hygiene actions that reduce risk, support continuity of essential services, and reinforce trusted collaboration across government and industry.
Building Resilient Communities Through Cyber Hygiene Virtual and In-Person Webinar September 24, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST
Strong cyber hygiene is the foundation of building resilient communities. Every organization, whether cloud providers, emergency communication centers, local governments, or first responders, plays a vital role in keeping critical services up and running before, during, and after emergencies or cyber incidents. Join CISA for an engaging hybrid webinar featuring the Emergency Services and Information Technology Sectors on Building Resilient Communities Through Cyber Hygiene. This session will explore how improving daily cybersecurity practices, fostering trusted partnerships, and understanding cross-sector interdependencies can better prepare communities to withstand and recover from disruptions.
Reposted from Tim Richardson
Leadership Begins with Belief
Most of us can point to someone who saw potential in us before we fully saw it in ourselves. My grandparents did that for many people, including me. Their example taught me that belief is more than encouragement. It is an investment expressed through time, opportunity, trust, and action.
They gave the interest from their investments to their grandchildren while they were in college. They loaned or gave money to help others start businesses. They reduced the rent a family paid them when that family faced hardship. They sponsored 10 Dutch families who came to the United States at a time when a sponsor was required.
They paid for one man’s undergraduate degree, graduate degree, and Ph.D. And when I left my full-time job to start my professional speaking business, my grandparents gave me $10,000 to help me launch. They believed in others.
Because of their belief and optimism that people would do good things when given an opportunity, lives were changed. Destinies were altered. People who may never have had the chance to further their education, start a business, or build a new life for their families in a new country were given that opportunity.
Because my grandparents believed in me, my life was challenged and changed. There is much more to the story, but it begins with belief. I do not know what my life would look like today if someone had not looked beyond my imperfections, lack of experience, and failures and said three simple words: “I believe in you,” then backed those words up with action. It is remarkable what people can achieve when someone believes in them. Most people do not need another reason to doubt themselves. They need someone to see potential in them before they fully see it in themselves. You and I likely pass people every day who need to hear these words: “I believe in you.” Belief is crucial, but it is not the only thing.
Leaders show belief when they provide people with:
Clear expectations Meaningful opportunities Honest feedback Time and attention Training and mentoring Recognition for good work Permission to learn from mistakes The resources and support to succeed
Most people do not need a leader who simply says, “I believe in you.” They need one whose actions make that belief unmistakable.
Belief is not only a compliment. It is an investment. At some point, nearly every successful person can identify someone who saw something in them before they fully saw it in themselves. Leaders have that opportunity every day. Pause long enough to notice who on your team may be ready for more responsibility, more support, more encouragement, or simply these words:
“I believe in you, and I am willing to help you prove it.”
Reposted from HENTF
Resources from HENTF
Collections Stewardship Program-
https://www.neh.gov/program/collections-stewardship
Cultural Heritage Emergencies Summit- Building a Community of Preparedness & Response DC Area Inaugural Event
Learn more about the summit
Smithsonian- Protentional Impact Report
Getty- Conservation Perspectives
The COSA AWARE- Final Project Report
Readiness Reimagined:
Arts Disaster & Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026
Reposted from Europol
Two Major Museum Heists Prove Europol’s Point
Europol is a strong ally for law enforcement in the fight against art theft and the trafficking of cultural property. This week, the organization distributed a report titled Changing Tactics, Changing Targets: The Evolving Nature of Museum Heists, which hopefully will be read far and wide across the museum world, even beyond Europe.
Reposted from The Guardian
Artworks stolen from Renoir Museum on French Riviera in latest heist.
French police are hunting two thieves who escaped with two Renoir paintings from a museum on the French Riviera after breaking in through a hole cut in its garden fence. Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, about 10 miles west of Nice, said the pair appeared to have been “well equipped and well informed” about the museum, which houses works by the French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in his former home.
The theft early on Tuesday is the latest in a string of recent museum heists in France and across Europe, including the brazen break-in at the Louvre in Paris last October, when thieves stole crown jewellery worth €88m (£75m), including tiaras, a brooch, necklaces and earrings.
Masson told the local broadcaster Ici Azur that the two thieves sliced through the museum garden fence with an electric knife or metal saw, entered the building through the ground floor, and then cut the clips securing the artwork frames. Police arrived about five minutes after the museum’s alarm system went off at 5.48am, Masson said, which “forced the burglars to flee in haste and helped limit the scale of the theft” Two of the four works taken were abandoned in the museum gardens during the getaway, the mayor, a member of the far-right National Rally (RN), said. His office estimated the value of the stolen works at €9m.
The two stolen paintings were Young Woman at the Well and Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano. Both were on loan from the Musée d’Orsay, in Paris. “They’re Renoirs … you cannot sell them like that,” Masson said.
