The Latest

Neil Brodie

Dr. Neil Brodie has been researching the illicit trade in cultural objects since 1997. He has held positions at the University of Oxford, the British School at Athens, the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, where he was Research Director of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, Stanford University’s Archaeology Center, and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the UK Committee of the Blue Shield, an Expert member of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, and a Corresponding Member of the Archaeological Institute of America. He has worked on archaeological projects in the United Kingdom, Greece and Jordan, and continues to work in Greece.

He has been an author for the Antiquities Coalition Think Tank and is Co-author of the AC Report: Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones: A Roadmap for the G20 to Combat the Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects.

Haydee Dijkstal

Haydee Dijkstal is a UK Barrister at 33 Bedford Row Chamber in London practicing international criminal law and international human rights law.  She is also a US attorney with over a decade of experience in international law. Haydee’s practice in the area of international criminal law has included cases before the International Criminal Court, International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and has involved the representation of victims, governments and those accused. Haydee is currently acting as counsel for a group of Afghan victims participating before the ICC.

Haydee publishes on the intersection between protection of cultural heritage under international law, and international criminal and international human rights law. She is author of the AC Policy Brief “How can cultural heritage threatened by globalization and environmental destruction be protected? Looking to the crimes against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer as a potential legal remedy.”

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar is a Fellow of the Cost and Management Accountants of India and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers London (UK). Sculpture and Indian temple art is his passion. He hails from Chennai but moved to Singapore in 2006 as General Manager of a leading Container liner shipping company overseeing their land-side operations in South East Asia. He has been writing extensively on sculpture and art appreciation, targeting early audiences to introduce them to understanding the nuances of Indian sculptural art.

In early 2014, Vijay and his core team of volunteers formed India Pride Project — a social media initiative to combat the rampant looting of Indian art treasures — and have been instrumental in the tracking of high profile trafficked artifacts for the past few years and work closely with various pan global organizations assisting in their restitution efforts. The efforts of the India Pride Project’s #BringOurGodsHome initiative targets to return hundreds of stolen deities back to India.