2009 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2008 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2007 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

30 July

• Anne Frank’s Diaries, Royal Archives of Thailand and Madagascar among 35 documentary properties added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register
  Thirty-five items of documentary heritage of exceptional value have been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. This brings the total number of inscriptions since 1997 to 193 (see the list). The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, announced the inscription of these items on the recommendation of experts during a 3-day meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme which continues to 31 July in Bridgetown, Barbados.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46187&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

28 July

• Lingua franca, a Mediterranean language - Jocelyne DAKHLIA
  In this interview, Jocelyne DAKHLIA talks about her research on the lingua franca, a historical topic in which she participated to rehabilitate it and make it known. The lingua franca, as she defines it, refers in the history of the Mediterranean to a combination of languages or a Pidgin that, between the 16th and 19th centuries, served as vector of communication between Muslims and Christians, and between Christians. On the scopes of use of this lingua franca and the asymmetry of its linguistic composition, the historian gives important instructions that prove the complexity of the relations irreducible to all simplistic or Manichaean approach.
  More information in French: http://www.archivesaudiovisuelles.fr/1871/home.asp?id=1871

• CITY OF ARCHITECTURE AND HERITAGE: Public courses - Session 2009-2010 - thematic Conferences “Recovering the heritage of the 20th Century ”
  We continue monthly, as of November 2009, the cycle of Monday conferences, aimed both at students of the Ecole deChaillot and the general public.
  More information in French: http://www.citechaillot.fr/auditorium/cours_publics/conferences_thematiques_2009-10.php

• CITY OF ARCHITECTURE AND HERITAGE: Public courses - Session 2009-2010 - History of architecture Course “History and the present time of cities in France”
  After a previous edition dedicated to the discovery of the civil public architecture, the Thursday cycle will emphasise this year the “History and the present of cities in France” in 24 sessions.
  More information in French: http://www.citechaillot.fr/auditorium/cours_publics/cours_d_histoire_de_l_architecture_2009-10.php

• Bergamo. “La città visibile”: percorsi interattivi per vivere la città di ieri. Fino al 20 settembre 2009
  Fondazione Sestini, Fondazione Bergamo nella Storia e Siad hanno realizzato la mostra “La città visibile”: fino al 20 settembre 2009, al Museo Storico di Bergamo Alta: fotografie, filmati d’epoca, oggetti “sorprendenti”, realtà virtuale, interviste, un laboratorio di lettura dell’immagine, invitano il visitatore a costruirsi un itinerario personalizzato in base ai propri interessi e alle proprie curiosità, passeggiando nella città virtuale ricostruita in mostra, sedendosi nel suo cinema o ai tavolini che riportano all’atmosfera degli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta, interagendo con le immagini al tavolo multitouch. Non una mostra fotografica, quindi, ma un’esposizione che, nelle mille risorse racchiuse nell’immagine fotografica, trova le chiavi per “vivificare” i luoghi, i volti, le diverse anime di una città che ha conosciuto, tra il 1870 e il 1960, gli anni del suo profondo cambiamento: dalla Fiera ai filobus, dalle gite fuoriporta della borghesia cittadina alle cucine popolari sul Sentierone, dalla costruzione del centro piacentiniano alla nascita dei quartieri popolari, dalle cerimonie pubbliche ai cortei di protesta, agli spettacoli dei burattini.
  [italiano] http://www.tafter.it/2008/12/22/bergamo-la-citta-visibile-percorsi-interattivi-per-vivere-la-citta-di-ieri-fino-al-20-settembre-2009/

