20 June. ICCROM, in partnership with the Rathgen Research Laboratory of the National Museums of Berlin, the German National Commission for UNESCO, ICOMOS and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), held a two-day international seminar on ‘Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the Management of Cultural Heritage Assets’ (15 - 16 June).

It was attended by experts from German and international institutions dealing with research and conservation of cultural heritage including the GCI, the Institute for Conservation (ICON), and the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF). Questions of professional training were discussed as well as management structures, ethical implications, and the legal prerequisites of Public-Private Partnerships in heritage conservation. A set of guiding principles for dealing with such partnerships was proposed and publication of the proceedings is planned.

The Seminar was an important precursor to the ICCROM Forum 2007 which will address on a broader scale the overall topic of ‘Privatisation and Cultural Heritage’. This will be held in in Catania, Sicily, in September of this year.

The Seminar received financial support from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. It was held at the Pergamon Museum and the Bode Museum on the Berlin Museum Island.

updated on: 10 August, 2007