2008 CIDOC Annual Conference: The Digital Curation of Cultural Heritage

The 2008 CIDOC meeting will be held in Athens, Greece from September 15 to 18, 2008 (organized by the Hellenic Committee of ICOM and the Benaki Museum).

Theme: 'Digital curation emerged as an important new concept in the theory and management of cultural information. It covers all of the actions needed to maintain digitised and born-digital cultural objects and data, going beyond digital preservation to encompass their utilisation in the context of their entire life cycle, from acquisition and appraisal to exhibition, learning and commercial exploitation. The focus of CIDOC 2008 on the digital curation of cultural heritage will allow curators, collection managers, documentalists, archivists and museum information specialists to explore a broad range of theoretical, methodological, professional practice and technological issuers related to the appraisal, digitisation, management, representation, access and use of digital cultural assets, such as those increasingly becoming part of museum information systems and digital archives. A core emphasis of the meeting will be to understand and re-contextualise the know-how and history of established curatorial practice in museums, and memory institutions, in general, in the new field of digital cultural heritage; to review and discuss the applicability of standards- and good practice-related work in the context of managing digital cultural information; and to identify and explore the issues, methods and challenges involved with the development of new genres and contexts of virtual exhibition, e-learning and technology-enhanced services for scholarship and research.'

Call for papers
Contributions may take one of the following formats: full length paper (20 min including question time) or short paper (10 minutes) on a subject related to the theme of the conference.

Abstract in English should be sent to: papers@cidoc2008.gr with "CIDOC 2008 abstract" in the subject field. Include in the abstract a title, introduction, objectives, and conclusion, in not more than 500 words. Also include

• Name and surname of the author(s)
• Address of the institution (street, post code, city, telephone & fax no.)
• Email address of the author to which further information will be sent

The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 22, 2008.
Authors will be notified of acceptance by March 22, 2008.
See also: www.cidoc2008.gr

Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence

The deadline for entries is 22nd February 2008.

Categories include: marketing campaign; permanent exhibition; temporary/touring exhibition; educational initiative; project on a limited budget; use of technology; alternative revenue generation; the classic award; the international award; restoration/conservation; and heritage365 readers' award (online votes only).

Judges will look for evidence of outcome, creativity, relation to objective and cost effectiveness - and true excellence.

Entry criteria and further information at www.museumsandheritage.com/?location_id=19

UK Ratifies UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expression

The United Kingdom ratified the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression on 29th November.

The Convention seeks to 'strengthen the links between creation, production, distribution/dissemination, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions, as conveyed by cultural activities, goods and services. In particular, the Convention aims to reaffirm the sovereign right of States to draw up cultural policies; recognize the specific nature of cultural goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning; and strengthen international cooperation and solidarity so as to favour the cultural expressions of all countries'.

Along with the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO state that this Convention is 'one of the three pillars of the preservation and promotion of creative diversity'.

For more information about the Convention, visit http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11281&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Stonehenge saga

The Government has decided not to go ahead with tunnelling the A303, where it passes the Stonehenge World Heritage site, on the grounds of cost. The estimated budget for the proposed 2.1km (short) tunnel option had risen from £223m at the time of the Public Inquiry in 2004 to the latest reported cost estimate of £540m: this reflects a number of factors including ground conditions, more stringent requirements for tunnelling work and rapid inflation in construction costs.

According to the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/7103371.stm 'the A303 Stonehenge Improvement from the time the scheme entered the roads programme in the late 1990s has so far cost £19m. The cost of the public inquiry in 2004 was £3m'.

In addition, the deteriorating relationship between English Heritage, owners of the stones and the National Trust, owner of the surrounding landscape, has been one of the byproducts of the process.

English Heritage: 'However it is encouraging than the Government recognizes that improving the setting of the Stones and the visitor facilities is a priority. English Heritage will work closely with other stakeholders to look into alternative ways to achieve this.’ http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.12710

National Trust: ‘taking into account the heritage and environmental needs of the one of the world’s most important landscapes. The Trust has consistently argued that without the funding for an appropriate long term solution, the priority should be of working together to deliver short term improvements within the Stonehenge landscape. We look forward to working with Government, Wiltshire County Council , English Heritage and others to achieve this’.

ICOMOS UK welcomed the Government's commitment to improving the setting of Stonehenge and ‘the recognition of the significance of environmental constraints across the whole of this iconic World Heritage Site'. Along with other bodies it is pressing for more immediate smaller scale improvements to the landscape, see http://icomos-uk.org/news/

UK National Commission for UNESCO is ‘most disappointed’, pointing to twenty years of indecision, half a dozen options and the full democratic process of a Public inquiry that led to the Inspector’s recommendation of the Published Scheme.

Heritage White Paper: analysis of responses published

The consultation on the White Paper Heritage Protection for the 21st Century received 341 responses from a range of respondants.