22 July

• Lajat (Syrian Arab Republic): where nature meets history
  Lajat, in the far south of Syria, offers some of the region’s most impressive scenery. With its farming traditions and archaeological ruins, this new biosphere reserve is an example of the interdependence between cultural and biological diversity. “It looks like a lake that has been whipped into waves and then suddenly petrified,” says Syrian researcher, Jamal Abou Jahjah, describing the precipitous landscape of Lajat - 120 km2 of rolling basalt hills, with peaks 600 - 900 metres high. Lajat lies some thirty kilometres south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, in the province of Sweida, on the border with Jordan, at the intersection of two very different regions - one with a mild climate, the other semi-desert. Recently added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, it is marked on the map as a ‘biogeographical crossroads’.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=45951&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• “Shooting on yesterday’s France”: Photographic exhibition in the highway…
  From 10 July to 6 September 2009
  “Shootings on yesterday’s France”: Photographic exhibition on the highway… In order to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, the Ministry of Culture and Communication move on to your vacation highway. The exhibition “Shootings on yesterday’s France” benefits from the exclusive patronage of Cofiroute. Throughout the summer, it presents large format outdoor photographs selected from the photographic funds of the audiovisual library of architecture and the collection of Françoise Denoyelle, a university teacherI in the National High School Louis-Lumière. This exhibition, presented at the rest area of Gourville (Eure-et-Loir) on A11 highway, is made of 32 photographic panels by François Kollar and René-Jacques which express - not without nostalgia - some aspects of a past France…
  More information in French: http://www.50ans.culture.fr/festivites

• SAVE, Maps and Docomomo International present Moscow Heritage at Crisis Point - 2nd Edition
  Buildings under threat include internationally famous landmarks: the Bolshoi Theater, Mayakovskaya Metro Station, Monuments of the avant-garde, plus buildings that are an inseparable part of Moscow's identity like Children's World Department Store and the Central House of Artists. This report was possible due to the late scholar of Russian architecture Catherine Cooke. The report is a follow up to the 2007 report, a bombshell that focused national and international attention on the crisis that Moscow's heritage is undergoing. Despite the successes of the report, including the listing of 3 buildings, the destruction continues.
  Contact: clem@maps-moscow.com
  More information: http://www.maps-moscow.com/index.php?chapter_id=139

21 July

• New SOIMA website: audiovisual preservation
  The SOIMA (Sound and Image Collections Conservation) programme has introduced a website aimed at highlighting the issues and challenges that some cultural and research institutions face in preserving their sound and image materials. The website features case studies from a variety of institutions, including museums, broadcasters, universities, libraries, and research centres. It also disseminates strategies that ensure long term preservation and access to these collections within specific institutional contexts.
  More information: http://www.iccrom.org/eng/news_en/
  2009_en/various_en/06_02webSOIMA_en.shtml

• Obituary: Joe Nkrumah 1939 - 2009
  It is with great sorrow that ICCROM has learned of the death of a long-time collaborator and friend, Joseph Davidson Kweku Nkrumah of Ghana. He was 70 years old. Mr Nkrumah obtained degrees in cultural anthropology, chemistry, and conservation science, and was one of the first African professional to be involved in ICCROM activities when he undertook an internship from 1963 – 1964. This internship, one of four made available to ICCROM by the Italian Government, took him to a number of important conservation institutions in Rome such as the Central Institute for Restoration (now ISCR - Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro), the Vatican Museum, the Lateran Museum, Palazzo Venezia, and the National Museum of Oriental Art. During this period, he studied the conservation of a variety of materials such as bronze, ceramics, wood, ivory, fabrics, books and paper, photographs, and metals. Following his internship in Rome, the same grant allowed him to further his studies in the National Museum of Switzerland, Zurich.
  More information: http://www.iccrom.org/eng/news_en/2009_en/various_en/
  06_10obitNkrumah_en.shtml

• Kuldiga, Latvia: "Summer Days" courses begin
  One of the nice traditions of the History Teachers Association Latvia is the organising of summer courses- the so called "Summer Days" for history educators. Every summer the Board of HTA together with local history teacher organisations invite the Members of the HTA and anyone interested in history education to attend the "Summer Days" held every time in a different part of Latvia. During the first two days the participants have lectures, workshops, sessions of exchanging experiences, while the third day is dedicated to excursions, exploring interesting historical objects in the region and preparing guiding material for lessons and outdoor activities for pupils. This year on July 28th-30th 2009 the "Summer Days" will take place in Kuldiga- a small and nice town in Courland (the western part of Latvia), which in the past used to be a capital of the Courland dukedom.
  More information: http://www.euroclio.eu/joomla/index.php/Full-Members/LVSA/Kuldiga-Latvia-Summer-Days-courses-begin.html

