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Author Archive

4th CLAT 2019-Taste Paradise-27 April to 04 May

The Cultural Landscape Association (CLA) is a non-profit organization specialized in the area of Cultural Landscape and the only institution in Iran that focuses on cultural landscapes interdisciplinary. The Association’s mission is to strengthen the role of cultural landscape in sustainable development in Iran and the region, by building the capacity of all those professionals and bodies involved with cultural landscape recognition, protection, conservation and management in the region, through training, research, the dissemination of information and network building. 

For  more information, you can see the tour webpage: http://classociation.org/upcoming/

To review the first workshop and tour see the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9FX3Ygy2c

In the case on any queries do not hesitate to contact us by email: info@classociation.org or classociation1@gmail.com

Parastoo Eshrati, Assistant Professor, University of Tehran, Iran

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CFP: International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology

Call for Papers: 3rd SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology

http://www.seameo-spafa.org/conference2019/

The conference will be held from 17-21  2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference will consist of three days of paper presentations (17-19) a day of site visits, and a day of workshops (21 June). Registration details will be released in December.

Please go to the conference website for a full list of sessions, and to propose your paper through the online form. While all presentation and proposals must be in English, you are also highly encouraged to submit an abstract and title in the appropriate Southeast Asian language. 

Noel Hidalgo Tan,  Email: noel@seameo-spafa.org

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Exploring Intangible Cultural Heritage in Museum Contexts: A Pilot Project

The Report demonstrates the benefits of involving ICH practicing communities and artists as intermediaries between the diverse groups of bearers and cultural organisations, in order  to forge an equitable tripartite curation that might make collections and museum spaces alive and relevant to contemporary society. It also shows why, as a consequence, museums could benefit from  reviewing and recasting their physical and practical boundaries. Bearer communities are guardians of our rich and diverse cultural traditions, collective memories, history, stories and rites and ritual practices.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee ICOMOS UK © 2018 – all rights reserved

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Colombia to host 2019 UNESCO Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO has announced that the next annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place from 9 to 14 December 2019 in Bogotá, Colombia. This decision was taken in Port Louis, Mauritius at the close of the thirteenth session of the Committee, which brings together the representatives of 24 States Parties to the UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Committee decides on measures to safeguard oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts, which constitute intangible heritage.

Read the press release.

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Call for Papers – ICOM Kyoto 2019

On 1-7 September 2019, Kyoto will be the city to receive some 3,000 participants to the ICOM General Conference. A flood of discussions and exchange of ideas on museum-related issues will sweep the city during the week. 

ICOM Kyoto 2019 General Conference aims to provide a forum for considering how museums look towards the future whilst respecting the traditions of the past. By creating new functions as cultural hubs, it must be possible to create a richer future – as museums make use of traditional culture, with the theme- “Museums as Cultural Hubs: the Future of Tradition”.

We hope that Kyoto 2019 will be an opportunity to bring participants together from any discipline across the museum and culture sector from all over the world, whether they be academic or professional to come together to discuss topics and case studies relating to the themes.

View the Calls for Papers on the conference website

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Call for Expressions of Interest – ICOMOS GA International Symposium Co-Chair

ICOMOS General Assembly 2020 – Sydney, Australia

Deadline: 15 February 2019

Expressions of interest are invited for the volunteer position of the International Co-Chair of the Scientific Symposium to be held between 5 and 9 October 2020 as part of the 20th Triennial General Assembly of ICOMOS in Sydney, Australia (GA 2020).

The GA 2020 Scientific Symposium will be overseen by two Co-chairs; one appointed by Australia ICOMOS, Steve Brown, and the other appointed by ICOMOS international. These positions are voluntary and the Co-Chairs are expected to attend the General Assembly and Scientific Symposium in person at own cost (registration, travel, accommodation, etc.). If eligible, financial support for attendance can be sought, for example through the ICOMOS General Assembly Travel Grants programme (but is not guaranteed).

It is intended that the Co-Chairs will be assisted by a small supporting sub-committee, also volunteers, half of which will also be selected following an international ‘Expression of Interest’ process in the first half of 2019.

The theme of GA 2020 Scientific Symposium is ‘shared cultures – shared heritage – shared responsibility’. Within the framework of this overall theme, a range of sessions will be offered covering different subjects, in a variety of formats and of varying lengths. Some sessions may be traditional ‘conference-style’ presentations whereas others may be less formal workshops or facilitated discussions. Building on previous ICOMOS events and responding to the interests of GA 2020 project partners, some sessions – such as the ICOMOS / IUCN ‘Nature-Culture Journey’ and programs that connect selected National Committees of ICOMOS with Sydney’s related multicultural communities – will need to be included, while others will be selected by the Scientific Symposium Co-Chairs and Sub-committee.

A call for expressions of interests will invite proposals for specific sessions and session conveners, papers or other program ‘content’. Selected posters from the Scientific Symposium will be included in a public ‘Heritage Exposition’ to be staged at Sydney’s International Convention Centre during the course of the Scientific Symposium and over the following weekend. The call for sessions, papers and posters for the GA2020 Scientific Symposium is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2019; with the selection announced in late March 2020 following review of all submissions.

The role of the international Co-Chair will include:

1. Liaison with the ICOMOS Scientific Council and Advisory Committee regarding the GA2020 Scientific Symposium; Working collaboratively with the Australian Co-chair to develop the symposium structure and organisation, including calls for sessions and papers, matters relating to timetabling, oversight of assessment of proposals (with the GA2020 Scientific Committee), ensuring geographical representation and development of symposium publications and documents. The responsibilities of the International Co-Chair would commence as soon as possible and be most intensive during 2020, but would continue into 2021 to ensure post-Symposium tasks such as reporting and publication of proceedings;

2. If necessary, on invitation by the GA2020 Organizing Committee (costs covered), attend a planning meeting in Sydney (perhaps in early 2020).

