ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) has decided that the theme for International World Heritage Day 2010 is the Heritage of Agriculture. Whilst Liverpool’s World Heritage Site has no significant agricultural heritage, its role as the supreme example of an international seaport has resulted in an outstanding heritage in the storage and transportation of agricultural produce. Liverpool City Council has therefore organised five free guided tours of different areas of the World Heritage Site on 17^th and 18^th April 2010, looking at the agricultural exchanges, headquarters of insurance companies, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Triangular Trade across the Atlantic and the merchants’ activities around Duke Street. The tours will be led by qualified tour guides.

For further information and for details on how to book, view the Liverpool International World Heritage Day 2010 leaflet and/or visit www.liverpoolworldheritage.com

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 11th Cambridge Heritage conference seeks to examine the Olympics as a global and a local phenomenon affecting heritage by addressing two themes:  (1) the Olympics as heritage and (2) the impact of the Olympics on cultural heritage. Every four years the Olympics goes beyond just being a sporting event, offering a local and a global stage where countries can promote and showcase themselves to the world.  Cultural heritage is intimately entangled in the games, both in terms of the Olympics as historic, but also in how the event impacts the cultural heritage of the host country.

The 11th Cambridge Heritage Seminar is using the Olympic games as a forum for thinking about how one event can impact and transform local and global cultural heritage.  It will be divided into two sessions.  The first session will explore how the games are themselves heritage, and the second will examine the ‘heritage-impact’ of the games in the nations that host them.  The conference particularly welcomes theoretical contributions and case studies from Athens, Beijing and London.

Some indicative themes and questions of the type we intend to address are:

• The symbolism and performance behind the Olympic games.  
• How does one sporting event manifest as both global and local heritage? 
• How has the Olympics become a commodified event?  How does Olympic tourism impact cultural heritage?
• How do the games affect and transform the existing built environment of a city?
• How does new built architecture become cultural heritage in its own right?

Please send 500-word paper abstract or poster proposals to Shadia Taha at st446@cam.ac.uk. Proposals should be sent as PDF or Word documents and should include full contact information and a brief CV. Deadline for proposals is February 28th 2010.   General Information and Registration will be available soon at: http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/heritage-seminar

A 1-day event aimed at people involved in the planning system within World Heritage Sites, including Planners, Conservation Officers, WHS Co-ordinators and Councillors.

The event, which is being held at two alternative venues, has been organised jointly by the Local Authority World Heritage Forum (LAWHF), English Heritage and ICOMOS-UK.

The Telford event will be chaired by Gillian Clarke, Secretary of LAWHF and the Newcastle upon Tyne event by Susan Denyer, Secretary of ICOMOS-UK.

For more information please e-mail jbl.telshrops@blueyonder.co.uk or telephone Jonathan Lloyd on 01952 587615

Download the programme and booking form

 Is there such a thing as a global conservation philosophy for cultural heritage? Should there be? Or should cultural heritage conservation reflect cultural diversity? The Conference will consider these thoughts through exploring conjunctions and differences between conservation philosophies and principles in UK, India and China.   

Agra Fort, India, photo: M & G Therin-Weise

These aspirations were translated into an Australian national framework by the Burra Charter, the Australian National Charter, 1979. The idea of universality was strengthened by the 1972 World Heritage Convention with its concept of outstanding universal value for properties that might be seen part of the ‘world heritage of mankind as a whole’, which thus translated universal ideas to places perceived to be of universal value.   

In recent years the China Principles, 2002, and the INTACH Charter for the Conservation of Unprotected Architectural Heritage and Sites in India, 2004, have developed conservation guidance related to specific cultural traditions. Do these still somehow reflect the idea of an over-arching conservation philosophy that can be seen to be global? Or are they stand alone documents whose similarities merely reflect the interchange of ideas between east and west?  We considered these thoughts through exploring conjunctions and differences between conservation philosophies and principles in UK, India and China.  

The Conference included three keynote speeches from internationally prominent practitioners in China, India and UK. They explored conjunctions and differences between conservation philosophies and principles in China, India and UK and discussed international conservation instruments and guidelines including the China Principles, INTACH Charter and English Heritage Conservation Principles and a possible UK Charter.  

Keynote speakers:

• Professor Guo Zhan (China), Director, World Heritage Expert Committee of China; Vice President, ICOMOS International: Universality and Individuality in the Concept of Conservation.  

• Professor A. G. Krishna Menon (India), Convenor, Delhi Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH): The evolving conservation movement in India: its relevance in a globalising world.  

