Seminar and Workshop Announcement and Invitation

Professional Certification for Israeli Conservators

cA ollaboration of the key Israeli heritage stakeholders

Organised by

The Society for the Conservation and Preservation of Israeli Cultural Property,

The Antiquities Authority and UNESCO‐Israel

sponsored by

Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport ‐Museums Dept; Israel Foreign Ministry : Haifa University;

ICOMOS‐ Israel;

Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites; Israel Nature and Parks Authority; ICOM‐Israel;

Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Eretz ; Israel Archives and Information Association;

Israeli Society of United Architects,

Hosted by the Museum of Art

Monday August 2nd 2010

10:00 – 15:00

8:30: Registration

9:30 Welcoming speeches

10:00‐12:00 Morning session‐

Chaired by James Snyder, Director of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

• Dr. Stan Lester ‐ Specialist in professional accreditation, chief designer of the ICON accreditation scheme, Director Stan Lester Developments Education and Training Sytems – Becoming a qualifying profession • Prof. Amos Notea – Head of Quality and Reliability Engineering in Electronics Program, Kinneret College, expert in certification systems in industry. Establishment and management of a professional certification system in Israel • Mr. Ingval Maxwell OBE –Consultant in Architectural Conservation Pan‐professional Accreditation in UK Building Conservation ‐ Background, Development and Operation • Mrs. Susan Bradshaw ACR ‐ ICON Accreditation Manager

Operating PACR Accreditation in the UK 12:00 Break 13:00 – 15:00 Afternoon Session – Chaired by Prof. Amos Notea , Kinneret College • Dr. Chris Woods ACR‐ Chairman, ICON Professional Standards Committee, Director, Conservation Ltd ʹWhy Accredit Conservators? ‐ assessing the impact of accreditation and registration in the UK • Panel Session – chaired by Gideon Koren Adv. –Chairman of ICOMOS –Israel

August 3‐4 Workshops A small group of participants representing all of the organizational and sponsoring groups will gather under the direction of Dr. Stan Lester and our guest consultants to conduct parallel group discussions and joint group discussions on the following topics: • Shaping a qualified profession • Assessment and accreditation standards and processes • Regulation and recognition • Education, training and progression

Talks and discussions will be conducted in Hebrew and English and will be accompanied by simultaneous translation. R.S.P.V. by email Hasia Rimon ACR: [email protected]

The coming seminar and workshop is the first such event in Israel directed at exploring the possibility of introducing a professional conservation certification scheme in Israel. The timing of this event coincides with the new sharpened awareness in Israel of the need to regulate the management and treatment of our cultural heritage in order to ensure the preservation of its authenticity and permanency. In the absence of professional regulations, persons lacking the suitable training and experience in both conservation management and hands-on work are unrestricted in their treatment of museum collections, buildings, monuments and archaeological sites. Such conditions result in untold damage and the erosion of our national heritage. This problem must be solved by conservators, stakeholders and government institutions. The establishment of the certification process will bring with it recognition of conservation as a professional discipline guided by professional ethics and standardized work practices, an objective which is in the interest of the public. The certification of professional conservators promises to be transparent and to provide performance indicators and quality assurance.