Expert in Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property; Public Archaeology Lead

Alesia Koush holds the UNESCO Chair in Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property and Cultural Rights at the University of Siena. A researcher with CAMNES since 2016, she teaches the course on Art Crime at the CAMNES-led Department of Ancient Studies at the Lorenzo de' Medici International Institute and coordinates the CAMNES public archaeology projects "We Are the Etruscans: Culture, Rights, and Responsibilities" in Tuscania (Italy) and "Gird-I Ali Mawlan: Our Right, Our Duty" in Erbil (Iraq). Alesia holds a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Reading (UK), conducted under the supervision of Prof Roger Matthews and Dr Saeed Bagheri on "Human rights implications of illicit trafficking in cultural property: a case study of Iraq," in the framework of which she led the project "My Heritage, My Right," carried out in collaboration with BISI the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and CAMNES, involving 45 archaeology students from nine Iraqi universities. Alesia also regularly teaches courses on illicit trafficking of cultural property and cultural values ​​education at the University of Siena, Gonzaga University in Florence, ITS Academy Marco Polo in Venice, and the Istituto per l'Arte e Restauro Palazzo Spinelli, where she also directs her six-monthly Laboratory on Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property and Provenance Research.
Author of numerous scientific publications on illicit trafficking, its implications for human rights, crime deterrence strategies, traceable forensic technologies, and heritage education, Alesia coordinates the media coverage project with the Spanish National Police's Historical Heritage Brigade and The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime.
A trained educator, Alesia conceived the educational project "Inside Out. The Journey into the Country of Values" and develops and leads interactive workshops and labs on values ​​using the Indian Value Education methodology.
Previously, Alesia earned Masters degrees in EU Politics and Administration from the College of Europe (Belgium), in Human Rights, Migration, and Development from the University of Bologna (Italy), and in Art History from the University of Florence (Italy). She collaborated with institutions such as RASHID International Research, Assessment and Safeguarding of the Heritage of Iraq in Danger, the UNESCO Office of the Municipality of Florence, the Commission for the Protection of Italian and Foreign Cultural Heritage of the Academy of Arts and Design of Florence, the MUS.E Association, and Rondine Cittadella della Pace.
A promoter of the principles of the 1935 Roerich Pact, she is a member of ICOM, ICOMOS, the National Association of Carabinieri (TPC), and the Art Crime Project – The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime.