About our Point of the Matter Dialogues
IIC dialogues explore emerging issues in the modern world and the relationship of those issues to the preservation of cultural heritage. Each event benefits from a variety of expertise, in a broad spectrum of disciplines, contributing unique perspectives on a specific topic.
IIC Climate Dialogues:
Climate Action and Covid: What is the Heritage Impact?
The speed with which governments have responded to the COVID pandemic shows how an existential threat to humanity such as climate change could be dealt with. But in the short term what are the effects of the pandemic on heritage? The significant reduction in air pollution is helping preserve historic building fabric, the massive downturn in tourism is allowing a re-assessment of sustainable visitor numbers for heritage sites, the need for couriers to travel in person rather than virtually for block-buster exhibitions is being questioned.
Meanwhile, the supercharged use of digital platforms is providing massive opportunities for access to a wider audience on line. But what happens next as world economies seek to recover, and what can be the role of the arts, culture and heritage in driving climate action? This Dialogue, organised in collaboration with Historic Environment Scotland, as part of IIC's 2020 Edinburgh Congress explored these crucial questions.
The panel was chaired by Dr Ewan Hyslop, Historic Environment Scotland. The speakers were:
Keith Jones - National Specialist for Climate Change, National Trust and Founder, Fit for the Future Network
Lisa Westcott Wilkins, DigVentures
Amanada Pagliarino, Head of Conservation and Registration, Queensland Art Gallery
Heritage at Risk - A Dialogue on the Effects of Climate Change
The IIC Point of the Matter Dialogue was hosted as part of Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change symposium at the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C, which took place on Friday 6th March 2020.
"Watch Parties" were hosted for the recorded livestreams throughout 2020 on Facebook and can be viewed online.
The programme was organised by the IIC in partnership with the Americal Institute for Conservation in collaboration with ICOMOS, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian National Collection Program, and Earth Optimism.
Climate Change and Covid-19 - What is the impact on heritage?
The second Climate Dialogue, took place as part of our IIC Edinburgh Congress 2020, and was chaired by Dr Ewan Hyslop (Historic Environment England and Co-Chair Climate Heritage Network). The recording will be made available in March 2021.
Watch the Dialogue at the IIC Turin Congress
Our previous Dialogue, "Culture Cannot Wait: Integrating Cultural Heritage First Aid with Humanitarian Assistance in Crises” was delivered at our Turin Congress in September 2018.
Find out more about the speakers and programme and watch the whole film here.
Past IIC Dialogues
The Future of Heritage Science (20th January 2015)
Protecting, Preparing and Responding: the International Committee of the Blue Shield
Under Lock and Key? Collection readiness and response in times of conflict
The Plus/Minus Dilemma: The Way Forward in Environmental Guidelines
Before the Unthinkable Happens Again
Climate Change and Museum Collections
Do you have ideas for new events in this series?
We are always looking for new themes, ideas and speakers. If you would like to see an idea or topic explored please let us know at iic@iiconservation.org.