An analysis published by DCMS states that 133 local authorities responded, more than 100 voluntary and charitable organisations (87), local and national, religious, professional and educational and training bodies. To see if your views were taken into account, see: http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Publications/archive_2007/hp21century_consresponsesnov07.htm

Cultural heritage: safeguard and management

National Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), Cuba VII International Congress on Cultural Heritage: Safeguard and management

Cuba 17 - 21 March, 2008

Deadline for abstracts: 30 January 2008

Memory & heritage in the era of globalisation

Association internationale des sociologue de langue française (AISLF)

Call for papers: Mémoire et patrimoine à l'ère de la globalisation

7 - 11 July 2008, Istanbul, Turkey

Deadline for abstracts: 30 January 2008

Stone consolidation conference

Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Portugal and Getty Conservation Institute: 6 - 7 May 2008

Call for papers: International Symposium on Stone Consolidation in Cultural Heritage

Deadline for abstracts: 31 January 2008

Downloadable report: Smith Institute round-table discussion on heritage

The New Statesman has published the transcript of the round table discussion on Britain's heritage, convened by think tank The Smith Institute. The forum considered how cultural value should be allocated, how to engage the public, and how to increase funding from both the public and private sectors, including encouraging personal donations.

Discussants included the Culture Minister Margaret Hodge, Lord Sandy Bruce Lockhart (Chairman of English Heritage), Liz Forgan (HLF Chair), Anthea Case (Chairman of Heritage Link), Nick Way (Director General of the Historic Houses Association).

Interesting (accurate and depressing) conclusion about where heritage sits in the government’s perception: 'I think the wider appreciation of what culture can do for the various things government wants to achieve is just not there at the moment.' (Harry Reeves, summing up on behalf of the Minister).

The pdf can be downloaded from http://www.newstatesman.com/pdf/heritage2007.htm

New publication - Measuring the value of culture: methods and examples in cultural economics

Snowball, Jeanette D (2007) Measuring the value of culture: methods and examples in cultural economics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN: 9783540743552

Might be interesting to a number of the list memebers! Provides advice on how to place valuations upon a cultural event or facility, reiewing current theory of cultural valuation. Discusses ideas of cultural capital and debates methods, such as economic impact and contingent variation. Offers advice on questionnaire design and the analysis and interpretation of results.

Interpret Britain and Ireland Awards

The Interpret Britain and Ireland Awards, run by the Association for Heritage Interpretation (AHI), went to three sites this year:

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, County Clare
Foynes Flying Boat Museum, County Limerick
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow

Commendations were given to five sites in England: Bath Postal Museum; English Heritage’s Battle Abbey and Battlefield; the Peak District National Park’s Paws on the Moors initiative; Chertsey Museum’s Runnymede Room, and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council’s Staircase House.

The 2008 nominations will open in April. For details see:

http://www.heritageinterpretation.org.uk/index.html

American Express and World Monuments Fund support sustainable tourism

American Express and the World Monuments Fund have announced a new initiative to reward and encourage "responsible stewardship of historic sites by supporting projects that address the issue of sustainable tourism." This initiative is focused on sustaining historic sites in the face of increased visitor activities and environmental impacts.

Four sites - St Paul’s Cathedral, London, the Historic Centre of Mexico City, Delhi Heritage City, and Historic Route 66, USA - are to receive $4 million over four years to support a variety of projects that integrate historic preservation, sustainable tourism management and visitor education. St Paul’s Cathedral's $500,000 grant will be distributed over two years to help towards relieving crowding and lessening the impact of tourism on the church’s nave which suffers from heavy foot traffic, abrasion and fluctuations in humidity. The funds will contribute to the long-term plan to open up an additional major area inside the Cathedral and make accessible some hitherto rarely seen aspects of the building.

For further details see http://www.wmf.org.uk/press/

VisitScotland Podcast for Glasgow

Interesting venture from VisitScotland who have developed a new audio and video podcast themed on the Merchant City. The free-to-download Merchant City podcasts are available in a 38 chapter audio version and a three-chapter video version, with c 80 minutes of information on Glasgow’s historic quarter.

See http://www.visitscotlandeupdate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=1889&fromnewsletter=true

The podcast will be promoted at web sites including YouTube and on the cities and culture pages of visitscotland.com, which will link to the download from Apple’s iTunes.

The podcasts are backed up by interactive maps available online so that visitors can take a virtual tour of the area accessing pop-up information panels on places of interest and the area’s attractions.

Maps via the link abve or at http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=BF808D2779EB3323!103&encType=1

Planning Reform Bill: summary of responses

The Government has made few significant changes to the Planning Reform Bill published on 27th November: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/planning.html

The Bill introduces a new system for nationally significant infrastructure planning, alongside further reforms to the town and country planning system.