• New Project "Past, the Future of Europe": A long wanted desire is now fulfilled
  EUROCLIO is delighted to announce that the Project "Past, the Future of Europe: Windows on Europe’s History and Heritage" has been accepted by the European Commission. EUROCLIO Members and Partner Organisations are welcome to be engaged in this great initiative to develop an online interactive multimedia tool providing a framework for constructing common historical knowledge about Europe without losing a plurality of perspectives and inter- and intra-state diversity for educational purposes in classrooms, museums and heritage settings. For more information, please contact Steven Stegers at steven@euroclio.nl
  More information: http://www.euroclio.eu/joomla/index.php/Past-the-Future-of-Europe/

• Blog ICOMOS
  http://icomosdocumentationcentre.blogspot.com/

• Link to Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority’s e-newsletter
  Ticket of Leave E-News is a free electronic newsletter featuring the latest news, activities, events and special offers at the Port Arthur Historic Site and associated sites. For further information please visit:
  http://www.portarthur.org.au/pashow.php?ACTION=Public&menu_code=200.350
  More information: http://www.icomos.org/australia/images/Email_News_2009/E-Mail_News_No._395_Australia_ICOMOS_Inc.htm

• Vale: Dr Seddon Bennington
  The Collections Council of Australia mourns the tragic death of Dr Seddon Bennington, New Zealand’s Observer on the Collections Council’s Board. Dr Bennington and a family friend died while hiking in mountain ranges in New Zealand. Dr Bennington was the Chief Executive Officer of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and a member of the Council of Australasian Museum Directors. His career included leadership roles in museums in Australia, the USA and New Zealand. To view the CCA’s notice and tributes from their Directors, visi this weblink Further information about Dr Bennington is available from the Te Papa website at: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
  More information: http://www.icomos.org/australia/images/Email_News_2009/E-Mail_News_No._395_Australia_ICOMOS_Inc.htm

• Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) LA 2009 Conference Registration Open
  The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is accepting registrations for its Annual Conference, Preservation in the City Without Limits, scheduled for November 2-6, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Registration can be completed on-line.http://www.apti.org.
  More information: http://www.icomos.org/australia/images/Email_News_2009/E-Mail_News_No._395_Australia_ICOMOS_Inc.htm

• Wanted: Australia ICOMOS member for Disaster Guidelines Steering Committee
  A Steering Committee has just been formed by Australia ICOMOS to develop disaster guidelines which will be posted on our website and provided to government, community and other organizations. The guidelines will aid in the response to the damage wrought by disasters (e.g., fire and flood) on cultural heritage places. As a starting point, we have draft Bushfire Guidelines prepared by AI members in 2003, following the Canberra fires. For the sake of topical and geographical diversity, we are now looking for one or two Steering Committee members from the northern part of the country (northern NSW, Queensland, Northern Territory) with experience of the impact of floods on heritage places. Conduct of the Steering Committee will be primarily via email, which will be coordinated by Project Manager Natica Schmeder. No travel is required. The Steering Committee is expected to produce a substantive draft of the Disaster Guidelines by the end of October, for presentation at the AI Executive Committee meeting in November. The draft Guidelines will then be released to the general Australia ICOMOS membership for comment. Those interested in serving on the Steering Committee, please send a brief letter explaining your pertinent experience and interest to: Natica@dodo.com.au
  More information: http://www.icomos.org/australia/images/Email_News_2009/E-Mail_News_No._395_Australia_ICOMOS_Inc.htm

• Exhibition on Izmir and Le Corbusier
  1 - 26 July 2009. Strasbourg, France
  Although at that time Le Corbusier’s 1948 urban project was not selected to renew the urban planning of the city of Izmir, everyone knows Turkey for being mentioned in architecture studies and works on the history of this city. However, it is still completely unknown in France.
  Before the war, in Istanbul as well as in Ankara, selections are rather classic or touched with moderate modernism. Under these circumstances, how did the second city of the country dare asking an architect known for his forward positions and who at the time had never implemented his urban conceptions, except for the limited experience of the Frugès district in Pessac? Twenty-six panels describe the evolution of the project from the first sketches to the proposals presented in 1948 exchanged between Le Corbusier and his successive partners in Izmir, and also the photographs and reproductions of some documents presented to the Municipality.
  More information in French: http://www.saisondelaturquie.fr/exposition-sur-izmir-et-le.html

