Jump to content

International Council on Monuments and Sites

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from ICOMOS)
International Council on Monuments and Sites
Founded1965; 60 years ago (1965)
TypeProfessional Body
Location
ServicesConservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world
Key people
Teresa Patricio (President); Jurn Buisman (Secretary General); Cyrill von Planta (Treasurer General)
Websitewww.icomos.org

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; French: Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.

The idea behind ICOMOS dates to the Athens Conference on the restoration of historic buildings in 1931, organized by the International Museums Office. The Athens Charter of 1931 introduced the concept of international heritage. In 1964, the Second Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings, meeting in Venice, adopted 13 resolutions. The first created the International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, better known as Venice Charter; the second, put forward by UNESCO, created ICOMOS to carry out this charter.

ICOMOS currently has over 10,100 individual members in 153 countries, 110 national committees, and 28 international scientific committees.[1] With rare exceptions, each member must be qualified in the field of conservation and a practicing landscape architect, architect, archaeologist, anthropologist, town planner, engineer, administrator of heritage, historian, art historian, palaeontologist or archivist.

ICOMOS is a partner and founding member of the Blue Shield, which works to protect the world's cultural heritage threatened by war and natural disasters.

ICOMOS structure

[edit]

ICOMOS is composed of its national committees (NCs), to which individuals and institutions apply for membership. In addition to the national committees, ICOMOS has a series of international scientific committees (ISCs), in which experts in a certain field of activity within the context of heritage conservation exchange views and debate.[2]

The organization is headed by a president, five vice-presidents, a secretary-general and a treasurer all directly elected by the general assembly of the organization. 12 additional members are also elected by the General Assembly into the Executive Committee and five further members are co-opted into the executive board in order to represent regions of the world or areas of expertise that were not part of the executive committee following the elections. Ex officio members of the executive committee are the president of the advisory committee and the previous presidents of ICOMOS, who attend in advisory capacity. The executive committee is the executive body of ICOMOS.

The advisory committee is composed of the chairpersons of the national committees, the chairpersons of the international scientific committees and the president of ICOMOS as an ex officio member.[3] The advisory committee was given the task to advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly and the Executive Committee on matters which concern policy and programme priorities.

National committees

[edit]

National committees are subsidiary organizations created in the countries which are members of UNESCO. They bring together individual and institutional members and offer them a framework for discussion and an exchange of information. Each national committee adopts its own rules of procedure and elaborates its own program according to the goals and aims of ICOMOS. In 2021, ICOMOS has 107 national committees. ICOMOS website includes a list regularly updated.

International scientific committees

[edit]

International scientific committees (ISCs) are entities focus on specialised areas of heritage conservation and are made up of members of the organisation drawn from those specialist areas. The scientific programmes of the organisation are coordinated by the "scientific council" made up of the presidents of the ISCs. Nowadays, ICOMOS has 28 ISCs. A list regularly updated is available on ICOMOS website.

Working groups

[edit]

ICOMOS conducts a process of reflection on doctrine and good practice on current issues involving the conservation of cultural heritage. To this end, it sets up working groups made up of ICOMOS members who are heritage professionals: architects, archaeologists, professors and researchers, curators and scientists. The aim of these groups can be the drafting of a charter, the implementation of concrete activities (working sessions, workshops). There are currently 6 working groups, the list of which can be found on the ICOMOS website, in which experts reflect on a wide variety of subjects related to heritage conservation: indigenous heritage, sustainable development, Syria/Iraq, climate change and emerging professionals.

Documentation

[edit]

ICOMOS' documentation center is located at the association's headquarters in Paris. It collects, analyses and disseminates information on all methods of heritage conservation, especially through its bibliographic database (+80,000 references) and its graphic documents database (+40,000 references).[4]

Publications

[edit]

ICOMOS International publishes on a regular basis ICOMOS News (newsletter for members, quarterly in French, English, Spanish) and the ICOMOS Scientific Journal (published twice a year). ICOMOS France regularly publishes Le Bulletin d’information d’Icomos France, Les Cahiers de la Section Française de l’ICOMOS, Les Dossiers techniques, Les Mémentos techniques, les Bulletins, and Les Enquêtes de la section française.

