Cultural World Heritage Sites are incredibly diverse, ranging from individual monuments and sites, such as Stonehenge and Avebury, to historic areas and cities such as Bath, Liverpool and Edinburgh. The defining characteristic that links all cultural World Heritage Sites is that the asset or property must be recognised as being of ‘outstanding universal value’.

In many countries, World Heritage Sites are provided with statutory protection under national planning and/or development legislation. This is not the case in the United Kingdom, although the outstanding international importance of the site does constitute a key material consideration to be taken into account by local planning authorities in determining planning and listed building applications. Local authorities are also required to formulate specific planning policies for protecting World Heritage Sites.

This course introduces participants to the processes of WHS nomination and inscription, and explores the impact of WHS designation on the management of a site. It will discuss some of the practical issues that flow from WHS inscription and the need to manage and protect a site’s ‘outstanding universal value’. It is aimed at professionals who would like to know more about the position of World Heritage Sites in the planning process (in England and the rest of the UK), and to those who are keen to improve the quality, relevance and effectiveness of World Heritage Site management plans and planning.

Audience
The course is open to all, but will be of particular interest to:
• World Heritage Site co-ordinators and managers or those providing advice to other property owners/managers in the vicinity of a WHS;
• Planners who have to consider the potential impact of development proposals on a WHS or within the setting or buffer zone of a WHS;
• Heritage practitioners who wish to understand the importance and impact of World Heritage Sites or who might become involved in preparing a WHS management plan or a conservation management plan for a heritage asset in close proximity to one;
• Practitioners who have an interest in working on projects for UNESCO internationally.

More information

If you have any questions about this course, please email professional.arch@conted.ox.ac.uk

 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  

On Thursday 10th December 2009 at 6.30pm in The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL

We would like to invite you to this year’s ICOMOS-UK Christmas Lecture and Wine Reception, in association with The Royal Institution of Great Britain:

The lecture will be given by Professor Clive Ruggles, Chair of the International Astronomical Union ’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage.

In today’s brightly lit world it is all too easy to forget just how overwhelming the dark night sky would have been to human societies in the past—a prominent part of the observed world that was impossible to ignore.

The objects and cycles seen there were vital to people striving to make sense of the world within which they dwelt and to keep their actions in harmony with the cosmos as they perceived it.

The Thirteen Towers, Peru

For the archaeoastronomer, certain ancient monuments provide tantalising glimpses of long lost beliefs and practices relating to the sky, although they have to be interpreted with considerable caution.

In this lecture Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester, will describe some major new discoveries made in recent years, focusing on his own ongoing work in Peru, Polynesia, and prehistoric Europe.

Clive is Chair of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage, which is working with UNESCO and ICOMOS to help identify, protect and preserve the most outstanding manifestations of global cultural heritage relating to the sky. Clive is also President of the Prehistoric Society, and President of IAU Commission 41 (History of Astronomy).  His books include Skywatching in the Ancient World: New Perspectives in Cultural Astronomy, edited with Gary Urton (Colorado, 2007), Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth (ABC-CLIO, 2005), and Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland (Yale UP, 1999).

Admission (including wine and mince pies after the lecture) is £15 for ICOMOS-UK or The Royal institution of Great Britain members.
Admission for non-members is £18 and for students it is £10.

We do hope you will join us on the 10th December, 

For more information and a booking form please contact:

Camilla Massara
Events Co-ordinator
International Council on Monuments & Sites UK

Tel 020 7566 0031
E-mail: camillamassara@icomos-uk.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

Please join an evening looking at contemporary architecture in the context of a World Heritage City with a special guest from Canada, Herb Stovel, an expert on World Heritage matters, to speak about his experiences with the changing landscape of international world heritage cities.

Please contact Glasgow City Heritage Trust on 0141 552 1331 to reserve your place (limited spaces available).

UNITAR Hiroshima Series on the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites

Heritage is not an article in a vacuum showcase.  It lives with people, and people live in heritage sites. Architects say that the best way to conserve built heritage is to live inside it. Even in the case of properties requiring restricted access (reserves, etc.), designation as a World Heritage site often attracts a considerable increase in visitors. It is therefore imperative that the impact of a range of human activities upon both tangible and intangible aspects of heritage be regularly assessed. These assessments provide a baseline for judging the management and use of sites. The major question arises – how can an impact on the heritage “values” of a site be effectively assessed? UNITAR will apply its “values-based management” as the basis for a methodology to assess impacts on the values of sites.

The specific objectives of the 2009 workshop will be to:
 
* Review the basics of the World Heritage regime and its implications for peace, incorporating available information, updates and current trends;

* Elucidate the underlying principles of “values-based heritage management”, with a particular focus on peace building or nurturing;

* Introduce the basics of World Heritage impact assessment;

* Examine leading assessment policies and strategies, identifying best practices and lessons learned;

* Through reality-based practical exercises, extract key concepts and common issues while developing impact assessments for given sites;

* Contribute to the development of a manual for site managers on impact assessment in World Heritage management;

* Enhance long-term peer learning and exchange among the participants.

Further Details and Application Form

Information Note

Cultural landscapes reflect the interaction between people and their environment over time. Sustaining the distinctiveness of World Heritage cultural landscapes can mean sustaining not just the symptoms of interaction but the underlying processes that contribute towards their Outstanding Universal Value.  The Lecture will consider examples of World Heritage cultural landscapes from around the world and show how these sites could provide approaches that are relevant for other landscapes, both rural and urban, in the UK.
 
Venue: The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ (nearest tube station Farringdon)
 
Doors open at 6pm when wine or juice will be available
 
Tickets: £8

Tel: 020 7490 2974 to make advance reservation, or (subject to availability) tickets can be purchased at the door on the night from 6pm

Email: enquiries@gardenhistorysociety.org

A lecture to be delivered by Dr. Christopher Young, Head of World Heritage and International Policy, English Heritage

The World Heritage Convention is the most popular UNESCO heritage treaty with 781 World Heritage Sites in 145 countries.  Over the last 30 years the idea of what can be a World Heritage Site has changed greatly to include ever widening ranges of heritage, both natural and cultural.  Over time, UNESCO, its World Heritage Committee and its advisors have become much more involved in the management of individual sites and therefore in the heritage management systems of many countries. Increasingly, World Heritage provides a focus for many of the issues affecting the conservation of heritage as a whole.  Can we still sustain the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage Sites?

Please email Ben Glynn at b.glynn@ucl.ac.uk you are able to attend

Please note that this is a public lecture and all are welcome to attend

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainableheritage/