Latin America and the Caribbean contain a wealth of diverse cultural expressions that span thousands of years. This significant portion of the world’s cultural heritage is a major resource for social cohesion and development in the region, but it requires conservation and sustainable use.

As in many other parts of the world, cultural heritage in the region is at risk of being irreversibly degraded or lost due to several factors, including:

• environmental stresses due to increasing pollution levels and climate change;
• economic development pressures resulting from urban growth and tourism;
• globalization pressure leading to loss of cultural identity;
• looting and illicit traffic.

Although the last 50 years witnessed unprecedented development of conservation structures and initiatives, and the growth of a considerable body of conservation expertise and knowledge in various countries in the region, impact has been hindered by the scattered and isolated nature of this development, with resources unevenly distributed across the region.

The LATAM Programme has been designed by institutions and experts from the conservation community in Latin America and the Caribbean. This 12-year programme (2008-2019) will aim at creating effective and sustainable regional approaches and dialogue to integrate and harmonize efforts and improve the conservation of cultural heritage.
The objectives are:

• to encourage the pooling of experiences;
• to provide tools for intersectorial collaboration;
• to develop mechanisms for professional mobility;
• to increase capacities in the region.

The role of ICCROM is to create a collaborative platform and the related instruments for intensifying and sustaining institutional collaboration across countries and cultural heritage sectors. The success of the Programme, and the ability to implement activities will largely depend on the response and active participation of heritage institutions, in particular, those from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The activities from 2010–2011 will unfold around five priority areas, chosen and led by institutions and professionals from the region. ICCROM will coordinate efforts between the different working groups; organize two meetings of the LATAM Executive Committee and one meeting of the LATAM Advisory Board.

All activities of the LATAM Programme will be implemented based on the ability of ICCROM and its LATAM partners (including the five working groups outlined below) to raise the necessary financial resources. Pending the availability of funding, ICCROM will also partner with local institutions, in the design and implementation of specific training activities.  Based on the results of fundraising efforts, a more detailed work plan for 2010–2011 will be developed for each of the five initial working groups.

Working group on conservation training and education
The following activities have been foreseen to be developed and implemented by the working group during the programme period.

• identification of regional conservation training and education programmes;
• organization of a regional meeting of professionals and institutions responsible for cultural heritage conservation programmes;
• design and implementation of ICCROM regular courses in Spanish.

Working group on the fight against illicit traffic of cultural heritage
The following activities have been foreseen to be developed and implemented by the working group during the programme period.

• regional campaign to fight illicit traffic and looting of cultural heritage;
• publication aimed for customs officers and law enforcement departments;
• publication of successful repatriation cases.

Working group on economic indicators for cultural heritage conservation
The following activities have been foreseen to be developed and implemented by the working group during the programme period.

• development of a pilot research on economic indicators for cultural heritage conservation;
• organization of an international seminar on indicators (ie: Measuring heritage conservation performance, March 2011 Brazil);
• at least one training workshop for the application of economic indicators within diverse educational and institutional contexts;
• publication on the economic indicators and the application methodology, including didactic materials;
• implementation of a project for the development of indicators.

Working group on publications and dissemination of conservation literature
The following activities have been foreseen to be developed and implemented by the working group during the programme period.

• on-going identification, translation and dissemination of relevant published and unpublished information in Spanish and Portuguese;
• identification of existing websites of relevance to LATAM activities and heritage conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean in general;
• publication of a manual on heritage management.

ICCROM will be closely involved in the activities of this working group through the generous support of the Spanish Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España).

Working Group on Risk Management for Cultural Heritage
The following activities have been foreseen to be developed and implemented by the working group during the programme period.

• organization of an international seminar on risk management;
• creation of a regional directory of professionals and institutions with expertise in risk management;
• design and implement a regional course on risk management in 2011;
• development of regional workshops on risk management;
• publication and dissemination of information.

Communication, Monitoring and Review
The multi-faceted format of the LATAM Programme requires a strong communication strategy. This will include mechanisms for on-going communication and consultation between the working groups, and within the conservation community at large, in particular:

• the maintenance and development of the LATAM website which will serve both internal communication and dissemination, as the hub for news, information and resources from Latin America and the Caribbean on conservation issues; and updating of the LATAM risk map;
• the programme monitoring and evaluation system put in place in the former biennium will be further implemented, assessed and adjusted; in 2011, the 2nd meeting of the LATAM Advisory Board will aim at assessing results of the initial phase and defining objectives, priority themes and activities for the implementation phase 2012-2015 onwards.

updated on: 27 July, 2010