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.