The paintings the thieves abandoned were both portraits: Portrait of Madame Pichon, and Coco Reading, a portrayal of Renoir’s young son Claude.
The Renoir Museum was established in 1960 in the mansion where the painter died aged 78 in 1919. It houses about a dozen of his paintings and about 40 sculptures, as well as photos, furniture and objects including his easel and wheelchair. Masson called for greater security for museums around France. “This incident should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums, which now face a new form of organised crime targeting works of art,” the mayor said.
An art theft expert, James Ratcliffe of the Art Loss Register, said thieves were increasingly targeting valuable artefacts. “Sadly, without further funding to improve museum security, we are likely to see an increase in the number of museum thefts,” he said.
“Each time thefts occur, it draws yet more attention to the perception of these museums as relatively easy targets. That can only encourage some criminals to consider them as straightforward places to steal from,” he told the Associated Press.
Europol, the pan-European police organisation, said last month robberies at European museums were becoming increasingly violent, with some thieves brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives.
The Europol report suggested specialist property crime or art theft gangs, who usually avoid violence, were being replaced by “individuals who often have histories of involvement in other types of crime”, who were recruited through social media.
The four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the jewels they allegedly grabbed in the seven-minute heist have not been found. Two of the suspects have reportedly told police the mastermind behind the heist was disappointed by the haul and thought “they could have taken more”.
Italian police recently recovered paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth more than $10.4m stolen from a museum in March. However, last month four of the most important works by the Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.
Don't Let Small Problems Grow Roots
Leadership problems are a lot like weeds unattended to in a garden. The longer we wait to handle them, the more difficult it can be. For most of the summer, I ignored the weeds slowing taking over my garden.
I kept telling myself I would get to them tomorrow. Then tomorrow became the next day, and the next day became another week. Before long, the job felt overwhelming. The problem only became worse. The weeds choked out my strawberry plants, hid the stepping stones I had carefully put down, and kept some of my favorite flowers from appearing. By the time I finally addressed the garden, it took hours and hours of work to make it look good again (and there is still work to be done) and it was too late for most of the flowers. As I worked, I kept thinking about how much easier it would have been if I had just worked in the garden a couple of times each week. My weed problems is kind of like the people problems we encounter in our lives.
Many problems begin like weeds. They are small at first: a missed expectation, a strained relationship, a teammate who is disengaging, an issue no one wants to raise, or a difficult conversation we keep putting off. We notice it, but we tell ourselves we will deal with it later. Sometimes later comes with a much higher cost.
Last month, this played out with the leadership uncertainty at Tata Sons, where reports described months of board disagreement over Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s reappointment before he announced he would not seek another term. The details are unique to that organization, of course, but the broader lesson applies everywhere: unresolved leadership questions do not stand still. They create uncertainty, invite assumptions, and make the eventual resolution more. This is where the power of the pause matters. Pausing does not mean avoiding. It does not mean putting off a hard conversation until conditions are perfect. When you sense a problem, pause long enough to ask:
What am I avoiding?
What is this issue costing the people involved?
What conversation needs to happen now?
What is one constructive step I can take before this spreads further?
The weeds in my garden taught me a simple lesson: a few minutes of intentional attention today can save hours of repair tomorrow.
The same is often true in our teams, our organizations, and our relationships.
Reposted from AAM
2027 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo
May 5-8, 2027 • Houston
The Call for Proposals Is Now Open
Take the stage at the 2027 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo in Houston, May 5-8. The call for proposals is open through September 21.
Submit your best proposal by learning more about the 2027 theme Mission. Value. Impact., the five session tracks, session formats, and tips for how to craft a great proposal.
Reposted from Cultural Property News
2026 Cultural Property News Art and Heritage Law Report
The Antiquities Coalition:
Cultural Heritage Protector or Global Soft Power Agent?
Our latest Art and Heritage Law Report, The Antiquities Coalition: Cultural Heritage Protector or Global Soft Power Agent? examines the organization’s influence on U.S. and international cultural-property policy.
Our Report scrutinizes the Antiquities Coalition's terrorism, crime, and money-laundering narratives against contrary findings from the RAND Corporation and European and U.S. government research; explores the Antiquities Coalition’s nonprofit, governmental, and foreign-state ties; and examines its State Department funding alongside expanding U.S. import restrictions.
The Report assesses the consequences for museums, collectors, diaspora communities, and public access. It argues for heritage policy grounded in evidence, statutory limits, proportionality, and effective site protection.
Our 50-page report is available for free download on the Cultural Property News Website:
The Antiquities Coalition: Cultural Heritage Protector or Global Soft Power Agent?
Published by the Committee for Cultural Policy, Inc.
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