• Paul Drury (UK), The Paul Drury Partnership: Culture, heritage values and places – relating the abstract to the concrete.  

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The other distinguished speakers at the conference included:

Xue-cai Yu,  Department of tourism, Southeast University, Nanjing, CHINA

Namiko Yamauchi, Japan Cultural Heritage Consultancy, Tokyo, JAPAN

Souad Sassi, University of Mentouri, Constantine, ALGERIA

Biumol Tom, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, INDIA

Vikas Dilawari, Head of Conservation, Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environment Studies, Mumbai, INDIA

Jeff West, ICOMOS-UK Executive Committee, UK

Keith Emerick, Inspector of Ancient Monuments, English Heritage, UK

Louise Cooke, Independent Consultant, UK

Sarah Wolferstan, Consultant, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK

Susan Denyer, Secretary, ICOMOS-UK; World Heritage Advisor, ICOMOS, London, UK

Their presentations addressed the following themes:  

• Are coincidences in conservation ideas between east and west the result of direct contact and exchange of ideas between conservation professionals in the 19th and 20th centuries?  

• Are coincidences of outcome influenced more by changing overarching philosophies – the westernisation of the east (colonialism) and the easternisation of the west?  

• Is there an over-arching conservation philosophy which brings east and west together at a global level and within which regional and national principles, policies and practice can be developed, or are there fundamental dichotomies and irreconcilable differences?  

• At a practical level, is there potential for international agreement on methods of, and standards for, conservation interventions at cultural heritage sites?    

York Minster, UK

The conference also included a tour of York Minster led by Andrew Arrol, York Minster’s Surveyor of the Fabric,

An optional site visit to Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal World Heritage Site took place on Saturday 5th June. 

For more information please contact:

Camilla Massara, Events Co-ordinator, ICOMOS-UK: camillamassara@icomos-uk.org  

The aim of the conference is to consider the threat to the UK’s unique heritage from fire and other such incidents and is a must attend for anyone who is involved with Fire Protection or the restoration and preservation of heritage buildings.

The conference will involve key players from across the cultural and heritage sectors as well as representatives from the world of fire engineering, architecture, tourism and planning.

For more information and to book please contact Mandy Eeles on 07919 175310 or Richard Daly on 01606 868290.   

Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service
The Institution of Fire Engineers

Painshill Park, Surrey

Painshill Park is bringing together key players in the debate to a major conference, using Painshill’s award winning restoration as a model for past and present approaches, and discussing new ways of looking at landscapes in the future.

The two-day conference will be chaired by Dr Patrick Eyres. Speakers will include:

Mavis Batey (Garden History Society)
Mike Calnan (National Trust)
Mark Laird (Harvard University and Painshill Park Consultant)
John Phibbs (Dubois)
Michael Symes (Garden Historian, Author and Lecturer)
Janie Burford (Council Member, Painshill Park Trust)
Kate Felus (Historic Landscapes)
Brent Elliott (Royal Horticultural Society)

Tours of Painshill will be included on the first day.

Cost to delegates:  £100 for the two days including refreshments and lunches (there will be a limited number of places at a reduced fee for students)

To obtain a booking form, or for further information, please contact:

Rachael James (PA and Park Administrator)
Painshill Park, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1JE
e-mail: rachaeljames@painshill.co.uk
Tel: 01932 868113

This is a fundraising event and proceeds will go towards the on-going restoration of Painshill Park.
Reg. Charity No. 284944

This conference organised by The Federal Trust for Education and Research jointly with Cornish cultural group CERES, will be an opportunity to learn more about one of the historic regions of the United Kingdom and Europe from representatives of Cornish cultural and intellectual life. It will also be an opportunity to understand better the European links and networks in which Cornish representatives and  will bring together speakers from Cornwall and the European Commission to discuss shared interests from the perspective of one of Europe’s smaller historic regions.

The conference – “Cornwall in Europe: an example from minorities” – will be hosted by the Trust at the London Metropolitan University in the City, and be followed by a reception. There will be four Cornish speakers who will describe Cornwall’s cultural and economic experiences in the wider Europe against the backgound of Cornwall’s history and distinctive Celtic tradition.
Cornish participation in the Council of Europe’s Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods Programme will be outlined as a case study.

Please note that registration to this event is essential.

For more information and registration please contact John Fleet at CERES: ceres.sec@freeuk.com

E-FAITH, the European Federation of Associations of Industrial and Technical Heritage is a platform promoting contacts and co-operation between non profit volunteer associations, the place where those can meet, exchange experiences, learn from each other and support each other’s activities an campaigns.

