At the invitation of Esteban Prieto, Vice President of ICOMOS
and President of the ICOMOS National Committee of the Dominican Republic,
all 21 Western Hemisphere National Committee chairmen met in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, on May 29-June 1, 1995. Their meeting was
followed by a meeting of the ICOMOS Executive Committee.
Convened in the first World Heritage City of the Americas, the meeting
was attended by the following national committee chairmen: Carlos Pernaut
(Argentina), Mireya Muñoz (Bolivia), Fernanda Collagrossi (Brazil), Herb
Stovel (Canada), Edwin Binda Compton, representing Rodriguo Márquez de la
Plata (Chile), Rodolfo Ulloa V. (Colombia), Nora Brenes (Costa Rica),
Isabel Rigol (Cuba), Esteban Prieto (Dominican Republic), Wilson Herdoiza
(Ecuador), Carlos Hernández (El Salvador), Blanca Niño Norton
(Guatemala), Patrick Delatour (Haiti), Gloria de Hasemann (Honduras),
Patricia Green (Jamaica), Carlos Flores- Marini (Mexico), Manuel Choy
(Panama), Marité Gaona (Paraguay), José Correa (Peru), Ann Webster Smith
(USA), Maria Carlota Ibáñez (Venezuela).
The meeting opened with a presentation by Herb Stovel, Chairman of
ICOMOS Canada and former Secretary General of ICOMOS, on the topic of
authenticity. He asked what ICOMOS means by this idea and why it is
important in terms of preservation and conservation now, more than 30
years after the adoption of the Venice Charter which mentioned "the
richness of [the heritage's] authenticity." He spoke of the ICOMOS
interest in ensuring that conservation philosophy remain flexible enough
to deal with emerging issues surrounding newer concepts concerning the
heritage beyond the notions of "monuments and sites" such as the
importance of vernacular architecture, cultural landscapes, the modern
movement, the industrial heritage or the intangible values inherent in
sacred or religious properties. Mr. Stovel cited ICOMOS' interest in
identifying the common strands that link different geographical areas or
different cultures in order to achieve and maintain respect for other
traditions.
Experts, he said, can deal with the physical evidences of others'
heritage; the challenge is to find ways to deal with the truth, the
realness, the genuineness of the values which that heritage represents.
There is a real need to find words that can be used in explaining
conservation philosophy and the values inherent in the objects of
conservation concern. The question he emphasized is "Where does value
lie"?
Participants received invitations and working documents for the
US/ICOMOS sponsored international symposium on "Authenticity in the
Conservation and Management of the Cultural Heritage," to be held in
San Antonio, Texas, March 24-28, 1996. They agreed that a follow-up
regional meeting of chairmen should also be held during the course of the
San Antonio gathering. Participants also adopted a resolution supporting
and backing that meeting and called on members to meet the November 1995
deadline for the submission of papers. Jean-Louis Luxen, Secretary General
of ICOMOS, explained the evolution of the role and involvement of ICOMOS
in the World Heritage process, as one of two nongovernmental advisory
bodies on the Convention and its implementation. He gave particular
attention to ICOMOS' involvement in the monitoring process (in French, suivi,
and in Spanish, sequimento, both of which express the concept of follow-up,
an idea perhaps more dynamic than the English term monitoring.) In
discussions that followed, particpants suggested the need for review and
updating of the indicative lists of properties to be considered for
eventual nomination to the World Heritage List by the States Parties to
the Convention. There was discussion about the need for models of
effective collaboration between ICOMOS, the national committees and the
governments of the States Parties. The Secretary General said that ICOMOS
was always trying to improve its own procedures for implementing the
ICOMOS role as advisor to the World Heritage Committee.
Each of the participating national committee chairmen gave a report on
their committee. There was considerable diversity in the numbers of
members and in the activities of the various committees. In Mexico, for
example, 375 members make up 17 regional committees and 30% of all
architects in the country belong to ICOMOS. Panama with a committee of 20
holds symposia in different regions, primarily those threatened in some
way, and runs an awards program as an important component of its
activities. In the Dominican Republic ICOMOS members do school tours,
offer lectures as a part of various university courses, engage in
advocacy, offer free access to museums where signs saying "Welcome
ICOMOS" are displayed and offer "ICOMOS Nights," a kind of
heritage show-and-tell gathering with slides, talks and wine and cheese.
