ICOMOS University Forum: To the Future

The ICOMOS University Forum on Thinking and Planning the Future in Heritage Management took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from June 11 to 14 of 2019. It was held in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, ICOMOS International, ICOMOS Netherlands and the City of Amsterdam and ran over 4 days.

Read the Conference Report here.

What does the future hold for heritage?
“The meeting in Amsterdam was about the roles of heritage in managing the relations between present and future societies, e.g. through anticipation or planning.” says Professor Cornelius Holtorf (Unesco Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University, Sweden).”It explored the following interrogations: How do we perceive the future? Which future do heritage professionals work for? What heritage will be needed in the future (and how do we know) ? How can we build capacity in future thinking among heritage professionals worldwide?

“What became clear in the discussions is that cultural heritage is very emotionally controlled and personal. When planning the cultural heritage for future generations, we need to think more about how our work will affect future generations.” (Cornelius Holtorf)

A opportunity for heritage students and professionals to connect and share
The University Forum brought together more than 50 global heritage specialists from academia and practice to share their future-related insights and experiences but also to inspire everybody to think further in several innovative discussion-oriented workshops. The conference gave participants the opportunity to connect with colleagues and share experiences from around the world, thus developing their network.

Marielies Schelhaas, Secretary-General, Netherland’s Commission for UNESCO opened the conference, and Professor Toshiyuki Kono, President of ICOMOS made a speech with conclusions.

Photo Credit
Photographers:
Anneke Dekker (group photo: Global heritage specialists from academia and practice meeting in Amsterdam to think and plan for the future in heritage management).
Helena Rydén (photo: Cornelius Holtorf and Toshiyuki Kono joining for creative discussions in Amsterdam).