After the succesfull meetings in Beringen (2006), Kortrijk (2007) and Barcelona (2008), each attended by representatives from a dozen countries, E-FAITH is now going to organize a fourth European contact weekend for volunteers and non profit organisations that are engaged in the research, the preservation, the interpretation and/or the presentation of the industrial and technical heritage.

It will again be an open and stimulating meeting where organisations and individuals can present and compare their ideas, projects and results – and find out where cooperation or common projects can grow, how they can support the aims of colleagues and how colleagues can support their objectives. This will be possible by lectures and oral presentations, leaflets, information stands, posters and small exhibits. Each participant is allowed to use the presentation techniques that to him/her seems to be the most appropriate.

The main themes of the meeting will be:
- European bordercrossing cooperation between industrial and technical heritage associations
- twinning between associations
- exchanging experiences from the field
- discussing the possibilities of launching joint European projects

Additional information can be requested by e-mail at 2009@e-faith.org

Phoenix Park Historic Landscape

ICOMOS Ireland and ICOMOS-UK successfully organised the first of a series of annual meetings between Ireland and the UK. The main theme this year was “Cultural Landscapes”. The presentations explored new landscape initiatives in line with the aims of the ELC and the meeting was a great chance for members to network and share their views through workshops and social events.

It was also be an opportunity to hear about, and build on, the outcomes of the preceding “Heritage Council 2009 Irish Landscape Conference” that took place on 14th-16th October 2009 in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. This major conference looked at how effective current strategic and legislative provisions are in securing sustainable development of landscapes and in providing effective landscape planning, management, and conservation within the framework of the ELC.

Programme Details:

FRIDAY 16TH OCTOBER
6.30-8pm: Drinks reception at the Irish Architectural Archive, Dublin

SATURDAY 17TH OCTOBER –  10am-5pm, Dublin Castle
10.00-10.10:  Introduction
10.10-10.30: Prof. Gabriel Cooney, Head of Archaeology, UCD [ICOMOS Ireland]
Overview/summary of the “Heritage Council 2009 Irish Landscape Conference” issues: strategic initiatives for identifying and sustaining landscapes and recommendations for the way forward.

10.30-11.00: Willy Cumming, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, & Louise Harrington, ICOMOS Ireland Cultural Landscape Subcommittee [ICOMOS Ireland]
Summary of new and recent initiatives to link culture, nature and people in landscapes in Ireland.

11.00-11.20: Paul Walshe, Chair ICOMOS-UK Cultural Landscapes & Historic Gardens Committee [ICOMOS-UK]
Summary of new and recent initiatives to link culture, nature and people in landscapes in the UK.

 11.00-11.20 Tea/Coffee

11.20 -11.40: Mike Clarke, Lake District World Heritage Project [ICOMOS-UK]
Lake District World Heritage Project: Social and Economic Impact Research

11.40 -12.00: [ICOMOS-UK] Speaker tbc
Historic Urban landscapes

 12.00-12.20: Cathy Daly, Dublin Institute of Technology [ICOMOS Ireland]
Measuring Climate Change Impacts in Cultural Landscapes

12.20-12.50: Discussion

12.50-14.00: Lunch

14.20-16.00: Workshops in three groups on identified themes, such as:
 - Defining historic urban landscapes
-  How do we develop an evidence base for cultural attributes of landscapes?
-  Promoting landscape and sense of place

16.00-16.20: Tea/Coffee

16.20-17.00: General discussion:
-  Feedback from discussion groups
-  Management issues
-  How ICOMOS Ireland and ICOMOS-UK might work together in the area of cultural landscapes

SUNDAY 18TH OCTOBER -  9.30am-5pm, Site Visits:

- Phoenix Park historic landscape, Dublin. Led by John McCullen, Superintendent of Phoenix Park

- Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site. Led by Claire Tuffy,  Visitor Centre Manager

For more information and bookings please contact: 

Camilla Massara
Events Co-ordinator
ICOMOS-UK

Tel: 0207 566 0031

E-mail: camillamassara@icomos-uk.org

1 October 2009, The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, photo: Emily Tracey

This meeting will address current issues of building and roofing stone in the UK and how to improve the use and availability of indigenous building stone today and for the future. It brings together those with a professional interest in the use of building stone from throughout the UK to address the key issues for heritage and new construction. The event is aimed at planners, architects, stone producers, heritage conservation professionals and all those with a professional interest in stone.

More information

Contact: Emily Tracey emiace@bgs.ac.uk or Tel: 0131 667 1000