15 July

• Witnesses to History – Documents and writings on the return of cultural objects
  Are you interested in the return of cultural objects? Do you want to know more about the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property? UNESCO has just published the Compendium Witnesses to History edited by Professor Lyndel V. Prott. It is 438 pages of reliable information from some of the world’s leading experts in the field of return and restitution of cultural objects and it extends beyond the purely legal aspect. The Compendium gives an outline of the historical, philosophical and ethical aspects of the return of cultural objects (e.g. cultural objects displaced during war or in colonial contexts), cites past and present cases (Maya Temple Facade, Nigerian Bronzes, United States of America v. Schultz, Parthenon Marbles and many more) and analyses legal issues (bona fide, relevant UNESCO and UNIDROIT Conventions, Supreme Court Decisions, procedure for requests etc.).

• Guarani, intangible cultural heritage of Paraguay
  Bartomeu MELIA was born in Porreres, Majorca, Spain in 1932. Jesuit, arrived in Paraguay in 1954 where he begun the study of the Guarani language and culture with father Antonio Guasch as professor. He obtained a doctorate from the University of Strasbourg in 1969 on “The creation of a Christian language in the Guarani reservations in Paraguay”. Disciple and collaborator of Don Leon Cardogan, Bartomeu Meliá was professor of Ethnography and Guarani culture in the catholic University of Asuncion and President of the anthropological Training Center. He was director of the journals Suplemento Antropológico and Estudios Paraguayos until 1976. He actively participated in different bilingual intercultural education programs in Paraguay and in Bolivia, Brazil or Argentina. He is member of the National Commission.

• Metals and Archaeology in the Great North
  Within the framework of a cooperative work between the ESCoM-FMSH and Chilean audio-visual team “Azapa Producciones” (http://azapa.net), it was possible the recording and publication of the second part of the Conicyt-CNRS archaeological Co-operation project. This research work took place in the desert of Atacama, north of Chile, and includes archaeological excavations in Las fundiciones site, besides visits to important pre-Hispanic mining sites of the area. The first stage of this research, took place in July 2007 in the south of France, prehistoric mining district of Cabrières (Herault) in France.

• MASTERNEAPOLIS09
  http://www.masterneapolis.it/
  We would like to bring to your attention the Admission Competition Announcement for the second edition of the 2nd level Master Course in Designing for the historical city at the Federico II University of Naples. The course is aimed at training designers (architects and engineers) to be capable of acting in historical urban contexts developing a way of working that combines theory and practice. The Master’s training course, moving from the history of architecture and the city and from the theories and techniques of design, develops and investigates ways of working in the historic city in relation to actual issues of contemporaneity and in search for possible relations between tradition and innovation. Assuming positions based on awareness and plausibility it looks at ways of designing the future of the historic city, but at the same time of avoiding the loss of the values and the memory it still brings forward.

• Media and heritage
  Heritage experts and cultural journalists discussed issues related to media coverage of heritage during an interdisciplinary workshop in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 9 to 11 June 2009. The workshop that was organized by the UNESCO Offices in Montevideo, Havana and Port au Prince took place in the historic Villa of Victoria Ocampo, today a culture reference centre in Mercosur administrated by UNESCO. The meeting gathered 35 heritage experts and cultural journalists from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Paraguay and Uruguay. Designed as a platform for journalistic capacity building and knowledge exchange, the workshop provided the possibility for participants to address a wider concept of heritage, including cultural and natural, tangible and intangible, documentary and digital heritage. Analyzing the situation in the seven countries involved, journalists and experts discussed ways to increase and improve media coverage of heritage.

• Namibian National Committee of the Memory of the World established
  The National Memory of the World Committee for Namibia was established during a meeting organized on 17 June 2009 in Windhoek by the Namibian National Commission for UNESCO and the Namibian Ministry of Education. The Namibian National Committee of the Memory of the World has the mandate to facilitate the preservation, by the most appropriate techniques, of documentary heritage in Namibia. The meeting also examined general guidelines for submitting proposals to the Memory the World Register and looked at different issues related to the conservation of documentary heritage. In 2005 the Hendrik Witbooi Papers, held by the National Archives of Namibia in Windhoek, were inscribed on the Memory of the World Register.

