ICOMOS has over 11,300 members in 150 countries and territories, forming an important network for interdisciplinary exchange. Their profiles reflect the diversity of cultural heritage: architects, historians, art historians, archaeologists, geographers, anthropologists, engineers, town planners…
ICOMOS National Committees are national organizations present in 115 UNESCO member countries and territories. They represent the interests of ICOMOS at national level, and the views of their members within the international network. National Committees also engage their members in national and regional initiatives, such as missions, events and research.
ICOMOS International Scientific Committees are technical bodies specializing in various aspects of cultural heritage. Composed of experts appointed by their National Committees, they conduct research, elaborate theories, develop conservation techniques, produce guidelines and charters, and promote training to better preserve the cultural heritage of their specialization. They promote the international exchange of scientific information and carry out joint projects.
The mission of the ICOMOS international working groups is to propose solutions on how the organisation should approach specific issues and projects, touching on topical themes and encompassing the activities of both the National Committees and the International Scientific Committees. Made up of heritage professionals who are members of ICOMOS, the aim of these groups may be to draft a charter or to set up concrete activities, such as working sessions or workshops.
ICOMOS governance is structured around several bodies:
The main mission of ICOMOS headquarters is to provide the ICOMOS network with the support it needs for its development, to promote the dissemination of knowledge in the field of heritage conservation and to provide States Parties with the advisory and evaluation services required for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Headed by the Director-General, it comprises a unit responsible for the life of the organization (membership and network management, support services, communications, partnerships, projects, finance, documentation services), and two World Heritage units (evaluation, and monitoring and advisory services).
ICOMOS headquarters are located in France, in Charenton-le-Pont, in the Greater Paris area. If you would like to visit the headquarters, please contact the secretariat in advance via our contact form.
To keep up to date with the various events organized by ICOMOS or in which ICOMOS participates :
The ICOMOS Documentation Centre is open by appointment only from Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm (local time).
Please call us +33 (0)1 41 94 17 59 or use our contact form to make an appointment.
To help you prepare for your visit, you can consult the catalog of our physical resources on our PUBLICOMOS documentation platform.
Before submitting a document to the ICOMOS document database, it is essential to check that it is eligible by consulting the acceptance criteria detailed in the Deposit User Guide. Once this step has been validated, you will need to create an account on the PUBLICOMOS platform, and then follow the instructions provided in the Document submission guidelines. To find out more, visit the dedicated page on our PUBLICOMOS document platform.
We do not promote individual activities which are not related to an ICOMOS National Committee, International Scientific Committee or Working Group. If you would like to promote a publication related to one of our Committees, please contact documentation[at]icomos.org.
The Documentation Center does not lend out books. However, it does offer services such as copying or digitizing articles, within the limits imposed by copyright law.
ICOMOS assisted UNESCO in drawing up the text of the World Heritage Convention and is designated as an Advisory Body to the World Heritage Committee. Its role is to provide UNESCO with scientific and professional expertise in the field of cultural heritage.
World Heritage nomination dossiers can only be consulted after a property has been officially inscribed. These files are available at the ICOMOS Documentation Centre or online at the World Heritage Centre website.
No. Nomination files referred, deferred or not inscribed by the Committee are kept in the ICOMOS archives, but are not accessible to the public.
Nomination dossiers for properties shall include the following:
Yes, each year the ICOMOS recommendations for new nominations are made public six weeks before the annual session of the World Heritage Committee.
You can find the ICOMOS recommendations by clicking here, then going to the ‘Documents’ section. Use the search function on your keyboard (ctrl + f) and type ‘’Evaluation‘’ or ‘’Evaluations‘’ to find the ICOMOS recommendations.
Yes, they are publicly available on the UNESCO website.
Due to the confidentiality of the World Heritage nomination and inscription process, we are unable to respond to requests for further information. All public documents relating to World Heritage can be found on the UNESCO website.
