The Forum is an international meeting at which the latest thinking on a broad conservation theme is shared. ICCROM has as one of its statutory functions to co-ordinate and stimulate research on the scientific, technical and ethical issues relating to cultural conservation. One aim of the Forum is to have ICCROM recognized as one of the leading centres for the most advanced thinking about such issues.

Previous Forum themes are:

• 2010. Cultural heritage: conservation and communication
• 2007. Privatisation and cultural heritage
• 2005. Armed conflict and conservation: promoting cultural heritage in post-war recovery
• 2003. Living religious heritage: conserving the sacred

2011 Forum - Cultural heritage and the science of conservation

Science is playing a rapidly changing role in the conservation of cultural heritage. The number of scientists, scientific organizations, and scientific disciplines dealing with conservation has grown significantly in the last decades. Nanoscience, laser science, climatology, molecular biology, medical physics, computer graphics, development studies and social anthropology, for instance, have brought new views to the field. As such an increase and diversification of scientific disciplines and actors offer a great potential to improve our understanding of cultural heritage and its significance, and to improve its conservation through applied research, it also implies new and more pronounced challenges related to the meaningful application of science in conservation. Overcoming these challenges is necessary to increase the synergy and success achieved through the interaction of science and other disciplines for the conservation of cultural heritage. Those challenges include:

• the need for improved scientific literacy in the conservation community to enable it to fully and critically evaluate, contribute to shape research initiatives, and actively participate in the application of science and of the technologies deriving from it;
• the need for improved conservation literacy in the scientific community to enable it to better understand the realities of the conservation field through the knowledge of theoretical, historic, legal, ethical and practical aspects, of the terminology, contexts, significance assessments, and of its interdisciplinary and multicultural professional community;
• the need for improved communication and dissemination of scientific research results in a meaningful way to conservation practice;
• the need for improved coordination of efforts between research institutions in order to avoid duplication;
• the need to (re)orient or focus research through assessment of actual needs of conservation in an effective way, and by critically reviewing the impact of conservation research, in order to prioritize the allocation of funds in partnership with research funders.

Another issue refers to the typical lack of interest and sometimes unfounded prejudice against the know how, skills, resources, practices and learning that form part of local/traditional knowledge systems used for the conservation of cultural heritage in different parts of the world. Such knowledge systems are often perceived as 'non scientific' and therefore as unreliable. In the current global context of climate change, energy crisis, and globalization there is an increased need for sustainable approaches to conservation. Revisiting local/traditional conservation approaches within the framework of understanding their underlying scientific principles will offer new opportunities and will create natural links with the current efforts to preserve intangible cultural heritage.

All of the above issues will go into the formulation and implementation of the 2010–2011 ICCROM Forum on ‘Cultural Heritage and the Science of Conservation’.

The objectives of the forum will be:

• to provide a platform for scientists and conservation professionals from other disciplines to discuss and share their experience about the current role of science in conservation, its strengths and weaknesses, and future opportunities and threats;
• to highlight the benefits of improving science communication, scientific and conservation literacy, and interdisciplinarity, in conservation research;
• to foster a more integrated approach to the conservation of cultural heritage by contributing to better integration and synergies between science and other disciplines in the conservation of cultural heritage;
• to strengthen ICCROM’s ability to treat the scientific aspects of conservation within its overall strategic planning process.

The Forum is an international meeting at which the latest thinking on a broad conservation theme is shared. ICCROM has, as one of its statutory functions, to coordinate and stimulate research on the scientific, technical and ethical issues relating to cultural conservation. One aim of the Forum is to have ICCROM recognized as one of the leading centres for the most advanced thinking about such issues. The theme of the Forum 2010–2011 is Cultural Heritage and the Science of Conservation. Partner institutions and the details of its implementation are still being discussed. As in the previous biennium, this forum will be developed and implemented with extra-budgetary resources.

updated on: 4 January, 2010