Mission 

ICCROM’s mission is to advance global heritage conservation and promote heritage as a vital resource for building better futures for all. 

We work to innovate best practices by stimulating research, sharing knowledge, and empowering people with the skills, tools, and expertise to safeguard and harness heritage for positive change.  

Vision 

A world in which heritage promotes sustainable growth and peaceful, prosperous societies.  

ICCROM cares for heritage by conserving, activating and recognizing its full potential to enrich the lives of all. This holistic, people-centred approach aims to not only preserve heritage for its own sake but to actively use it to make positive change. ICCROM’s CARE principle considers heritage to be fundamental to sustainability and well-being.  

By conserving, promoting and celebrating this shared legacy, ICCROM serves its Member States in striving for a world where heritage drives sustainable growth and peaceful, prosperous societies. In doing so, ICCROM affirms that heritage is a vital, living resource that can be used to shape a more resilient and desirable future. 

ICCROM Strategic Directions and Priority Areas 2026–2031

The Strategic Plan 2026–2031 translates ICCROM's CARE vision – Conserve, Activate, Recognize – into action. 

Built around three Strategic Directions and nine Priority Areas, the Strategic Plan advances heritage conservation as a driver of sustainable growth and peaceful, prosperous societies, while reinforcing our shared responsibility to care for heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. 

STRATEGIC DIRECTION 1: CONSERVE

Upskill and adapt to meet new conservation challenges 

Heritage faces growing uncertainty due to interconnected social, economic, environmental, technological, and political challenges – all intensified by climate change. These pressures highlight the urgent need for stronger global cooperation in heritage conservation and management. 

Strategic Direction one (SD1) responds to contemporary challenges by strengthening conservation and risk management capacities, promoting people-centred and participatory approaches, and helping the sector better prepare for future change. 

The following Priority Areas guide SD1 implementation: 

SD1 – Priority Area 1: Conservation and risk management capacities 

  • Improve knowledge and skills including adopting innovative technologies in heritage conservation and risk management to address new and growing threats to heritage. 
SD1 – Priority Area 2: People-centred and participatory heritage management 
  • Support the adoption of improved people-centred, participatory and rights-based approaches that reinforce inclusive heritage decision-making and governance by integrating a broader range of knowledge and perspectives. 
SD1 – Priority Area 3: Anticipation in the heritage sector 
  • Enhance the heritage sector’s ability to prepare and respond effectively to new realities by strengthening its capacity to apply anticipatory approaches and develop resilient long-term strategies to ensure future relevance and sustainability of heritage operations.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2: ACTIVATE 

Accelerate positive change and sustainable socio-economic growth through heritage

Heritage holds immense potential to enhance quality of life and advance societal goals. Yet this potential remains significantly underutilized. Leveraging cultural heritage can foster resilient communities that adapt to and mitigate the impacts of changing climate patterns. Heritage-based initiatives can promote sustainable and collaborative growth, motivating people to come together to resolve common challenges.  

 By reinforcing community ties and encouraging collective action, heritage lays the groundwork for partnerships toward responsible long-term development. Integrating cultural perspectives ensures that development efforts connect more deeply with the unique realities of communities. Through these efforts, heritage will be better activated for durable climate solutions, social cohesion, and sustainable economic growth.  

The following Priority Areas guide SD2 implementation: 

SD2 – Priority Area 1: Heritage for durable climate solutions 
  • Strengthen capacities to support durable climate solutions through heritage, and promote environmentally sustainable practices in heritage conservation, management, and tourism. 
SD2 – Priority Area 2: Heritage for social cohesion 
  • Empower heritage-based initiatives and institutions to foster dialogue, trust, well-being, and human-centred innovation, contributing over time to improved social cohesion and sustainable peace. 
SD2 – Priority Area 3: Heritage for better lives and livelihoods 
  • Promote economic opportunity and well-being through heritage by supporting community initiatives in cultural entrepreneurship, creative industries, craft-based sectors, and sustainable heritage-based tourism, fostering collaboration and innovative economic development. 

STRATEGIC DIRECTION 3: RECOGNIZE

Strengthen policy inclusion and coherence, and support for heritage 

Heritage remains underrepresented in major policy areas such as climate, health, and economic growth, limiting its potential to benefit society. This is largely due to limited evidence of its wider impact and weak collaboration across sectors. 

Strategic Direction Three (SD3) aims to strengthen recognition and support for heritage by building evidence of its societal value, encouraging cross-sector collaboration, and promoting its inclusion in policy and decision-making.  

The following Priority Areas guide SD3 implementation: 

SD 3 – Priority Area 1: Evidence for the wider benefits of heritage  
  • Enable the systematic collection and use of robust quantitative and qualitative evidence on the societal benefits of heritage, supporting the creation of compelling narratives that strengthen the case for policy support and investment. 
SD 3 – Priority Area 2: Cross-sectoral engagement around heritage 
  • Identify opportunities for cooperation and equip heritage organizations, professionals, and actors from other sectors to work together effectively, fostering engagement and partnerships that enable heritage to play a more active role in responsible long-term development. 
SD 3 – Priority Area 3: Heritage integration within broader policy areas 
  • Promote fuller integration of heritage into policy frameworks and support its inclusion through targeted communication and advocacy towards decision-makers at all levels, highlighting the value of heritage as a social good in order to elevate its role in cross-sectoral, political and broader agendas.