October 2001 27 INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF THE PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY ICCROM Staff Office of the Director-General Marie-France Adolphe, ICCROM Newsletter, vol. 27, Nicholas Stanley-Price, Director- Administrative Assistant October 2001 General Sonia Widmer, Administrative Gaël de Guichen, Assistant to the Assistant Director-General (retired 31 July Editor-in-Chief: 2001) Documentation, Library and Terry Little Archives P. Richard Lindo, Chief Operating Marie-Christine Uginet, Manager Editor: Officer Maureen B. Fant Edda Trettin, Librarian Pilar House, Personal Assistant to French edition: the Director-General Margaret Ohanessian, Library Marthe Lemery, Assistant Françoise Vogel Françoise Ghin, Assistant Secretary Gianna Paganelli, Library Production assistant: Assistant Elisa Ortiz Vincenzo Alibrandi, Switchboard Operator/Registrar Nicolina Falciglia, Technical Photo research: Assistant Maria Mata Caravaca Advocacy Programme Gaël de Guichen, Programme Office of Communication and Design and layout: Director (retired 31 July 2001) Information Giancarlo De Pol Terry Little, Manager Monica Ardemagni, Project Printed in Italy by: Manager Monica Garcia Robles, Head, Web La Fenice Grafica and Data Management (on Susan Inman, Administrative secondment to the Government of Assistant Peru until 30 September 2002) ISBN 92-9077-174-7 Architecture and M. Anna Stewart, Head, Training Archaeological Sites Information and Fellowships ISSN 1010-2639 Programme Alejandro Alva Balderrama, Elisa Ortiz, Administrative Programme Director Assistant Maria Teresa Jaquinta, Project Administration and Logistic Manager Services P. Richard Lindo, Chief Operating Ernesto Borrelli, Laboratory Co- Officer ordinator Patrice Simonnet, EPA Fund Co- Rahel Wolde Mikael, ordinator (seconded from France) Administrative Assistant Roberto Nahum, Information Collections Programme Systems Administrator Catherine Antomarchi, Programme Director Alessandro Menicucci, Head of In addition to the ICCROM Accountancy Image Archive, we thank the Rocco Mazzeo, Project Manager following for the use of Sally Bolstridge, Accountancy photographs: Catherine Katriina Similä, Project Manager Clerk Antomarchi, Ernesto Borelli, Emmanuel Caillé, CRATerre- Liliana Rizzo Vecchio, Maurizio Moriconi, Accountancy EAG, Gaël de Guichen, Joseph Administrative Assistant (retired Clerk King, Elena Incerti Medici, Jukka 30 September 2001) Jokilehto, Maria Teresa Enrico Carra, Head of Logistics Jaquinta, Claire-Emmanuelle le Françoise Vogel, Administrative Moal, Katriina Similä, Herb Assistant Pietro Baldi, Logistics Assistant Stovel Heritage Settlements Fabio Tosti, Messenger and Driver Cover: Days after an earthquake Programme in June 2001, Franz Grupp Herb Stovel, Programme Director cares for a painting rescued from the Ermita de Jerusalén in Nobuko Inaba, Project Manager the Convent of Santa Teresa in (seconded from Japan) Arequipa, Peru. See page 17 for the story. Photograph by Joseph King, Project Manager Magdalena Fuenzalida. CONTENTSCONTENTS ICCROM Newsletter, vol. 27, October 2001 From the Director-General’s desk 2 New Member States 5 Official matters 6 ICCROM’s key partners 8 In memoriam 9 Programmes and Activities in 2001 The Advocacy Programme 10 MEDIA SAVE ART Award Graffiti: Time to change strategy? The Architecture and Archaeological Sites Programme 12 International Architectural Conservation Course (ARC) Project Terra The NAMEC Programme Other activities The ICCROM Laboratory The Collections Programme 16 Conservation in use Sharing Conservation Science: vers un langage commun (SCS) Conservation and Use of Collections (CUC) Current projects News from regional partners The Heritage Settlements Programme 20 Integrated Territorial and Urban Conservation (ITUC) AFRICA 2009 Technical training for the conservation of building materials, and technologies Meetings and Events November 2001 through 24 December 2002 Recent library acquisitions 26 Publications for sale at ICCROM 29 ICCROM’s Partners in 2001 Inside back cover 1 ICCROM•NEWSLETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR- GENERAL’S DESK Nicholas Stanley-Price In the first dawn of the new millennium, two necessarily to recognize and to promote the controversies in particular have raised cultural diversity that is characteristic of the world. fundamental issues for those concerned Preservation of the material expressions of that with the preservation of cultural heritage. diversity is the goal with which ICCROM was One was associated quite specifically with created by UNESCO in 1956. Needless to say, the threat and then the actual act of preservation of those material expressions is deliberate destruction of the two rock-cut subject to the values attached to them by society. statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan in The medium in which cultural heritage is Afghanistan in March 2001. The other is the expressed may take either a tangible or an wider, continuing debate over the benefits intangible form—this has long been recognized. and costs of the globalization of society, And successful preservation of the material which popular concern has forced onto the expressions is informed by a full understanding of meetings agenda of the world’s political all cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. leaders. Understanding and Both debates have profound implications for an communication international, intergovernmental organization such It is in the area of cultural understanding that the as ICCROM that is devoted to the preservation of challenges arise. They arise in situations that cultural heritage. There are implications in the require understanding cross-culturally, across the demolitions at Bamiyan for re-thinking several disciplines, between the sciences and the arts, premises on which cultural heritage preservation between the professionals and the non- is based, for instance the notion of a universal specialists, and even between the young and the heritage value. The ramifications of the old. It is true that communication has become the globalization debate may appear to be less fastest-growing global industry; but successful immediately relevant. But it raises important communication depends on much more than questions about preserving cultural diversity (and modems and instant connectivity. not least its material form) in the face of the This is why education, training, and advocacy, increasing homogenization of world culture. in different forms, remain fundamental to Moreover, at a more mundane but nonetheless promoting respect for cultural diversity and to real level, global climate change is apparently preserving its material expressions. And it is why threatening the physical survival of cultural ICCROM continues to draw upon its long heritage (for instance through sea-level change, experience in this area to promote the goal with severe flooding, and atmospheric pollution). which it was originally founded, of contributing to As an international organization, ICCROM has the conservation of cultural heritage. The strategies adopted by ICCROM to achieve The ARC course at the time of writing is the this goal have, of course, evolved substantially object of an independent external review, with the over the years. The major shifts in strategy are aim of assessing its impact on the field and future evident to the reader who compares the activities directions. reported upon in this newsletter with those described in the annual newsletter of, say, fifteen Changing goals, changing years ago. In the 1980s, the most visible content component of ICCROM’s professional education The design of the education/training activities has strategies was the four regular courses held changed also because of the goals that they set annually in Rome. Nowadays, in response to themselves. If in earlier years there was a need for changing needs, the emphasis is on regional technical knowledge set within a context of courses forming part of long-term programmes conservation philosophy, the ability of (often organized in collaboration with former conservation professionals to manage and to participants of the Rome-based courses of earlier communicate is now seen to be equally years). Formal courses represent only one important. The content of education/training element in these programmes, which aim rather to activities reflects this change of emphasis. To take combine formal instruction with institution- but one example: in 1983 ICCROM offered for the building, provision of information, and the long- first time to participants of its regular courses a term maintenance of a partner network. Examples one-week workshop on teaching techniques and include the PREMA (1990–2000) programme for communication. In 2001, the topic of museum collections in sub-Saharan Africa, communication was included in the course on PREMO (1994–2000) for museum collections in “Conservation and use of collections” held in the Pacific region, the Gaia (1989–1998) and Terra Brazil, not as one topic amongst many but as the (1998–2002) projects on earthen construction main theme of the opening week of a nine-week conservation, ITUC (1996–2005) on integrated course. This one example illustrates how goals urban and territorial conservation, and the Africa and course content have changed in order to 2009 (1999–2009) programme for built heritage in meet changing needs. sub-Saharan Africa. All such programmes include The theme of communication amongst mechanisms for gradual transfer of responsibilities disciplines and, especially, between scientists and to the relevant region,