Sixty cultural heritage leaders from thirty-two countries, including representatives from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, Australia, Europe, and North America gathered in October 2009 in Salzburg, Austria, to develop a series of practical recommendations to ensure optimal collections conservation worldwide. Convened at Schloss Leopoldskron, the gathering was conducted in partnership by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The participants were conservation specialists from libraries and museums, as well as leaders of major conservation centers and cultural heritage programs from around the world. As co-chair Vinod Daniel noted, no previous meeting of conservation professionals has been as diverse as this, with people from as many parts of the world, as cross-disciplinary as this. The group addressed central issues in the care and preservation of the worlds cultural heritage including moveable objects (library materials, books, archives, paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photographic collections, art on paper, archaeological and ethnographic objects) and immoveable heritage (buildings and archaeological sites). Collections stewardship is central to the mission of all cultural heritage institutions, and yet resources for proper preservation and treatment are often sorely lacking, emergency plans are not always in place, and public awareness of and support for conservation is not as strong as it should be. However, advances in conservation research and preservation technologies are offering new solutions and strategies for addressing conservation needs. The assembled Fellows held six plenary sessions and divided into five working groups to issue recommendations for action. Activities of the seminar were broadcast daily to conservators internationally by an interactive blog by Richard McCoy, associate conservator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, on the Newsblog of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. A paradigm shift away from traditional perceptions of culture as elitist was emphasized throughout the seminar. Other themes that emerged during the three days included: building international connections among preservation professionals and with policy makers and the public; avoiding the storage of knowledge in separated silos; the importance of using both top-down initiatives from institutional executives and bottom-up mandates from conservators and public stakeholders; the increased use of technology and Internet resources, including social networks, blogs, e-mail, and educational websites; casting the current global economic challenges as opportunities rather than barriers; listening to and learning from indigenous peoples regarding the safeguarding of their cultural heritage, so that they feel that they own their own community museums and that their culture will be respected and kept alive; the growing interest in documenting the protection of intangible traditions associated with cultural collections; and the impact of climate change on preservation and the pressing necessity for heritage conservation to be represented in existing and forthcoming international agreements and treaties. At the end of the seminar, the Fellows unanimously endorsed a Salzburg Declaration on the Conservation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage (see p. 30) that affirmed the importance and value of cultural heritage to cultures and societies globally. This Declaration urges the cultural heritage sector to work together with governments, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to Integrate conservation projects with other sectors to provide a lever for social and economic development, Commit to increased community engagement and raise public awareness regarding at-risk cultural heritage, Strengthen the investment in research, networking, educational opportunities, and the exchange of knowledge and resources globally, and Promote responsible stewardship and advance sustainable national/regional conservation policies and strategies, including risk management.

Stoner, Joyce Hill

Stoner, Joyce Hill

154.S7.C6.2 (VF)

2009

Emergency Preparedness ; Disaster Preparedness ; Mitigation ; Social Factors ; Museums ;

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD'S COLLECTIONS: MAKING THE CASE FOR THE CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD'S COLLECTIONS: MAKING THE CASE FOR THE CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE

Unpublished_Work

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