Emerging professionals

The Emerging Professionals Working Group (EPWG) was formed in 2017 as a result of a request expressed in the 2016 ICOMOS Annual Report for an increase in Emerging Professionals in the membership of the organization.

At the 19th General Assembly in New Delhi, a report of the WG had already been presented to the Advisory Board, which contained the analytical report and recommendations of the Working Group. These recommendations were agreed to be supported and the Assembly resulted in the adoption of 9 Emerging Professionals Initiative Resolutions, which represent the role that the Working Group has assumed and the range of its activities. (A link to the GA resolutions can be provided here if we have them on our website. Resolution 2017/33 – EP Initiative).

The Working Group currently functions as one of the ICOMOS working groups. The objectives of the group’s activities are stated as follows:

  • Maintaining the scientific relevance of ICOMOS to future generations
  • Providing intergenerational interaction to maintain continuity and continuity of the organization’s existence
  • Disseminating ICOMOS ethical principles to emerging professionals, including during the initial stages of their training

Meetings of the working group are held once a month in the format of teleconferences. To date, the group includes representatives of the absolute majority of IAs and ISCs. For more effective work in the international WG, working teams and regional sub-groups have been established. The EPWG representative on the Council of International ICOMOS is Clara Rellensmann (ICOMOS Germany), elected at the 2017 General Assembly in New Delhi.

The WG expresses its gratitude to Toshiyuki Kono, Sheridan Bürke and Gideon Koren for their continued support and advice on the activities of the group

The WG has been actively involved in the international activities of ICOMOS since the first months of its formation. One of the resolutions of the GA, dealt precisely with the involvement of the WG in planned international ICOMOS events and projects, such as Heritage Day, and regional events, such as the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

Monuments and Sites Day 2018 was an opportunity to recall the importance of interaction and intergenerational interaction in the fields of heritage protection and promotion. The active participation in the Heritage Day was aimed at fostering a fruitful and productive intergenerational dialog. It consisted of organizing and conducting conferences, training courses, round tables, poster campaigns, informal meetings of young and mature members, professionals and amateurs, and interactive tours of heritage sites.

 A central strategy for Heritage Day focused on maximizing the dissemination of event information through social media.

A list of Heritage Day 2018 events can be found here

Photographs illustrating a wide variety of Heritage Day 2018 events have been uploaded to the ICOMOS Photo Bank, These images will be used for future ICOMOS programs, especially focusing on the theme of “Heritage Presentation and its Transmission to Future Generations”. All submitted photos and their selections are united by the title  “2018 IDMS #heritage4generations”.

At the end of October, the first meeting of the Russian Emerging Professionals Working Group was held in Moscow. The results and plans of its work can be found at  www.facebook.com/icomosrussiaep

Interim report on the EPWG work presented at the European Meeting in Helsinki, June 7-10, 2018

Summary report of Heritage Day 2018

Material prepared by A. Gainutdinova, Council Member of the ICOMOS National Committee, Russia