• (in Italian) Gestione innovativa dei beni culturali di Alessandro Leon
  La gestione moderna dei beni culturali impone una crescente responsabilizzazione da parte del management rispetto alla sostenibilità finanziaria dei servizi culturali di un museo, di un’area archeologica o di un sistema culturale che li mette insieme (integrazione). In un periodo storico caratterizzato dalla riduzione del ruolo dello Stato nell’economia, e non tanto per questioni ideologiche, quanto per l’allontanarsi dal raggiungimento degli obiettivi del Trattato di Maastricht, l’efficienza gestionale rimane obiettivo prioritario delle amministrazioni pubbliche e private. Una visione mercatista dell’offerta culturale postula (falsamente) la sostenibilità e la redditività dell’impresa museale, che esista una disponibilità a pagare sufficiente, che basti applicare le regole del marketing anche al prodotto culturale in un settore che ne è tradizionalmente privo. A fronte di questa visione, ve ne è un’altra “tradizionalista”, che sostiene che alla stretta finanziaria si risponde ripiegando sulla conservazione dei beni, spegnendo le luci ed il riscaldamento, trasformando i musei in depositi, in attesa di un pubblico futuro più disponibile a fruire ed apprezzare le opere, consegnandole alle generazioni future. La verità si pone “da qualche parte nel mezzo”. La terza via propone al contempo entrambi gli obiettivi: conservazione e fruizione. Si è convinti che l’obiettivo di massimizzazione dell’efficienza deve essere confrontato anche con i risultati di quella stessa gestione sul territorio (la “redditività” indiretta ed indotta sulle imprese della “filiera”) e sui fruitori (consapevolezza, identità, crescita formativa, ecc.), sia esso residente o turista. E’ la somma di tali valori, alcuni dei quali solo parzialmente misurabili e non iscritti nel bilancio dell’organizzazione museale, che dovrebbe essere considerata per valutare l’effettiva bontà gestionale del museo e del suo management.

• Documentary “Slave Routes: A World Vision, presented in Cuba
  On the occasion of the visit of Mrs. Jadranka Mihalic, Director of the UN Information Center for Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean, in collaboration with the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the System of the United Nations in Cuba, presented the first version of the documentary Slave Routes: A World Vision. The exhibition took place on Junly 1 2009 at the Hispano-American Cultural Center, in Old Havana. After the distinguished visitor, Mrs Susan Mc Dade, Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Cuba and Dr. Miguel Barnet, Chair of the Cuban National Committee of Slave Route, Vice-president of the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route and also Chairperson of the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and the Foundation Fernando Ortiz participated in the presentation event. In addition, they shared the chairmanship of the activity with Mrs Isabel Viera, in representation of the Director of the Regional Office and Lesbia Méndez, Director of the host Center.

• (in French) Communiqué du Collectif "La Ville est a nous" - Defense de l’immeuble Lacoste du marché Kermel, Dakar (Senegal)
  Merci de venir soutenir l'action citoyenne menée contre la destruction de l'Immeuble Lacoste place Kermel mardi 14 juillet 2009 10h en présence de la presse

10 July

• Buy pixels!
  The castle of Bonrepos-Riquet is for sale… virtually, especifically to reappear better again! This building, before property of the famous inventor of the Midi Channel (and the nationalizations), Pierre Paul Riquet, has been recently acquired by the municipality and has just been classified as Historic monument. In order to finance the works, the municipality and the Heritage Foundation has sent a public subscription. The originality of this unique operation in France: pixels (surface unit that allows to define the background of an image) of a digital photograph of the castle are sold to donors through the Web http://www.200000pixels.com

9 July

• New UNESCO report consolidates and updates damage assessment of Babylon archaeological site (Iraq)
  UNESCO’s “Final Report on Damage Assessment in Babylon” was presented at a press conference in Paris today. Produced by the Sub-Committee on Babylon of UNESCO’s International Coordination Committee for Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Iraq (ICC Iraq), it provides an exhaustive technical evaluation of present conditions at the renowned archaeological site. It compiles several national reports and includes the findings of the two most recent inspections by members of the Committee in 2008 and 2009. A list of recommendations for the future protection, restoration and management concludes the Report.

