Quick Guide to World Heritage
International Council on Monuments & Sites (ICOMOS)
ICOMOS is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the
conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites. ICOMOS
provides a forum for professional debate and the collection,
evaluation and distribution of information on conservation
principles, techniques and policies.
ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw, Poland, following the 1964
Venice International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of
Monuments and Sites. This important Charter set the standard for
conservation and has proved a solid foundation from which the
conservation community has developed.
Based in Paris, ICOMOS has national committees in over 107
countries, including ICOMOS-UK. It is one of the principal advisors
to UNESCO on cultural world heritage sites and the World Heritage
Convention. It advises the World Heritage Committee on the
nomination of new sites to the World Heritage List. The other
advisors are the International Centre for the Study of the
Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the
International Union for Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). For more
information see the ICOMOS website at www.icomos.org.
ICOMOS-UK
ICOMOS-UK was also formed in 1965 and advises the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on matters concerning the World
Heritage Convention in the UK. ICOMOS-UK has taken an active role
in promoting the production of Management Plans for all UK World
Heritage Sites, a key aspiration of the DCMS.
ICOMOS-UK has a range of specialist committees including one
dedicated to World Heritage. For more information see the ICOMOS-UK
website at www.icomos.org/uk.
ICOMOS-UK is a member of the City of Bath World Heritage Site
Steering Group