If you are part of an organisation, institution or company active in the field of cultural heritage, you can submit your project for partnership by contacting the secretariat via the contact form. Please note, however, that we are not in a position to grant funding.
Most of our projects are carried out in collaboration with our National and International Scientific Committees. Experts are typically selected in consultation with the relevant Committees from among ICOMOS members, based on the technical, professional, and geographical requirements of the project.
Please note that we do not accept unsolicited applications for project work.
For a list of current ICOMOS partners, visit this page.
For news about ICOMOS projects, visit this page.
To carry out international projects, ICOMOS receives grants from other non-governmental organisations, international or regional organisations, governments or administrative authorities, municipalities, academic and research institutions and private companies. For a full list of contributors by year, please refer to the second to last page of the ICOMOS annual reports.
First of all, please consult the list of National Committees to make sure that a National Committee exists in your country of residence.
If there is a National Committee in your country and you would like to join it, please contact the Committee members.
If your country does not have an affiliated National Committee, you can undertake to create one, or register as an international member by contacting the ICOMOS secretariat directly. Your application will then be submitted to the Board of ICOMOS for approval.
To join an ISC, you must first have been admitted as a member of a National Committee or an international member, then send your CV directly to the ISC secretariat by email, copying the address secretariat[at]icomos.org as well as the address of the secretariat of your National Committee of affiliation. Please note that there are several types of membership: ICOMOS members with proven expertise in the field of the relevant ISC can become expert members, while those wishing to develop their skills can become associate members. In some cases, non-ICOMOS members can participate in ISC activities if they make a significant contribution, or if they belong to institutions whose missions are related to those of the iSC.
To join an ICOMOS working group, you must first have been admitted as a member of a National Committee or an international member, and then contact the working group’s focal point by sending your CV by e-mail, copying the address secretariat[at]icomos.org as well as the address of the secretariat of your National Committee of affiliation.
Note that only UNESCO Member States are eligible to create a National Committee, which must have at least five individual members. The creation of a new Committee is subject to the approval of the Board of ICOMOS at its meetings, which are held once a year.
If your country does not yet have a National Committee and you would like to create one, please contact the secretariat via our contact form.
ICOMOS membership gives members the right to:
If you are an individual member, your annual dues can vary between €27 and €53, depending on the National Committee to which you belong and your age. The annual fee for institutional members is €350.
If you wish to cancel your membership, simply do not renew it when the year comes to an end. Annual membership renewal is not automatic and is only possible on request.
If you have any problems receiving your ICOMOS card, please contact the secretariat via our contact form or at the following address: secretariat[at]icomos.org.
If you have a problem accessing the members’ area or have lost your password, please contact the secretariat via our contact form or at the following address: secretariat[at]icomos.org.
If your membership application is refused or remains unanswered, you can appeal directly to the Board of ICOMOS. To do this, you can contact the secretariat via our contact form or at the following address: secretariat[at]icomos.org. The appeals procedure is detailed in articles 18 and 86 of the Rules of Procedure.
The ADCOM (Advisory Committee) is the Advisory Commitee of ICOMOS, made up of the Presidents of the National Committees and the International Scientific Committees of ICOMOS.
Any ICOMOS member can apply to be a member of the International Scientific Committee in his or her field of expertise.
If you are already a member of a National Committee or International Scientific Committee, you must already be actively involved in their activities in order to participate in ICOMOS scientific activities.
To make a donation to ICOMOS, visit our dedicated page.
ICOMOS has created the Heritage Alert procedure to mobilize its networks and draw attention to threats to certain sites, while proposing conservation solutions. To report an endangered site, please contact the National Committee of the country in which the site is located.
To find out about vacancies at ICOMOS headquarters, visit our dedicated page.
ICOMOS does not currently have a scholarship programme.
Depending on your area of research, you can contact the relevant Committees directly using our contact list to obtain information on a specific subject. Please note that, in the context of World Heritage applications, certain information is confidential and cannot be divulged.