The Guatemalan Committee has recently sponsored a meeting of the ICOMOS
International Committee on Vernacular Architecture with broad
international participation. The Costa Rican Committee has a paid staff
that provides consulting services and undertakes conservation projects,
and at one time benefitted from a tax on every box of Costa Rican bananas
exported from the country. In Haiti, the committee is involved in the
development of a master plan for tourism using monuments and sites as a
feature of such programs. Ecuador has a substantial and energetic program
of training courses, meetings and advocacy. ICOMOS Ecuador offers courses,
raises funds for congresses, for a fee offers 200 municipalities a bible
on monuments and sites within the area, and conducts a range of other
activities bringing ICOMOS into the life of the central government and the
local governments.
Leo van Nispen (Netherlands), former Director of the ICOMOS
Secretariat, updated participants concerning the Risk Preparedness Scheme
(the Blue Shield proposal) for the protection of monuments at risk from
either natural or mand-made disasters. He said that UNESCO's 1995 General
Conference in October will review the Hague Convention (for the protection
of cultural property in the event of armed conflict) and its
effectiveness. Mr. van Nispen asked whether today's society is prepared to
learn from past experience through scientific analysis in order to prepare
for risks and dangers in the future. He spoke of the need to learn about
decision making in times of catastrophe and to benefit from past
experience in order to plan for the future. He described workshops in Sri
Lanka, Canada and Sweden designed to create risk preparedness models and
spoke of the need to create national and local risk preparedness squads.
For ICOMOS, the risk preparedness idea and Blue Shield are a major program
initiative that will develop and unfold over the years ahead.
The 21 national committees at the regional meeting outlined a series of
recommendations calling for:
- an information dossier on the international committees, their
history and development, for publication in the ICOMOS News;
- a list of proposals for research issues to be considered by the
ICOMOS international scientific committees;
- research into possible funding sources for international committee
problem area funding;
- a forgiveness of past indebtedness on the part of some committees
suffering from extenuating circumstances;
- information on the blue shield proposal for dissemination to
national committee membership;
- an exploration of ways to incorporate the Portuguese language into
ICOMOS activities, especially those in the Americas;
- further regional meetings to promote harmony and collaboration among
national committees;
- a communication to the government of the Dominican Republic calling
for further government support for restoration activities; and
- the 12th General Assembly to be held in Mexico in 1999.
During the course of the meeting, Mexican, Canadian and US representatives
met as an ICOMOS-NAFTA committee to talk about the possibilities for
future collaboration.
As a part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of ICOMOS, the
annual meeting of the full Advisory Committee (all national and
international committee chairmen) will be held in Cracow, Poland, from
September 10, 1995, along with the meetings of the ICOMOS Bureau
(officers) and Executive Committee (officers and Executive Committee
members). As a part of the celebration, ICOMOS Poland will host a
symposium on "Heritage Responsibilities and Market Rules: Their Role
in Managing Historic Cities."
Ann Webster Smith, US/ICOMOS Chairman
Wood Structures: A Global Forum on the Treatment, Conservation
and Repair of Cultural Heritage
Papers are invited for a Special Technical Publication (STP), to be
published by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The
working title of this publication is Wood Structures: A Global Forum on
the Treatment, Conservation and Repair of Cultural Heritage.
The STP is sponsored by ASTM Subcommittee E6.24 on "Building
Preservation and Rehabilitation Technology" in cooperation with
US/ICOMOS, ICOMOS Canada and the Association for Preservation Technology
(APT).
The objective of the STP is to present an overview of current
treatment, conservation and repair approaches for heritage wood
structures, and to provide a forum for sharing of technical information
about wood preservation. For example, Preobrazhenskaya Sobor
(Church of the Transfiguration) on Kizhi Island in Lake Onega in Karelia,
Russia, will be the focal point for one group of papers. Additional groups
of papers will address heritage wood buildings in other regions of Europe,
North America and Asia. Papers are invited from architects, engineers,
conservators and others involved in the technical preservation of wood
structures of historic significance and cultural interest.