Expressions of interest are encouraged from energetic, experienced and engaged ICOMOS Members who have suitable personal attributes, skills and experience, including: a public profile, appropriate academic credentials, good connections within the cultural heritage sector, experience in conducting similar events and processes, a combination of creative and critical skills, team leadership, demonstrated commitment to inclusiveness, ethical conduct, as well as the necessary time available and energy. Proficiency in French and/or Spanish languages is desired.

Expressions of interest should:

• state the reason why the applicant seeks appointment;
• indicate relevant skills, experience and interest of the applicant;
• indicate commitment to the time available and timeframe required
• include at least one written reference and a one-page summary CV;
• be no more than 4 pages in length (inclusive of the one-page summary CV and reference); and
• be sent by 12:00pm Friday 15 February 2019 to secretariat@icomos.org.

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Call for Papers: Engaging with diversity conference

Interpret Europe Conference | 31 May – 3 June 2019 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | #iecon19

At the IE conference, ‘Engaging with diversity’, we will explore the significance of EU’s ambitious motto ‘United in diversity’ in all its diverse meanings and implications. Cultural diversity can be a great asset that broadens horizons, facilitates creativity and thinking outside the box. But history is full of examples of diversity being framed in ways that reinforced stereotypes and fueled hate.  Almost everywhere, a particular building or a species of animal can invoke very different feelings in different people because they may associate different meanings with them. This poses challenges to heritage interpreters and puts a high responsibility on their shoulders.

Several aspects matter to heritage interpretation when contemplating ‘diversity’:

  • the diversity of the heritage phenomena, tangible or intangible, such as artefacts in a collection, traditions around a site or biodiversity of a protected area;
  • the diverse perspectives of historic stakeholders to whom heritage features are meaningful for different reasons;
  • the diversity of subject areas such as social history, history of arts or of technology, or the biology of species, ecosystems approach or evolutionary perspectives;
  • the diversity of contemporary stakeholders involved in heritage communities affected by heritage management and interpretation;
  • the diversity of people visiting heritage sites with different knowledge, experiences, beliefs, values systems, world views and identities;
  • and, last but not least, the diversity of interpretations by professional interpreters.

1 March 2019: Deadline for the submission of abstracts

Visit the website for further details

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CFP: International Journal of Intangible Heritage

The International Journal of Intangible Heritage is a refereed academic and professional journal, published annually in English and Korean and dedicated to the promotion of the understanding of all aspects of intangible heritage worldwide, and to the communication of research as well as examples of good professional practice.

The journal is actively seeking submissions from anyone engaged in the field of ICH for Volume 14. Submission deadline is 31 January 2019.

 Read the full call and submit on their website.

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The Participation in the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: The role of Communities, Groups and Individuals

The aim of this book is to understand whether participatory methodologies are being applied in the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) or not. If it is possible to identify problems, advantages, good practices or clues that support new and more effective participatory techniques.

Confronting the theory with the practices, the author concluded that the participation of communities, groups and individuals (CGIs) is still residual. In the scope of ICH safeguard projects, Filomena Sousa identifies five aspects that make this difficult to achieve: 1) excessive centrality of the States in the heritagization process; 2) diversity of interpretations of the concepts; 3) deficit of information among the CGIs; 4) deficit of experience in the improvement of teams composed of different actors and 5) deficit of methods and professionals to operationalise the participation.

After describing each of these obstacles, the author presents a methodological suggestion that can be adapted to different moments of the safeguarding process, which should be understood as flexible and adaptable according to the cultural contexts.


O objetivo deste livro é perceber se as metodologias participativas estão a ser aplicadas no âmbito da salvaguarda do Património Cultural Imaterial (PCI). Nesta obra a autora identifica dificuldades, vantagens, boas práticas e pistas que sustentam novas e mais eficazes técnicas de participação.

Do confronto da teoria com as práticas conclui-se que, sendo a participação das comunidades, grupos e indivíduos (CGIs) enfatizada nos discursos, na realidade, esse envolvimento ainda é residual. A autora identifica cinco aspetos que dificultam essa concretização: 1) a excessiva centralidade dos Estados nos processos de patrimonialização; 2) a diversidade das interpretações dos conceitos; 3) a falta de informação entre os CGIs; 4) a falta de experiência na dinamização de equipas compostas por diferentes atores e 5) a falta de método e de profissionais para operacionalizar a participação. 

Filomena Sousa apresenta ainda uma sugestão metodológica que poderá adequar-se às diferentes fases do processo de salvaguarda e que deve ser entendida como modal e adaptável conforme os contextos culturais.

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ICICH at ICOMOS General Assembly

Thank you to Gabriel Caballero for providing the following photos of ICICH members at the recent 2018 ICOMOS General Assembly and Advisory Committee and Scientific Symposium in Buenos Aires, 4-8 December.

View the ICOMOS-BUE Assembly Website

Access the Assembly’s Working Documents

Read about the Buenos Aires Declaration

ICICH members enjoying a meal at ICOMOS-BUE 2018

Museo de Arquitectura y Diseño

ICICH Annual General Meeting Chair, Angel Cabeza

ICICH Annual General Meeting, Marilyn Truscott

ICICH Annual General Meeting attendees

ICICH Annual General Meeting attendees

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