José Luiz Pedersoli Jr. from Brazil has joined ICCROM as Project Manager - Conservation of Collections. He holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and a Master of Science in polymer chemistry from the University of Helsinki.

On Weds 8 August, ICCROM received the visit of Martine Garcia-Mascarenhas, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Monaco in Italy, with her colleague Maria Concetta Scioscia of the Embassy of Monaco.

The latest edition of ICCROM’s flagship First Aid to Cultural Heritage (FAC) course has kicked off in Brabant, Netherlands. The course, held on 6 – 24 August 2018, will train 24 heritage and first response professionals from 23 countries to be “cultural First Aiders,” skilled at the protection of cultural heritage in emergency situations. Course modules will address topics such as prevention, safe evacuation, stabilization and protection of cultural heritage at risk.

The 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee meeting held in June put a strong emphasis on the importance of capacity building. Numerous committee decisions requested and recommended capacity building for conservation of sites, with the Site Managers Forum adding a firm voice to the importance and vital need for better guidance and assistance.

A wealth of conservation knowledge and expertise is contained in ICCROM’s many past publications, produced from 1961 to 2003. Previously, these resources were largely inaccessible to researchers and conservation practitioners because the books have been difficult to obtain and consult.

On 19-21 June, ICCROM participated in a disaster simulation exercise for salvage of cultural heritage, held in Lucca, Italy. The exercise was part of a multi-year initiative organized by the Italian Civil Protection Department under PROMEDHE, an EU funded project also involving the civil protection authorities of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Palestine.

Where do heritage professionals look for when they are in need of advice on preventive conservation? How do they update their knowledge?

Paper and Water: A Guide for Conservators, the handbook published by Gerhard Banik and Irene Brückle in 2011, after a decade of close cooperation with ICCROM, has been republished in a revised and expanded 2nd edition by Anton Siegl in Munich, Germany.

The European Cultural Heritage Summit, held in Berlin, Germany from 18 to 24 June 2018, provided a venue to reflect on the present and future of cultural heritage in Europe.

According to a 2015 study carried out by Cisco, by 2019 over 80% of global Internet consumption will be video content. These steadily increasing sounds and images have permeated every sphere of our contemporary lives.