All submittals must be in English. Prospective authors are asked to
submit a title, and a single page abstract, for selection mid-summer, to
Stephen J. Kelley, c/o WJE, 29 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, USA,
tel: 312-372-0555, fax: 312-372-0873, e-mail: suzerz@aol.com.
Authors will be notified of their acceptance for publication by late
summer. ASTM may print and distribute abstracts with the approval of the
STP Chairpersons. Final manuscripts for the STP are due by November 1,
1995. Papers by non-English speaking authors should be submitted in both
the author's primary language and in English. Papers will be published in
English.
Cultural Tourism
The US/ICOMOS National Specialized Committee on Cultural Tourism was
formed in January and has begun work on three promising initiatives
following the adoption of an annual work plan. The development of
information about historic sites of interest to foreign visitors is a
priority to the US/ICOMOS information network. At present not all
available information about the location of sites and visitors' interest
is used for tourism planning and promotion. To address this need
discussions have begun with the staff of the National Register of Historic
Places to develop lists of properties representing historic themes, such
as the one prepared for Hispanic historic sites. Members are also
reviewing state tourism office surveys to determine foreign travelers'
interest in historic destinations and cultural events. This information
will be used to augment the historic theme lists, will become part of
existing or new tourist information networks and will be disseminated to
other ICOMOS national committees.
Face to face cultural tourism exchange is planned also. Discussions
have begun to develop joint projects with other ICOMOS national committees
in the Ukraine, Canada and Mexico. Such projects may include conferences,
training and the exchange of experts about the many aspects of protecting
and presenting sites and monuments, while promoting the goals of national
cultural tourism programs.
White House Conference on Travel and Tourism
The Commmittee is participating actively in a cultural tourism working
group for the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, planned for
October 30-31, 1995, in Washington, DC. More than 1,600 delegates selected
by the tourism industry and the states' travel and tourism offices will
deliberate 10 issues which are now being addressed in state conferences
and focus groups of the delegates to make recommendations for action.
There is, however, little representation from the cultural, museum and
historic sites community to assure that these tourism resources are
included in the dialogue.
The cultural tourism working group formed to address these needs for
the Conference is composed of federal agencies: the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the
Institute of Museum Services (IMS) and the President's Committee on the
Arts and Humanities (PCAH); with many affiliated groups, including the
US/ICOMOS Cultural Tourism Committee, the American Association of Museums
(AAM), the National Coalition of Heritage Areas and others. The group has
met with the White House Conference planning staff to develop events and
open communications with the delegates. A program for a luncheon event at
the Conference and activities that will create a forum to discuss cultural
tourism are planned.
A position paper titled The US in the U.S.: Culture and Tourism
has been prepared to define the 10 forum issues in terms of cultural
tourism concerns. The paper defines the established conference issues in
broad terms to be understood by both the preservation and tourism
community. The 10 issues are: product development of sites and events;
promotion; research in economics and travel statistics; technology for
information dissemination; infrastructure to support the visitor;
education and training; environmental concerns (including the built
environment and the concerns of local people); facilitation and
accessibility; safety and security; and an organizational framework for a
formal federal role in tourism development and promotion. (Copies of this
paper are available at US/ICOMOS.)
Cultural Tourism Consortium
The Cultural Tourism Committee is also participating in a consortium of
organizations concerned with cultural tourism in the United States. Co-
chair Hugh C. Miller and Program Director Ellen Delage attended a meeting
of the consortium convened by member Sharr Prohaska at the National Trust
office on April 3. Representatives from the Folklife Program of the
Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, Rural Programs of the
Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Forest Service,
NEA, NEH, U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, National Trust, AAM,
George Washington University's International Tourism Institute and others,
discussed their on-going projects to promote heritage tourism and to
protect sites in the U.S. There were a number of expressions of interest
in US/ICOMOS programs and the good potential of our projects.