8 July

• (in Italian) Vie di conoscenza e pratica del territorio tra scoperta del patrimonio storico-ambientale e beni immateriali
  I Castelli Romani offrono una visione multiforme delle ricchezze paesaggistiche e storico-culturali, prerogativa che rende possibile realizzare itinerari turistici che, trasversalmente, portano il visitatore alla conoscenza del patrimonio storico e ambientale del territorio in modo del tutto originale. L’ideazione dei percorsi turistico-culturali ha seguito l’indirizzo indicato nelle linee guida del Piano Operativo d’Area. I l POA è lo strumento che la Regione Lazio ha individuato per giungere a un’azione di sviluppo culturale ed economico delle aree integrate individuate sul territorio regionale. Attraverso il piano operativo si deve costruire una strategia di promozione, comunicazione e fruizione del patrimonio culturale e naturale dei Castelli Romani. Le linee guida indicate non si inseriscono in uno schema rigido, cercano piuttosto di fornire gli strumenti per attuare una sintesi delle chiavi di lettura dell’area per compiere, nel breve-medio periodo, interventi di valorizzazione e promozione delle risorse territoriali.

• (in Italian) Terremoto dell’Aquila: riapre la necropoli di Fossa
  Riaprono le porte della necropoli di Fossa. Grazie all’impegno dei volontari dell’Associazione Nazionale Archeologi il sito archeologico è tornato accessibile ai visitatori. Fossa è definita anche la ‘piccola Stonehenge’ per gli enormi tumuli, delimitati da circoli di pietre di dimensioni variabili fra gli otto e i quindici metri di diametro. La necropoli aveva subito seri danni a causa del terremoto del 6 aprile. ”A differenza dei monumenti abruzzesi, l’archeologia si è salvata, ha subito meno danni, eppure la necropoli di Fossa è tra i siti archeologici quella maggiormente colpita dal terremoto - spiega Walter Grossi responsabile del progetto e Coordinatore Nazionale dell’Associazione Nazionale Archeologi - Sono crollate le volte di alcune tombe, eppure non è stata inserita nella lista dei 45 monumenti da adottare”.

6 July

• European Foundation for Landscape and Architecture: Calendar
  The June Calendar of the European Foundation for Landscape and Architecture can be downloaded in PDF.

• ICOMOS Uruguay: Elections
  Icomos Uruguay el 22 de Mayo realize las elecciones de las autoridades que conformaran la nueva directiva por el periodo 2009-2011. La directiva quedo conformada por:
  • Presidente: Ricardo Beheran
  • Miembros: Elena Mazzini, Ernesto Sposito, Alberto Quintela, Margarita Montañez
  • Suplentes: William Rey, Lucia Pucci

  La commission fiscal fue integrada por: Jorge Silveira (Presidente) y Critisna Pardo, Aldo D Agosto (Miembros).

• ICOMOS Malta: Elections
  As of the elections held on 15 May 2009, the board of ICOMOS Malta is composed as follows:
  • President: Dr Ray Bondin
  • Secretary General: Architect Maria Mifsud
  • Treasurer: Dr David Mallia
  • Members: Dr Claude Busuttil, Dr Jevon Vella, Anton Catania.

   

• ICOMOS Estonia: Elections
  ICOMOS Estonia hereby announces the new board elected on 6 February, 19 March and 28 May 2009.
  • President - Robert Treufeldt (Mr)
  • Vice-president - Riin Alatalu (Ms);
  • Treasurer - Anton Pärn (Mr).

   

• Concerns over the destruction of Kasghar (Xinjiang Province, China)
  ICOMOS has been reading with great alarm recent international press articles which report that the demolition of the majority of the old city of Kashgar (Xinjiang Province - China) is underway. See:
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/showdown-at-the-crossroads-of-the-world-1698167.html
  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/28/china-heritage-conservation-silk-road
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/world/asia/28kashgar.html?emc=eta1

  A letter has been sent to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and ICOMOS China expressing ICOMOS’ grave concern and asking for further information on the situation.

