ICOMOS DAY – April 18, 2025
Happy ICOMOS Day & Happy Easter!
On International ICOMOS Day, we are pleased to share recent updates that reflect our commitment to the ICOMOS Triennial Theme: Resilience, Resistance, and Response.
This year marks a significant new chapter for ISCSBH, shaped by a structural reorganization and strengthened through dynamic collaborations—particularly with our vibrant network of Emerging Professionals (EPs).
What’s New?
Resilient Heritage – Webinar by Emerging Professionals
We are pleased to announce our first 2025 webinar, promoted by the Emerging Professionals (EPs) network of ISCSBH, under the coordination of Mohamed W. Fareed:
Date: June 5, 2025 – Time: 13:00 (Paris time) – Zoom Webinar
This insightful webinar will focus on “Response and Recovery in Shared Built Heritage”, a theme that not only highlights post-crisis intervention, but also offers a platform to explore the broader role of emerging professionals in heritage conservation.
The session will directly align with the themes of the upcoming ICOMOS General Assembly in Lumbini, Nepal, offering contributors the opportunity to engage with and shape the AGA symposium content.
Call for Speakers (EPs only) – Deadline: May 20, 2025
Please send your CV, presentation title, and a 200-word abstract to:
Featured Article – Safeguarding the Past Amid War
The very concept of Shared Built Heritage, when endangered and threatened by war, is a matter of urgent concern. We invite you to read the important contribution by our new member Akram Lilja, based on his experience in Gaza:
“Safeguarding the Past Amid War: Emergency Efforts to Preserve Gaza’s Cultural Heritage”
Dissonant Heritage – Book by Michael Falser
The theme of dissonant built heritage — places of memory marked by colonialism, contested histories, and conflicting narratives — is currently being discussed within ICOMOS.
In this context, Michael Falser has made an important scholarly contribution with the publication of his recent book:
“Monuments and Sites De-Colonial! Approaches to the Built Heritage of the German Colonial Era”. This work was published following the International Conference organised by ICOMOS Germany and the Technical University of Munich at the Vorhoelzer Forum, Munich, on 3–4 November 2023. It offers critical perspectives on the heritage of the German colonial period and the decolonial challenges it raises.
For more information, the full open-access E-book is available for download at the following link:
https://www.icomos.de/data/pdf/icomos-de-de-colonial-heritage-web-0225-1605-13.pdf
ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2025
Stay tuned, add to calendar and make your inscription!
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666/
ARTisON No. 15 – Safeguarding Heritage in the Colonial Period
ISCSBH is proud to contribute to ARTisON’s special issue No. 15, published in December 2024, dedicated to safeguarding heritage during the colonial period
Contributors include:
Siegfried Enders: Built Cultural Heritage in the former German Colonies
Maria José de Freitas: Safeguarding Macau’s Built Heritage
Joaquim R. dos Santos: Whose Heritage? Classification in the former Portuguese Empire
Sagara Jayasinghe: Colonial Narratives and the Ruined Cities of Ceylon
Plus: an interview with José Manuel Fernandes & Maria de Lurdes Janeiro
This edition of ARTisON merits meticulous reading available here.
https://artis-on.letras.ulisboa.pt/index.php/aio/issue/view/16
Working Groups – New Structure (2025)
As a result of the analysis carried out by our General Secretary, John Ward, and discussed at our last General Assembly on 6 December 2024, we have opted for a new articulation of our Working Groups in 2025:
- WG 01 – SBH Concept – Principles – Perspectives – Dissonant Architecture
- WG 02 – SBH at Risk – Preparedness – Response – Recovery – HIA
- WG 03 – SBH Study Tours – Webinars – Activities – ISC Connections
- WG 04 – SBH Communication – Newsletters – Website
- WG 05 – SBH Support – Secretariat – Members Directory – PUBLICOMUS
- WG 06 – SBH & Emerging Professionals
PUBLICOMUS – Share Your Work!
A new digital platform by ICOMOS, PUBLICOMUS is now available for sharing educational and scientific content produced by ISCSBH members.
Articles, webinars, and academic outputs are welcome.
For more information, click here
Join Us in Shaping the Future of Shared Heritage
With a growing network of dedicated professionals, we look forward to deepening our impact on shared built heritage worldwide. Let’s continue this journey together in 2025 and beyond!
What is SBH?
The ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Shared Built Heritage (ISCSBH) was set up to promote greater protection and conservation of the shared heritage built over time by different cultures and civilisations with different social and religious backgrounds. For this purpose, the ISCSBH researches and fosters discussion on the understanding of ‘shared’ and on the management of historical built legacies resulting from multicultural encounters and mutual influences. The group is relatively young, having started in 1998 as the Scientific Committee on Shared Colonial Architecture and Town Planning, and changing its name in 2003 to reflect more open objectives.
In some cases, shared heritage is at the centre of identity narratives constructed by different communities and nations; in others, it is the source of tension, and is therefore neglected. The aim of the scientific group is therefore to understand how shared heritage is valued and promote its revitalization, rehabilitation, and conservation, encouraging the use of existing structures and of traditional building techniques as much as possible.
To this end, the ISCSBH organises meetings, debates, study visits, symposia, and conferences with the aim of disseminating the state of the art in various technical, scientific and academic fields, promoting the exchange of knowledge and, through thematic workshops, trying to instill a taste and curiosity for heritage conservation among young people and emerging graduates.
