International Council on Monuments and Sites

International Council on Monuments and Sites
Founded	1965; 59 years ago
Type	Professional Body
Location	Paris, France;
Services	Conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world
Key people	Teresa Patricio (President); Jurn Buisman (Secretary General); Cyrill von Planta (Treasurer General)
Website	www.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

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

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

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

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.

ICOMOS International Secretariat

Documentation Center

Located at ICOMOS headquarters in Paris, it collects, analyses and disseminates information on all methods of heritage conservation, notably through its bibliographic database (14,000 references on the world's architectural heritage) and a large photo library containing more than 8,000 photographs. It is open for consultation to researchers, whether or not they are members of ICOMOS.

Publications

The regular publications of ICOMOS International are: ICOMOS News, a newsletter for members, which provides an update on the activities of the association (quarterly in French, English and Spanish); the ICOMOS Scientific Journal, published twice a year, is a thematic journal ;

The regular publications of the French Section of ICOMOS are: Le Bulletin d’information d’Icomos France; Les Cahiers de la Section Française de l’ICOMOS ; Les Dossiers techniques ; Les Mémentos techniques ; les Bulletins (dossiers des colloques); Les Enquêtes de la section française.

ICOMOS charters and doctrinal texts

In the tradition of the Athens and Venice Charters, ICOMOS has, in the years since its formation, developed and adopted a number of other charters and doctrinal texts which provide guidance to heritage conservation professionals in their work. Most such documents are created by the international committees of the organisation and thereafter adopted by the triennial General Assembly. The texts each address a specific area of professional practice in the heritage conservation professions. Following the 17th ICOMOS General Assembly held in Paris in November 2011, the list of charters is as follows:^[4]

International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (Venice Charter), 1964
Historic Gardens (Florence Charter), 1981
Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas (Washington Charter), 1987
Charter for the Protection and Management of Archaeological Heritage, 1990
Charter on the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage, 1996
International Cultural Tourism Charter – Managing Tourism at Places of Heritage Significance, 1999
Principles for the Preservation of Timber Structures, 1999
Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage, 1999
ICOMOS Charter – Principles for the Analysis, Conservation and Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage, 2003
ICOMOS Principles for the Preservation and Conservation-Restoration of Wall Paintings, 2003
ICOMOS Charter on Cultural Routes, 2008 ^[5]
ICOMOS Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (also known as the 'Ename Charter'), 2008
Joint ICOMOS – TICCIH Principles for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Sites, Structures, Areas and Landscapes, 2011
The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas, 2011 (Supersedes the Washington Charter)
ICOMOS-IFLA principles concerning rural landscapes as heritage, 2017
Document on historic urban public parks, 2017
Salalah guidelines for the management of public archaeological sites, 2017
Principles for the conservation of wooden built heritage, 2017

In addition to the above there is a list of seventeen other doctrinal texts, resolutions and declarations, including the Nara Document on Authenticity. In November 1994, at the Nara Conference on Authenticity, ICOMOS published the Nara Document on Authenticity, which addresses the need for a broader understanding of cultural diversity and cultural heritage in conservation efforts involving cultural heritage sites.^[6]^[7]

Many of the national committees of ICOMOS have adopted their own charters which set standards for heritage conservation practice at national level.^[8]

ICOMOS and the World Heritage Convention

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

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.^[9]

List of awardees

1981 – Jean Trouvelot^[10]
1984 – Stanislaw Lorentz^[10]
1987 – Masuru Sekino^[11]
1990 – Gertrud Tripp^[10]
1993 – Bernard Feilden^[12]
1996 – Ernest Allan Connally^[10]
1999 – Roland Silva^[12]
2002 – Cevat Erder^[13]
2005 – Ann Webster Smith^[14]
2008 – Carmen Añón Feliu^[12]
2011 – Nobuo Ito^[12]
2014 – Henry Cleere^[15]
2017 – Saleh Lamei Mostafa^[16]
2020 – Amund Sinding-Larsen^[17]

List of ICOMOS General Assemblies, Presidents and Secretaries General

ICOMOS General Assemblies, Presidents & Secretaries General^[18] ^[19] ^[20]
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