• Regional Center for the Safeguard of intangible cultural heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL) invites to register for the Directory
  CRESPIAL conceives intangible cultural heritage as a fundamental tool for the development of peoples. For this reason, it considers necessary to strengthen the technical capabilities of the States in the management of this heritage and is committed by the participation of the populations carrying these knowledge in the safeguard and protection actions of his intangible heritage. Its purpose is to generate an exchange network that allows to outline safeguard and promotion policies of the intangible cultural heritage (PCI) in Latin American countries from the identification, assessment and dissemination of the heritage of its peoples. It is formed by the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. Contacto: Sra. Mónica Arbañil Satas. marbanil@crespial.org

• Concealed objects
  Ian Evans, well-known for his many books on the conservation of old houses, is currently researching deliberately concealed objects in old buildings. This recently-discovered folk magic ritual originated in Britain and came to the Australian colonies with convicts and settlers. Concealed objects commonly include old shoes, children’s toys and trinkets, garments and even dead cats. Objects are secreted in sealed voids and are usually found in or near chimneys, under the floor or in the roof cavity. They are often found during building renovations or inspections by pest controllers. Anyone who knows of such finds in South Australia or elsewhere in Australia is asked to contact Ian Evans via email at ianevans@oldhouses.com.au

• The world premiere of the documentary ‘Voices in the Dark’ Hobart, Tasmania (Australia)
  The world premiere of the documentary ‘Voices in the Dark’ was screened at the heritage-listed State Cinema at North Hobart last month. This 30 minute film tells the story of Christina Henri’s epic project, ‘Roses from the Heart’™, in which one bonnet is being created for each of the 25,566 convict women transported from Great Britain to Australia. While they were transported for crimes of poverty and condemned by society as whores and wretches, Henri’s project examines the true legacy female convicts have made to Australian society. In this beautifully told documentary the viewer follows Henri as the project unfolds and she gathers the bonnets, while also discovering some of the stories about the participants who made them.

3 July

• Colonial crafts – Lectures & Talks at Government House (Australia)
  The interiors of Government House contain outstanding examples of colonial craftsmanship. The conservation of these interiors, from encaustic tile floors to decorated walls and leadlight windows, requires specialist artisans. This seminar provides the opportunity to hear those involved in the work talk about their practice, maintaining 19th-century skills and traditions into the 21st century.

• Call for contributions of “Apuntes”, journal of studies on Cultural heritage
  APUNTES, magazine of studies on Cultural heritage, is a semestral scientific publication of the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogota, Colombia) that has just announced the call for authors interested in participating in the next three issues, thus:
  • APUNTES Vol 23, no. 1, January-June 2010
    Topic: Architecture and Art in Latin America 1950-2000
    Deadline to submit papers: 1 August 2009
  • APUNTES Vol 23, no. 2, July-December 2010
    Topic: Construction of the territory and colonization in the 19th century
    Deadline to submit papers: 1 February 2010
  • APUNTES Vol 24, no. 1, January-June of 2011
    Topic: Heritage of transportation
    Deadline to submit papers: 1 August 2010

   

• Colombian National system of Cultural heritage
  Law 1185 of 2008 (General Law of Culture), regulated by Decree 763 of 2009, created the National System of Cultural heritage, coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and regulated by 2008 decree 1313. The objective of the National Heritage System is to regulate the competences of national and territorial institutions in the management and protection of cultural heritage, of the goods of cultural interest and the cultural manifestations added to the Representative List of Cultural heritage.

• Masters in Cultural heritage and Territory. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia)
  The demands of current international and national cultural policies oriented to the management and recognition of cultural diversity and the need to deepen in the scope of heritage from its research and analysis, are the challenge searched by the Masters degree in Cultural heritage and Territory from its curriculum through its emphasis in research, conservation and regional planning, to train masters capable to provide integral solutions based on conceptual and methodological tools from the different disciplines that ensure the permanence, acceptance and reproduction of a territory.