See CPRE's statement at http://www.cpre.org.uk/news/view/459
and Friends of the Earth at http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/local/planning/

The summary of responses can be found at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/governmentresponse

UC Berkeley and the Autonomous NAGPRA (Native American Graves and Repatriation Act) Unit

NCAI, the Nation’s Largest Indian Organization, has condemned UC Berkeley's position on disbanding its Autonomous NAGPRA (Native American Graves and Repatriation Act) Unit. It has also supported the Tribal Coalition’s position. For details see:

http://nagpra-ucb.blogspot.com/

And also:

http://nagpra-ucb-faq.blogspot.com/

2008 Preserving the Historic Road

Interesting conference "bringing together transportation professionals and historic preservationists to discuss the plight of the nation's historic roads. Since that first gathering in Los Angeles, a biennial conference has grown showcasing issues of identification, preservation and management for historic roads in the United States and internationally"

Albuquerque, New Mexico; September 11-14, 2008.

Call for abstracts: Deadline January 31, 2008.

http://www.historicroads.org/

Museums and the Web 2008

April 9-12, 2008; Montreal, Canada.

Deadline for demonstration proposals: December 31, 2007.

http://www.archimuse.com/mw2008/

4th Annual ENAME International Colloquium

Between Objects and Ideas: Re-thinking the Role of Intangible Heritage in Museums, Monuments, Landscapes and Living Communities

4th Annual ENAME International Colloquium;
Ghent, Belgium; March 26-29, 2008.

Call for abstracts: Deadline January 7, 2008.
Email to Claudia Liuzza colloquium@enamecenter.org

Nominations for America’s Most Endangered Historic Place

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting nominations for its next America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list. The 2008 list will be announced in May. The Trust uses the list as a tool in the fight to save America's irreplaceable architectural, cultural, and natural heritage. Deadline for nominations: January 4, 2008.

http://www.nationaltrust.org/11most/nominate.html

CULTURAL TRENDS conference: Challenging myths, researching reality. The role of evidence in the cultural sector

Conference at City University, London on 22 February 2008.

Cultural Trends, the journal that champions the need for better evidence-based analyses of the cultural sector, is holding its first one-day conference.

Challenging myths, researching reality focuses on the role that evidence plays in the cultural sector.

The conference will comprise three sessions: one of which focuses on the difference between Theory & Practice; another which considers policy and evidence at Regional & National levels; and, a third, which will be dedicated to Taking Part, the continuous national survey survey of participation in leisure, culture and sport commissioned by DCMS and its partner public bodies in England.

Confirmed speakers include: Andrew Pinnock, University of Southampton; Javier Stanziola , MLA ; Kate Clare and Gareth Maeer, HLF; Sarah Bloomfield and Mark Pragnell, Centre for Economics and Business Research, and Geoff Dawe, English Heritage; Jane Lutz, University of Birmingham; Rebbecca Aust and Michelle Jobson, DCMS.

Attendance is free. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. However, places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Please respond to Shelley Allen:

shelley.allen@tandf.co.uk

More details about Cultural Trends can be found on the website:

www.informaworld.com/culturaltrends

THE SECOND ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM FOR RESEARCH STUDENTS IN CULTURAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

12 Feburary 2008
City University
www.city.ac.uk/maps/northamptonsquare/

"The Department of Cultural Policy and Management, City University and the Department of Drama, MA Arts Management and Cultural Policy, Goldsmiths College, University of London, are hosting the second annual research student symposium, REVEALING ALL. This will take place in London, on 12 February 2008.

The annual symposia is for research students from all UK universities with a tradition of research in the fields of cultural policy and management.

The intention is to provide participating students with the opportunity to network, collaborate and receive formal feedback from their peers. We expect the symposium to focus on issues close to the hearts of those who make cultural policy and promote its implementation in this country. Papers will include analysis, primary research, comparative case studies, models of policy-making, impact studies etc. Last year the event attracted a number of individuals from government and independent agencies concerned with arts policy who provided feedback on the papers presented.

The sessions at REVEALING ALL will cover four themes: cultural value; post-colonial Africa; the creative industries and artists' development and will include papers by students and key note presentations by John Holden, Kate Oakley and Gerri Morris. Sessions will be chaired by members of staff from City and Goldsmiths. Feedback will be given by presenters' peers and members of staff present.

We propose publishing the papers presented at the symposia, in City University's re-launched, peer-reviewed ejournal, Cultural Policy, Criticism and Management. Some of last years' contributions can be found at

http://www.city.ac.uk/cpm/ejournal/ejournal_june2007.html
and 
http://www.city.ac.uk/cpm/ejournal/ejournal_august2007.html

Sign up for REVEALING ALL 2 "

Government announcement on the Stonehenge Improvement Scheme

Government announcement on the Stonehenge Improvement Scheme

The Government announced that plans for 2.1km tunnel through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site have been withdrawn. The details announced by Tom Harris, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, are at http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/a303