Charters and doctrines

[edit]

ICOMOS has developed and adopted a number of other charters and doctrinal texts which provide guidance to heritage conservation professionals. Those documents are created by the international committees of the organisation and then adopted by the triennial General Assembly. Each text addresses a specific area of professional practice of heritage conservation. Those charters include:[5]

Year Name Description Sources
1964 Venice Charter International charter for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites
1981 Florence Charter Conservation of historic gardens
1987 Washington Charter Charter for the conservation of historic towns and urban areas. Superseded by the 2011 Valletta principles below.
1990 Charter for the Protection and Management of Archaeological Heritage
1994 Nara Document on Authenticity Broader understanding of cultural diversity and cultural heritage in conservation efforts [6][7]
1996 Charter on the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage
1999 International Cultural Tourism Charter Managing tourism at places of heritage significance
Principles for the Preservation of Timber Structures
Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage
2003 Principles for the Analysis, Conservation and Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage
Principles for the Preservation and Conservation -Restoration of Wall Paintings
2008 Charter on Cultural Routes [8]
Ename Charter Charter for the interpretation and presentation of cultural heritage sites
2011 Principles for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Sites, Structures, Areas and Landscapes Joint ICOMOS-TICCIH principles
The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas Supersedes the 1987 Washington Charter above
2017 Principles Concerning Rural Landscapes as Heritage Joint ICOMOS-IFLA principles
Document on Historic Urban Public Parks
Salalah Guidelines for the Management of Public Archaeological Sites
Principles for the Conservation of Wooden-Built Heritage

Many of the national committees of ICOMOS have adopted their own charters which set standards for heritage conservation practice at national level.[9]

ICOMOS and the World Heritage Convention

[edit]

In 1972, ICOMOS was named by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention as one of the three formal advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, along with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). As the professional and scientific adviser to the committee on all aspects of the cultural heritage, ICOMOS is responsible for the evaluation of all nominations of cultural properties made to the World Heritage List with the criteria laid down by the World Heritage Committee. In addition to the basic criterion of “outstanding universal value,” ICOMOS evaluates nominations for aspects related to authenticity, management, and conservation as specified in the World Heritage Convention.

The evaluation of nominations involves consultation between the wide-ranging expertise represented by the organization’s membership and its national and scientific committees. Members are also sent on expert missions to carry out on-site evaluations of nominated properties. This extensive consultation results in the preparation of detailed recommendations that are submitted to the World Heritage Committee at its annual meetings.

ICOMOS is also involved, through its International Secretariat and its national and scientific committees, in the preparation of reports on the state of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. It advises the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on requests for technical assistance received from states that are party to (i.e. have ratified) the World Heritage Convention. ICOMOS maintains a full archive of nominations and reports at the documentation centre at its Paris headquarters.

Piero Gazzola award

[edit]

The Gazzola Prize was established in 1979 in memory of Piero Gazzola, one of the greatest defenders of the conservation and restoration of historic monuments and sites, and a founder of ICOMOS. The prize is awarded every three years at the General Assembly of ICOMOS to an individual or a group of people who have worked together and contributed with distinction to the aims and objectives of ICOMOS. The beneficiary must be a member of ICOMOS and is chosen by the Selection Committee itself elected by the ICOMOS Board. The Prize is a commemorative medal and diploma.[10]

List of awardees

[edit]
  • 1981 – Jean Trouvelot[11]
  • 1984 – Stanislaw Lorentz[11]
  • 1987 – Masuru Sekino[12]
  • 1990 – Gertrud Tripp[11]
  • 1993 – Bernard Feilden[13]
  • 1996 – Ernest Allan Connally[11]
  • 1999 – Roland Silva[13]
  • 2002 – Cevat Erder[14]
  • 2005 – Ann Webster Smith[15]
  • 2008 – Carmen Añón Feliu[13]
  • 2011 – Nobuo Ito[13]
  • 2014 – Henry Cleere[16]
  • 2017 – Saleh Lamei Mostafa[17]
  • 2020 – Amund Sinding-Larsen[18]

