Special attention will be given to Ibero-America and to the dissemination and organization of activities in Spanish. 

Photo credit: Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España Photo credit: Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España

The Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain (Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte), through the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España, IPCE) and ICCROM have signed an agreement whereby both institutions undertake, on the one hand, to establish a framework for collaboration in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, and on the other, to support the development of the Heritage Sample Archives Initiative.  

Through this agreement, the necessary activities will be carried out to promote cultural heritage, with special attention to the Ibero-American region and the dissemination and organization of activities in Spanish. Thus, under the coordination and logistics of ICCROM, IPCE is committed, among other areas, to collaborate in the exchange of professionals, participation in training activities and research projects, the development of guidelines and best practices, and the dissemination of joint activities.  

This commitment also includes the incorporation of IPCE as a partner in the Heritage Sample Archive Initiative, an ICCROM project that addresses the safeguarding, access and use of samples taken from objects and sites, whether reference materials or replicas, which make up historical collections that are currently undervalued but have great potential for future research and educational purposes. From now on, promoting their survival and long-term use will be the goal of IPCE and the more than 20 institutions that have already joined ICCROM as partners in this initiative. 

ICCROM is grateful to the Government of Spain for its committed partnership and generous financial contribution to ICCROM programmes and activities, particularly through the bolstered use of the Spanish language.