ICOMOS has received the following statement from Australia ICOMOS, advising that owing to present restrictions and future uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, they are unable to host the General Assembly in Sydney in October 2020.

On 18 April, we celebrated the International Day for Monuments and Sites with the theme of "Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility". However, this 18 April was not like in previous years. With the world almost entirely under lockdown, no gatherings, guided tours or trips were allowed. But that did not stop heritage experts and enthusiasts from all over the planet to celebrate our monuments and sites through the organisation of online events: conferences, challenges, virtual meetings and many other innovative initiatives.

ICOMOS would like to thank you, the organisers, contributors and participants, for your enthusiasm and your resilience.

ICOMOS joins UNESCO in expressing concern over flash floods in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986, and included on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2015.

ICOMOS and partners in the Culture 2030 Goal campaign have released a Statement on 'Culture and the COVID-19 Pandemic', framed in our commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the need to guarantee culture is at the heart of the UN Decade of Action for the SDGs. The statement is open to endorsements by all organizations, at the link provided in the document (read the full article to download the document).

#CultureCovid19 #Culture2030Goal

Michael Petzet, late Honorary President of ICOMOS who passed away last year on 29 May, is celebrated by his friends and colleagues through a memorial book published by ICOMOS Germany on 18 April.

Every year, on the occasion of the International Day for Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS proposes a theme for the celebrations and activities to be organised by our Committees, members and partners.

Now, more than ever, the theme of Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility is important as an expression of our global unity in the face of the ongoing worldwide health crisis.