ICOMOS
ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, is a non-governmental organization working to conserve and protect cultural heritage sites around the world. We are the only worldwide NGO dedicated to applying scientific techniques, theories and methodology to the conservation of both tangible and intangible elements of cultural heritage places.
We are a global network of professionals and experts working together. As a diverse membership network covering the whole range of heritage specialisms, ICOMOS’ strength and impact comes from our ongoing interdisciplinary exchanges and conversations, which inform all its approaches and activities.
ICOMOS’ members work together to improve the preservation of our cultural heritage. This means that we are constantly reviewing and improving standards and techniques specific to each type of cultural heritage: monuments, buildings, groups of buildings, sites, places, and landscapes.
Our Values: Uniting Around Heritage
Diversity and Interdisciplinarity
ICOMOS is made up of an enormously diverse range of people with varying, complementary professional and cultural backgrounds, from civil servants to academic researchers to private sector employees. Our members work together in a spirit of collegiality, respecting one another’s diverse professional and technical knowledge, across cultures and belief systems.
Impartiality
As an NGO, in all circumstances – and especially as one of the three World Heritage Convention Advisory Bodies – we rely on our members, whose professional experience and expertise, technical know-how and independence allow us to work with impartiality and according to a shared ethical code.
Exchanges and Solidarity
At ICOMOS, we endeavour to bring people and cultures together. This involves facilitating the work and movement of members in disadvantaged or crisis situations. During major natural disasters and conflicts, ICOMOS’ experts and specialists are mobilised to develop emergency measures for preserving, conserving and restoring damaged or at-risk heritage. This is also evidenced by our role as a founding member of the Blue Shield.
Empowering the Next Generation
A key part of our mission at ICOMOS is to raise awareness of heritage and related challenges, and to exchange knowledge and know-how between generations. As such, we mentor emerging professionals, who are deeply involved with the issues at stake and in our different actions. Emerging professionals can be elected to positions of responsibility in their respective Committees as well as on the Board of ICOMOS, exchanging their know-how with more established members of the organisation.
Access to Information
At ICOMOS, we believe that free and unrestricted access to scientific knowledge is fundamental to good heritage conservation. To enable this, we have our own open access archive platform, PUBLICOMOS. Additionally, ICOMOS’ Documentation Centre offers a wealth of documentary resources, with over 40,000 titles and 40,000 graphic documents, World Heritage documents, and more.