Along with the international community, ICOM and ICOMOS jointly express their concerns regarding the decision by the Turkish authorities to reverse the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, and the repercussions this may have in terms of the conservation and accessibility of this outstanding artistic and cultural heritage.

As part of the UN High-Level Political Forum taking place virtually on 7-16 July 2020, ICOMOS is pleased to announce their Side Event, "An Accelerator Under-Used? Realising the potential of culture for short-term recovery and long-term sustainable development" on 13 July 2020 from 12:00-13:30 EST.

The third episode of the International Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP) - On The Road documentary series “They Didn’t Come For The Lands” is dedicated to the Swat Valley of Pakistan which was under terrorist attack between the years 2007-2009.
Along with loss of many lives and disruption of daily life, the attacks also resulted in damaging and destroying a number of the multilayered cultural heritage of former historical periods of the Valley.

On 7 October 2020, Australia ICOMOS invites our global colleagues to join us at our 'GA2020 MARKER EVENT' to acknowledge the work undertaken to organise the 20th Triennial General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of ICOMOS that could not be hosted in Sydney in 2020.

Update: Read the official press release on the event (in English only)

On the 13 and 14 July 2020, this online conference will focus on recommendations and selection criteria of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) for the sustainable promotion of cultural heritage by the European Union and its Member States. The "European Quality Principles for EU-funded Interventions with Potential Impact upon Cultural Heritage", developed on the occasion of the European Cultural Heritage Year 2018, will be the starting point for the necessary debate on the future role of cultural monuments and historic sites for Europe.

The ICOMOS Emerging Professionals Working Group (EPWG) is hosting a second webinar on the subject of 'Heritage and Climate Change' on 18 July 2020 at 14:00 CEST.