We were delighted to receive so many entries for our Keck Awards this year, which highlight projects demonstrating excellent public outreach around conservation. They represent a very wide range of approaches from every part of the world, and demonstrate how creative public engagement has grown in the past two years, despite - and sometimes because - of the obstacles of the pandemic.

Details about these are published in the News in Conservation's August/September issue. 

Voting has now closed. 

We can honestly say that we've been overwhelmed by the level of support and enthusiasm that the Keck Award has attracted this year. The shortlisted projects have shown great determination to get across the multiple strengths of their own projects, but we have also seen them extend an arm of friendliness and solidarity to IIC as well as to each other. 

Keck Award Prize Giving

Given the tone of condelence internationally, we feel it would be appropriate to move the Keck Award and poster prize giving to midday (BST/UK time) 27 September when IIC Council will next meet. This will enable us to host a special celebration event online where we can come together again to announce and fully promote the winners, and take a further opportunity to recognise the achievements of so many wonderful people and projects within our profession from around the world.

The shortlist

• Bali Art and Heritage Conservation Internship Program #BAHCIP (Indonesia)
• Conserving the Collection (India)
• Creating a Regional Heritage Centre in Guatemala – CERPA (Guatemala)
• Game Jam for Conservation: learning to conserve cultural heritage through play (Mexico)
• In the Time of Pandemic: community participation in the daily Inspection of Heritage (China)
• Open Clock Club (UK)
• PictóricaTaller (Mexico)
• Restoring the unattended monuments: saving the chivas and chaityas of Nepal (Nepal)
• Unveiling the mural painting art of Almada Negreiros (1938 – 1956) (Portugal)
• Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society: Community Engagement Programmes (Tanzania)

Image credits, clockwise from top left: Image courtesy of CERPA; Map showing the distribution of heritage in the Changing District, Beijing (Image courtesy of Yibo Wang); Game Jam: mini game jam 2021. Paleontological Heritage PS (image courtesy of Maria del Carmen Castro Barrera); Puja ceremony to mark completion of restoration of this shiva at Bhindyo Two (P1253). Image courtesy of Amar Sundar Tuladhar/Chiva Chaitya Organisation).; BAHCIP participants striking a pose at Puri Lukisan: ‘Museum di Hatiku’ (museum in my heart) is a government motto encouraging people to visit cultural institutions. (Image courtesy of Saiful Bakhri.); Conservators working on the CSMVS Museum, Mumbai collection as part of ConservArte. (Image courtesy of Anupam Sah); Open Clock Club Zoom meeting screenshot (video posted on YouTube). (Image courtesy of Matthew Read.); “Pentecost painting by Julio Resende: Scientific Study of a mural” Programme of Science and Art, an initiative of the University of Evora and the Ever Municipality. Part of the Almeida Negreiros project (credits: Marco Cardoso 2021).