This is the second of two volumes of Historic Environment arising out of the ICOMOS conference ‘Culture: Conserving it Together’ held in Suva Fiji from 1 to 5 October 2018.

On 28th Nov 2019 a short seminar dealing with the intangible dimensions on tangible heritages was hosted in Finland. Dr Hee Sook Lee-Niinioja (President, ICICH) opened the seminar. She discussed the ICICH-committee, WH-criteria, and she shared interesting case studies. The President of ICOMOS Finland, arch. Kirsti Kovanen had studied all ICOMOS charters and documents, keeping in mind “intangible heritage”. She suggested that Culture-Nature Journey might be a good area for the dialogue between tangible and intangible heritage.

After the opening-speeches we had some philosophical and theoretical lectures dealing with “Material, time and atmosphere of heritage”. The discussion about the possibilities to protect immaterial values of heritage by the Heritage legislation was interesting. Many actual cases are just now not at the tables of civil servants.

Four round tables hosted further discussions under the titles:

• The original use of heritage, new uses
• The skillfulness and capability
• The knowledge and research work
• Good will, participating, political will

ICOMOS Finland ICH seminar 2019 programme

Hee Sook Lee-Niinioja Presentation

From 27 to 31 May, 2019, the Taiwan International Institute for Water Education in cooperation with ICOMOS Netherlands and the Centre for Global Heritage and Development of The Netherlands will organize the international conference ‘Water as Heritage’, that will take place in Chiayi, Taiwan – named Formosa since the 16th century – a beautiful island on the Pacific rim as a gateway of Asian continent.

Among the five themes, ICICH will cooperate with CIRAT (Centro Internacional de Água e Transdisciplinaridade, Brazil) about the “Worldvision and Water” panel. 

If you would like to join the panel, please register through the website. Then, you will be requested to submit an abstract (max 500 words) for an article or a poster. 

Visit the conference website: http://www.water-as-heritage2019.org.tw/

Kaufman, N. 2016. Perspectives from the Field: Non-disruption and non-emissions as cultural resources. Environmental Practice 18(3): 219-221.

The above Thai proverb is one of many reflections on the inseparable relationship between people and elephants in Thai life. It is an enduring relationship that reflects the close connection between the natural and cultural elements of a lived, experienced and imagined landscape, imbued with traditions and practices, beliefs and life ways, and social processes that serve to create identity, community and a sense of ‘being in place’.