III ICOMOS Scientific Committee Theory and Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration Conference: The image of heritage, changing perception - permanent resposibilities March 4, 2009

Since the beginning of civilization, man’s main form of contact with works of architecture has consisted in physically visiting them (pilgrimages, journeys and recently tourism). Getting to know them indirectly from descriptions or visually was possible only through the media, changing and becoming more powerful with altering technology (printing techniques, graphic techniques, photography, film, television, recently computer technology). The current rapid development of tourism and the media and their increasing accessibility have in recent years radically changed our manner of perception of the cultural heritage. These changes require a scientific description and analysis, leading to a diagnosis of the current situation and a prognosis of future developments.
What role should tourism have, and how can it be made into sustainable cultural tourism? What role and responsibility should the media take on? What benefits and threats do the development of tourism and the media bring with them? What kind of approach should the international movement for the conservation of the cultural and natural heritage adopt towards these phenomena? These are fundamental questions concerning the future of our discipline. We wish to set them out clearly during our conference and together seek an answer to them.
This is why we wish to devote a considerable part of the programme to discussion among the Expert Members, and reducing the number of papers delivered. We also envisage inviting papers from outside our own circle, from representatives of international tourism, the world of the media and of the preservation.
We do not want to discuss these questions in a closed meeting. For this reason we will be informing all members of ICOMOS, member states of ICCROM and of the network of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation of our conference through the Internet, and assure anyone interested the possibility of attending the conference.

Official Website: http://www.fondazione-delbianco.org/seminari/progetti_prof/progview_PL.asp?start=1&idprog=104