Do you or your organisation have a sample collection?
If yes, we would like to hear from you.
Many institutions around the world hold material samples collected from objects and sites of cultural, historic or scientific value. These collections contain huge potential for future research and didactic purposes, but they are often little known, and their value under recognised.

In the wake of the devastating floods in Yemen and Sudan, ICCROM extends its solidarity to the governments and people of these Member States. We stand ready to provide technical assistance to secure affected cultural heritage. 

The Soft Power Club, an international association founded by former Minister of Culture of Italy, Francesco Rutelli, met in Venice for its first public event at the Giorgio Cini Foundation and the Prada Foundation from 31 August to 1 September. ICCROM had the privilege of participating both days,  at a side event on 31 August on climate change as well as the round table session the next day.

The world is passing through an unprecedented crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting every aspect of our lives. While we make all efforts to come out of this crisis better prepared for such situations in the future, it has also pushed to look deeper into the underlying causes. It is a known fact that climate change has significantly altered the environment and behaviour of living beings. At the same time, rapid and rather haphazard urbanization has destroyed eco-systems to an unimaginable extent. This unholy combination of climate change and urbanization has catalyzed and magnified the current pandemic.

ICCROM is launching a call for partners to leading institutions in the heritage field to help build and shape a three-day International Workshop on Connecting Collections: Unlocking Value in Heritage Samples Archives. 

Together with the international heritage community, we stand behind the Statement of solidarity with Lebanon and support the mobilization of efforts to recover the damaged cultural heritage in #Beirut.

ICCROM has just been informed of the passing, on 11 March 2020, of the former ICCROM collaborator, Miss Ingrid Brock. She was born on 25 September 1933 in Bartenstein, East Prussia (Ostpreussen), at the time a northern German city assigned to Poland in the 1945 peace conference. Ingrid Brock studied architecture and urban planning in Germany, where she then resided. During the academic year of 1969-1970, she attended the ICCROM Course of Specialization in the Conservation of Monuments and Historical Sites (later renamed Architectural Conservation Course), organised jointly with the University of Rome (La Sapienza).

Culture cannot wait. The need to protect individual and collective identities, ways of living, and ties to one’s roots can be so strong that even amidst violent conflicts people will go to great lengths to protect their heritage. Yet, the wide-ranging humanitarian crises induced by armed conflicts severely limit the ability to secure this endangered heritage.

Thanks to the generous support of the Principality of Monaco, ICCROM is pleased to announce the digital publication in French of the First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis Handbook and its Toolkit.

As we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic and this turbulent year, the question becomes ever so critical. On one hand, resources that keep our sector functioning are rapidly shrinking, with several museums around the world closing, not knowing if they will reopen. On the other hand, there is clear evidence that museums are among the most important public institutions, and that people place great value on heritage collections.