Sustainability is at the heart of many sectors, and for the heritage field this is not different. On May 4th ICCROM and the Centre for Global Heritage and Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a period of four years to cooperate in the matter of sustainability through and for heritage.
ICCROM is the world's leading intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of all categories of heritage worldwide. Beginning this year ICCROM initiated the ‘Our Collections Matter project’. With this project ICCROM wants to demonstrate and underline how cultural heritage and its conservation has a crucial role to play in sustainable development. Besides collections being an effective way of safeguarding and transmitting cultural and natural heritage directly, they provide the basis for enabling a wide range of activities and projects. From learning, education, participation and research, to creative industries, sustainable tourism and peacebuilding: heritage collections can advance sustainability in its different pillars.
With the MoU recently signed, ICCROM and the Centre for Global Heritage and Development will further explore the possibility for cooperation to research, develop, and disseminate effective methods and tools to promote sustainable development through meaningful use of heritage and its conservation. We will do so by offering capacity building programs and training, by performing research and through public outreach activities. The Museums and SDG’s summer school organized this August will be the first concrete activity within this framework.