News

A group of 20 cultural heritage professionals – archaeologists, archivists, and architects – arrived on the scene to assess the damage to a World Heritage Site. Tensions between the two countries that border the site had escalated into a violent protest and a bomb blast had gone off directly next to the historic structure. Artifacts of all kinds were scattered under rubble and ash.

I was both privileged and deeply saddened to spend time with Ron, just before his tragic death on 28 April 2015. We were both on a World Heritage Reactive Monitoring Mission, in the city of Lhasa in China. His sudden departure was a shocking experience to me as much as to all of you.

A series of devastating earthquakes have struck Nepal over the weekend, causing loss of more than 7000 lives. The initial 7.8 magnitude quake, along with aftershocks as high as 6.7 magnitude, caused destruction and severe damage to the historic centre of Kathmandu and other heritage sites throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Quake-related damage has been reported throughout the region.

ICCROM, in cooperation with UNESCO, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan (ACA) and the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH), organized an International Expert Meeting on Cultural Heritage and Disaster Resilient Communities. The meeting was held before and during the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (the 3rd WCDRR).

The aim of the LATAM Newsletter is to give the opportunity to conservation professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean to share their research and professional experiences throughout the region using the LATAM network.

For the nineteenth time since 1976 a group of mid-career professionals from 20 different countries are gathering for the International Course on Stone Conservation co-organized by ICCROM in partnership with the Getty Conservation Institute. The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome will be hosting the field activities throughout the course and YoCoCu will provide assistance during lab exercises.

From 24 to 27 March, 12 participants from six museums across the province of Ontario joined forces with the staff of the Brant Museum and Archives to re-organize an archival storage area comprising 30,000 items. This was accomplished in just under 3 days. On the 4th day, a sold-out conference organized at one of the museum’s offsite locations brought together 80 delegates, who gathered to hear...

The Ecole du Patrimoine Africain (EPA), jointly established by ICCROM and the University of Abomey-Calavi in Porto Novo, has enjoyed a positive start to 2015. On 19 January it welcomed its newest Director, Mr Samuel Kidiba, and on 31 January, it received recognition as a Pan African school during the 24th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa. This continental recognition...

ICCROM shares and supports the strong statement of UNESCO’s Director-General, Dr Irina Bokova, condemning the destruction of archaeological heritage as videotaped at the Mosul Museum and at the site of the Nergal Gate by ISIL militants.

The CollAsia international course on Handling, Packing and Moving Collections came to a close in Kuching, Malaysia. Organized by ICCROM and the Sarawak Museum Department, with the support of the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), the CollAsia activity aimed to improve scientific literacy and critical thinking skills among the diverse professionals caring for Southeast Asian heritage...