2022 Scientific Symposium: Book of Abstracts now available!
This year, the ICOMOS Advisory Committee is organising its Scientific Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand on 29 and 30 October 2022 on the theme "Religious Heritage:
Celebrating and conserving places of religious and ritual significance in a global world and in changing climates".
In the context of the ICOMOS annual meetings, the ICOMOS Advisory Committee is organising its 2022 Scientific Symposium on 29 and 30 October at the Fine Arts Department Complex (Bangkok, Thailand) on the theme “Religious Heritage: Celebrating and conserving places of religious and ritual significance in a global world and in changing climates”.
Religious heritage is a living heritage which greatly impacts the way people go about their daily life. The Covid-19 pandemic in particular has brought changes to patterns of worship and the use of religious heritage places, for instance due to limits in attendance numbers at ritual ceremonies, requirements for social distancing, development of on-line worship. Nevertheless, its religious and ritual significance has not diminished for communities.
Climate change and its effects – such as changing temperatures and seasonal climate patterns, floods, droughts, extreme precipitation events, unseasonal rain, snow and wind, melting glaciers – are having an impact on the conservation, protection and management of religious heritage – places of religion and ritual. Existing conservation and management plans, especially long term planning, needs to be revised. The recognition and response to these issues vary widely based on the traditions and customs of religious and/or ethnic groups.
The 2022 Scientific Symposium attempts to explore these impacts and challenges through the following sub-themes:
- Significance of Places of Religion and Ritual
• The significance of places of religion and ritual is recognized in different ways across the world, according to religions, regions and ethnic groups.
• Case studies or comparative studies on the perception of the significance of places of religion and ritual across religions, regions and ethnic groups are invited.
- Influence of Climate Change on the Conservation, Protection and Management of Religious Heritage
• How do communities recognize and respond to climate change across different religions and regions in the world.
• Experiences, examples or case studies on the implementation of protection, conservation and management measures for religious heritage are invited.
- Changing Use and Perception of Places of Religion and Ritual following the Covid-19 pandemic
• The response to the Covid-19 pandemic has varied across countries, religions and ethnic groups affecting patterns of worship and ritual in different ways.
• Proposals exploring such trends and their possible future development – will they continue or not after the end of the pandemic – are invited.
- Practice of Pilgrimage following the Covid-19 pandemic
• How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the practice of pilgrimage and what are the long-term impacts?
- Reuse of Religious Heritage places
• Case studies on issues related to changes of use and original function of religious heritage places; use by a different religious group; conflict potential and management, are invited.
Book of Abstracts
Download the book of abstracts (in French & English)
