Contact

HomeICOMOS agenda18 April - Celebrating International Day for Monuments and Sites

18 April - Celebrating International Day for Monuments and Sites

What is April 18th?

Every year, since 1982, the 18th of April is celebrated as the International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS). 18 April represents an opportunity for all ICOMOS Committees – and indeed the entire ICOMOS network – to advocate for and celebrate cultural heritage together. This ICOMOS project was later adopted by UNESCO and is an opportunity for the ICOMOS network and other heritage professionals and lovers to come together for their shared cause. Today, on the International Day for Monuments and Sites, you can take part in a wide range of physical and online activities celebrating cultural heritage, raising awareness and advocating for conservation.

How can we celebrate International Day for Monuments and Sites?

Every year, the International Day for Monuments and Sites has a different theme, but ICOMOS members remain free to choose the theme that is most relevant for highlighting heritage issues in their nation or region.

What is essential is to make the 18th of April not only a day for celebrating your local and national heritage, but also a day of international solidarity, to strengthen and safeguard cultural heritage around the world.

What kinds of activities can take place on 18 April?

Organised by the ICOMOS National Committee and its Scientific and Regional Committees, these can bring attention to local sites and issues, and develop support in the community, as well as with authorities and experts.

  • These could be specific visits designed for different demographics, including school children, young people, students, emerging professionals in the field, experts, or the general public.
  • The visits could be to monuments, sites, conservation works in progress, or completed projects.

This can take various forms and appear in different media, including:

  • Written publications such as newspaper and magazine articles;
  • Television and radio broadcasts;
  • Public space advertising: banners in streets and squares, at universities, museums, cultural centres, libraries and other institutions and organisations, as well as cafés and private businesses, calling attention to the day, to cultural heritage preservation, as well as specific local, national and international events and examples;
  • Talks for young people, students and emerging professionals in the field, as well as experts and the general public.

 

ICOMOS believes events are a great way to attract attention and focus. They can take many forms, including:

  • Invited guests such as local or foreign experts, famous figures, academics, students or community members;
  • Organising discussions in public venues;
  • Exhibitions of photography, drawings, paintings, etc., including competitions;
  • Publication launches for books, postcards, stamps, posters, etc.;
  • Prize ceremonies commending people or organisations who have made outstanding contributions to conservation and promotion of cultural heritage (including through publications);
  • Inauguration of a recently restorer or rehabilitated monument or site;
  • Promotion of ‘twinning’ agreements between ICOMOS National Committees, which could include announcing cooperation projects, exchange of speakers, collaborative meetings, seminars or publications, etc.;
  • An ICOMOS International Scientific Committee debate on the chosen theme.

If you are planning an event linked to 18 April or to the current year’s theme, please get in touch with ICOMOS Headquarters to let them know as soon as you have the opportunity.

The History of International Day for Monuments and Sites

ICOMOS has always sought ways of promoting and celebrating cultural heritage. While many countries and regions have established heritage days and events, like the European Heritage Days every September, no such day existed on a worldwide scale.

During an ICOMOS Tunisia symposium and bureau meeting in Hammamet on the 18th of April, 1982, the idea of establishing a day every year to celebrate heritage worldwide was suggested. This developed into the International Day for Monuments and Sites, with the Board of ICOMOS approving the project and giving practical advice to the ICOMOS network on how to organise 18 April celebrations.

April 18th gained in stature with the UNESCO General Conference adopting the concept during their 22nd session in 1983.

In 2001, ICOMOS President Michael Petzet and the Board of ICOMOS proposed that April 18th be used by all ICOMOS Committees to draw attention to a particularly endangered type of cultural heritage. Since then, a growing number of Committees hold special events on the 18th of April every year, as International Day for Monuments and Sites becomes an increasingly prominent part of the cultural calendar.