e-News n°115

25 avril 2024

18 April - International Day for Monuments and Sites
ICOMOS is 50 - let's celebrate! 

Every year on 18 April, ICOMOS celebrates the “International Day for Monuments and Sites”, whose establishment was approved by the 22nd UNESCO General Conference in 1983. In 2015, the Day is dedicated to celebrating ICOMOS’ 50th anniversary.

Aim of the International Day

The aim of the International Day for Monuments and Sites is to encourage local communities and individuals throughout the world to consider the importance of cultural heritage to their lives, identities and communities, and to promote awareness of its diversity and vulnerability and the efforts required to protect and conserve it.

2015 Theme: 50 years of ICOMOS

The Second Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings, held in Venice in 1964, adopted 13 resolutions, the first being the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, better known as the Venice Charter, and the second, put forward by UNESCO, provided for the creation of ICOMOS.

From 21 to 25 June 1965, the Constitutional and First General Assemblies of lCOMOS took place in Warsaw, Poland. Besides the delegates from 26 countries, representatives of three major organisations who had contributed to the creation of lCOMOS participated as observers: UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOM (International Council on Museums) and UIA (The International Union of Architects). 

On this occasion, Piero Gazzola, the first President of ICOMOS encouraged the founding members as follows : "that our enthusiasm and devotion to this great cause that brings us all together be proportionate to the importance of our task". Successive generations of ICOMOS leaderships, members and International Secretariat staff have tried to honour this call and today ICOMOS is a vibrant organisation with over 10 700 members in 144 countries, 110 National Committees, 28 International Scientific Committees, carrying out numerous activities and collaborating through a wide variety of partnerships.

This year, ICOMOS celebrates its 50th anniversary by honouring its founders and highlighting its achievements so far, but above all by reflecting on its future objectives through a series of international events and on the basis of a modernized set of Statutes and Ethical Principles. 

Following a first event attended, among other, by the UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture, the Mayor of Charenton, UNESCO Delegations and partner organisations, at the new ICOMOS headquarters in Charenton-le-Pont on 10 March, where a Round Table discussed "How can international cooperation contribute to addressing the main challenges faced by heritage conservation, and what is ICOMOS’ role?", two further international events are foreseen:

• 22 - 24 June – Warsaw (Poland): Official 50th Anniversary Event - International Conference on “Heritage in Transformation” – click here for further information. 

• 26 – 29 October - Fukuoka City (Japan): During the 2015 General Assembly and Advisory Committee our Japanese hosts are also planning a side event to celebrate the 50th anniversary - further information soon available on the ICOMOS web site. 

Furthermore, many ICOMOS National and International Scientific Committees are holding events on 18th April and throughout the year to mark this important milestone in our history. 

More information on ICOMOS’ history.

Events calendar

Click here to consult the calendar of all accredited 18th April / 50th anniversary events organised by ICOMOS Committees and other organisations – this will be regularly up-dated as information on events comes in.

50th anniversary logo and accreditation of events

Information on the 50th anniversary logo and accreditation of events can be obtained here. 

ICOMOS International Secretariat 11 rue du Séminaire de Conflans 94 220 Charenton-le-Pont France  Tel. + 33 (0) 1 41 94 17 59 Fax. + 33 (0) 1 48 93 19 16 secretariat@icomos.org www.icomos.org