For the purpose of the US/ICOMOS Cultural Tourism Committee, the ideas
of cultural tourism are defined holistically to encompass all the meanings
of culture, historic resources, historic preservation, heritage tourism,
etc., as used in the United States, while still applicable to the
International ICOMOS cultural tourism community and to the international
tourist and travel industry at large. These broadly defined cultural
resources are non-renewable assets of the tourism industry that have
receipts of $3.5 trillion worldwide. The careful management of these
resources is essential to ensure a sustainable tourism industry. They must
include: Planning, Presenting, Promoting and Protection. The cost/benefits
of these activities are an integral part of the implementation and
management of any cultural tourism destination area or program and must be
articulated in all discussions with the tourism industry and governmental
organizations. The Cultural Tourism Committee seeks to communicate these
opportunities and concerns to all parties in the preservaiton and travel
industry.
The Cultural Tourism Specialized Committee welcomes members and new
items for its newsletter. The success of the Committee will depend on
networking among its members.
The Post-War Reconstruction & Development Unit (PRDU) is
part of the University of York's (UK) Institute of Advanced Architectural
Studies. It is a unique academic unit that specializes in the research,
consultancy and training of professionals on issues of planning and
management of reconstruction after war.
The PRDU recently completed a feasibility study on integrating measures
for protection of, and mitigation of damage to, cultural heritage sites,
monuments and objects, within national and local disaster preparedness
plans. The study was undertaken on behalf of the Inter-Agency Task Force
which represents UNESCO, ICOMOS and ICCROM. In accordance with this
feasibility study five regional workshops will be organized, over the next
two years, on disaster management for cultural property, to promote
cooperation between cultural resource managers and disaster planners at
all levels. The workshop will be facilitated by two members of PRDU-ICOMOS
on behalf of the task force. These workshops will be held between June
1995 and April 1996 in regions that have suffered, over the last two
decades, from concentrated damage to cultural heritage due to man-made and
/or natural disasters. The five regions (and host countries) are: South
East Asia & the Pacific (Sri Lanka); Europe (Macedonia); Africa (South
Africa); Central & South America (Mexico); Middle East & Central
Asia (Lebanon).
Feedback from the workshops and the resulting national preparedness
plans will inform a progress report and recommendations for action, to be
presented at the ICOMOS General Assembly in October 1996.
The response to a survey of 140 countries carried out as part of the
feasibility study, showed that while 93% think it is possible to integrate
the protection of cultural heritage into their national disaster
preparedness plans, at present only 15% have such integration. More will
be reported on the ICOMOS Blue Shield initiative in future issues of the
US/ICOMOS Newsletter.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Aiming to address the serious threat of mass tourism to the important
archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region, the first international
conference on the subject brought together 60 high-level government
officials and other experts in the areas of culture, archaeology and
tourism from 16 Mediterranean countries. Organized by the Getty
Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, the six-day
conference drew attention to the impact of heavy visitation upon
archaeological sites and underscored a need for appropriate measures by
governments and professionals to ensure their preservation for future
generations. From May 7 to 12, decision-makers from the region addressed
the complicated and difficult challenges in balancing the often
conflicting values of conservation, archaeology, tourism and economic
development as they relate to archaeological sites. The group agreed on
several key points:
- Mass tourism, while having a positive economic impact, poses a
serious threat to the long-term survival of cultural sites.
- Increased visitor interest has created the need for new approaches
to presenting information at cultural sites.
- There is an increased awareness of the potential for the educational
uses of archaeological sites.
- To face these new challenges, site managers will benefit from new
kinds of training, resources and support.
Conference presentations and group discussions focused on aesthetic,
economic, religious, political and scientific issues that affect
preservation of the region's archaeological sites. Also discussed was the
potential for partnerships between cultural officials and tourism
organizations to more effectively manage well-visited sites. In reviewing
the complex issues surrounding the presentation of sites to visitors,
conferees also discussed alternatives to the reconstruction of
archaeological structures. Site visits to Carthage (Tunisia), Piazza
Armerina (Sicily), Knossos (Crete) and Ephesus (Turkey) enabled conference
participants to see various resolutions to conservation problems and to
understand site management issues common to the group.