List of ICOMOS General Assemblies, Presidents and Secretaries General

[edit]
ICOMOS General Assemblies, Presidents & Secretaries General[19][20][21]
Nr. Time General Assembly Term President Secretary General
21. 2023 Sydney  Australia 2023–2026 Teresa Patricio  Belgium Jurn Buisman  Netherlands
20. 2020 Online (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) 2020–2023 Teresa Patricio  Belgium Mario Santana  Canada
19. 2017 Delhi  India 2017–2020 Toshiyuki Kono  Japan Peter Phillips  Australia
18. 2014 Florence  Italy 2014–2017 Gustavo Araoz  United States Kirsti Kovanen  Finland
17. 2011 Paris  France 2011–2014 Gustavo Araoz  United States Kirsti Kovanen  Finland
16. 2008 Québec  Canada 2008–2011 Gustavo Araoz  United States Bénédicte Selfslagh  Belgium
15. 2005 Xi'an  China 2005–2008 Michael Petzet  Germany Dinu Bumbaru  Canada
14. 2003 Victoria Falls  Zimbabwe
13. 2002 Madrid  Spain 2002–2005 Michael Petzet  Germany Dinu Bumbaru  Canada
12. 1999 Mexico City  Mexico 1999–2002 Michael Petzet  Germany Jean-Louis Luxen  Belgium
11. 1996 Sofia  Bulgaria 1996–1999 Roland Silva  Sri Lanka Jean-Louis Luxen  Belgium
10. 1993 Colombo  Sri Lanka 1993–1996 Roland Silva  Sri Lanka Jean-Louis Luxen  Belgium
9. 1990 Lausanne   Switzerland 1990–1993 Roland Silva  Sri Lanka Herb Stovel  Canada
8. 1987 Washington, D.C.  United States 1987–1990 Roberto di Stefano  Italy Helmut Stelzer  East Germany
7. 1984 Rostock  East Germany 1984–1987 Michel Parent  France Abdelaziz Daoulatli  Tunisia
6. 1981 Rome  Italy 1981–1984 Michel Parent  France Abdelaziz Daoulatli  Tunisia
5. 1978 Moscow  Soviet Union 1978–1981 Raymond M. Lemaire  Belgium Ernest Allen Connaly  United States
4. 1975 Rothenburg ob der Tauber  Germany 1975–1978 Raymond M. Lemaire  Belgium Ernest Allen Connaly  United States
3. 1972 Budapest  Hungary 1972–1975 Piero Gazzola  Italy Raymond M. Lemaire  Belgium
2. 1969 Oxford  United Kingdom 1969–1972 Piero Gazzola  Italy Raymond M. Lemaire  Belgium
1. 1965 Kraków  Poland 1965–1969 Piero Gazzola  Italy Raymond M. Lemaire  Belgium

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Introducing ICOMOS – International Council on Monuments and Sites". www.icomos.org. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  2. ^ "ICOMOS Statutes, adopted by the Vth General Assembly on 22 May 1978 in Moscow" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  3. ^ Article 12, ICOMOS Statutes, adopted by the Vth General Assembly on 22 May 1978 in Moscow
  4. ^ "ICOMOS' Documentary Resources". www.icomos.org. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  5. ^ ICOMOS Charters and Other Doctrinal Texts. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Cultural Heritage Policy Documents: The Nara Document on Authenticity (1994)". The Getty Conservation Institute. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Nara Document on Authenticity, Experts meeting". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Charter on Cultural Routes" (PDF). Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  9. ^ "CHARTERS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ICOMOS". ICOMOS. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  10. ^ Awards, honors & prizes: International and foreign. Vol. 2. Gale Group. 2001. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-7876-3405-6.
  11. ^ a b c d "Dr E.A. Connally honored by the International Preservation Community" (PDF). Cultural Resource Management. 19 (9): 44. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  12. ^ Sacré, Dirk; Tournoy, Gilbert, eds. (2000). Myricae: Essays on Neo-Latin Literature in Memory of Josef IJsewijn. Leuven University. p. 98. ISBN 978-90-5867-054-0.
  13. ^ a b c d Rössler, Mechtild; Cameron, Christina (2013). Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the World Heritage Convention. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-8477-6.
  14. ^ Madeleine, Regan, ed. (2005). "US/ICOMOS advises World's Top Heritage Preservation Prize Awarded In China" (PDF). World Archaeological Congress E-Newsletter. 7. World Archaeological Council: 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  15. ^ "Ann W. Smith, 81; World-Renowned Preservationist". The Washington Post. April 28, 2006.
  16. ^ "Henry Cleere awarded prestigious Gazzola Prize" (Press release). UCL Institute of Architecture. January 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  17. ^ ICOMOS Honors and Awards. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  18. ^ "ICOMOS Honors and awards". 21 April 2021.
  19. ^ ICOMOS Past Presidents. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  20. ^ ICOMOS General Assemblies. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  21. ^ ICOMOS Board. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_Council_on_Monuments_and_Sites&oldid=1292830544"