Arts and Convention Center UFOP (Centro de Artes e Convenções da UFOP) - Ouro Preto - Minas Gerais - Brazil | Brasil
With online streaming
As ICOMOS celebrates the 60th
Anniversary of the Venice Charter, it will also launch its new Triennial
Scientific Plan, “Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage: Preparedness,
Response and Recovery” at the Annual General Assembly in Ouro Preto, Brazil.
The Venice Charter remains a founding historic
document for ICOMOS, rooted in a specific context and shaped by the heritage
concepts of its time. Sixty years later, practice and doctrine have evolved,
new cultural conventions have been established and the scientific work and
capacity of ICOMOS have fundamentally changed. At the same time, the world is
facing a major challenge posed by climate change, disasters, and conflicts,
fueling major displacements of communities and challenging all of our
structures. The primary focus of the Symposium will be a critical discussion on
the Venice Charter considering the current state of discourse surrounding heritage
and a cross-cutting approach between more recent conventions and the pragmatic
needs of practice today.
The Symposium endeavors to comprehensively
reassess the Venice Charter in a contemporary context, with a focus on five key
sub-themes. It aims to explore the charter's historical context, emphasizing
its Eurocentric origins and diverse regional responses, advocating for a
critical rereading that considers how heritage concepts and practice have
evolved since 1964. Additionally, the symposium seeks to foster a cross-cutting
approach between the Venice Charter and other international conventions, such
as the Hague Convention of 1954, the World Heritage Convention of 1972, and the
Nara Document on Authenticity of 1994, the Intangible Heritage Convention of
2003, and the Faro Convention of 2005. It emphasizes the importance of
reinterpreting the charter through diverse epistemologies, acknowledging
cultural diversity, and considering contributions from the Global South. The
discussions will critically examine the state of heritage discourse, evaluating
the charter's relevance to contemporary practice, including those posed by
modern heritage, the rise of the metropolises, social inequities, disasters and
environmental impact.
The discussion of the Venice Charter aligns
seamlessly with the overarching theme of the ICOMOS Triennial Scientific Plan,
"Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage: Preparedness, Response, and
Recovery" that highlights the imperative to address contemporary
challenges facing heritage, particularly in the context of disasters and
conflicts. By critically revisiting the Venice Charter, we aim to bridge the
historical document with present-day issues, emphasizing the need to adapt
heritage conservation practices to the demands of the 21st century.
The selection of Ouro Preto as the venue for
the Symposium holds strategic significance due to its historical character as a
city shaped by the XVIII-century Brazilian gold rush. Being the first city in
Brazil to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ouro Preto embodies a
rich heritage that aligns with the overarching theme of the event. Furthermore,
its proximity to a site profoundly affected by one of Brazil's most significant
environmental disasters offers a tangible and poignant backdrop for discussions
on heritage resilience. This context reinforces the symposium's objective to
critically examine the Venice Charter and review its relevance in the
contemporary discourse on heritage, authenticity, and resilience.
