Governance

General Assemblies

What is the role of ICOMOS’ General Assemblies?

The General Assembly has supreme authority over ICOMOS and its activities. All members have the right to attend ICOMOS’ General Assemblies. They may also be designated as a voting member (for the election of the Board of ICOMOS, and ICOMOS’ resolutions) for a General Assembly. (For further information, please refer to the conditions set out in Articles 9-a and 13-d-4 of the ICOMOS Statutes.)

There are two kinds of General Assembly at ICOMOS: an annual assembly, and a triennial assembly (i.e., every three years).

 

The Annual General Assembly

The agenda of the ICOMOS Annual General Assembly focuses on the following: the approval of statutory reports and accounts, which cover the organisation’s well-being and financial situation, and voting on the budget for the coming year.

 

The Triennial General Assembly

Every three years, a triennial ICOMOS General Assembly is held, where in addition to the annual assembly agenda, all other matters are also discussed, and voted on. These include: the election of the Board and officers; the adoption of doctrinal texts; the ICOMOS General Programme and budgetary guidelines; the proposal of resolutions for adoption by ICOMOS; and the conferral of Honorary Memberships.

The Board of ICOMOS

What is the Board of ICOMOS?

The Board is ICOMOS’ governing body. It is made up of members who are elected every three years by ICOMOS’ General Assembly. The Board of ICOMOS includes the members of the Bureau, comprised of the President of ICOMOS, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, and the five Vice Presidents, representing the different regional groups: Africa, America, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe. Additionally, there are twelve Members of the Board, plus the President of the Advisory Committee, who is ex-officio.

 

What does the Board of ICOMOS do?

The Board represents the interests of ICOMOS’ world membership and determines the organisation’s future actions and their expected results, in accordance with General Assembly decisions and long-term strategy.

The Board prepares ICOMOS’ programme and budget, monitoring the resulting operations, ensuring that they are smooth, collaborative and work towards ICOMOS’ aims in accordance with its standards. In between the Board of ICOMOS’ sessions, the Bureau is responsible for overseeing the programme’s implementation. The Board is also responsible for establishing and overseeing ICOMOS’ National and International Committees and Working Groups, and for ensuring that they operate effectively and are aligned with ICOMOS’ aims.

 

ICOMOS Board 2023-2026

President: Teresa Patrício (Belgium)

Secretary General: Jurn Buisman (Netherlands)

Treasurer: Cyrill von Planta (Austria)

Vice Presidents:
European Regional Group: Riin Alatalu (Estonia)
American Regional Group: Leonardo Castriota (Brazil)
African Regional Group: Chilangwa Chaiwa (Zambia)
Arab States Regional Group: HRH Dana Firas (Jordan)
Asia Pacific Regional Group: Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy (Australia)

Members of the Board:
Olufemi Adetunji (Nigeria)
Adriana Careaga (Uruguay)
Doo-Won Cho (Republic of Korea)
Andreas Georgopoulos (Greece)
Zeynep Gül Ünal (Türkiye)
Marianne Knutsen (Norway)
Celia Martínez Yáñez (Spain)
Takeyuki Okubo (Japan)
Mariana Pereira (Portugal)
Nupur Prothi (India)
Monica Rhodes (United States of America)
Gráinne Shaffrey (Ireland)

President of the Advisory Committee: Kerime Danis (Australia)

Ex-officio Board Advisors (non-voting):
Vice President of the Advisory Committee: Nancy Pollock Ellwand (USA)
Director General : Marie-Laure Lavenir
Honorary Presidents: Gustavo Araoz (Cuba) and Toshiyuki Kono (Japan)

Advisory Committee

What is the ICOMOS Advisory Committee?

The Advisory Committee is composed of the Presidents of the ICOMOS National Committees and International Scientific Committees. The role of the Advisory Committee is to advise and provide recommendations to the Board of ICOMOS and the ICOMOS General Assembly: as the forum for debate and scientific advancement, it ensures that the Board considers all regions and specialisms, and is kept informed of latest developments. As such, it makes both recommendations and suggestions on programme direction and priorities. This notably includes passing on propositions from the ICOMOS National Committees and International Scientific Committees. Additionally, the Presidents of the International Scientific Committees make up the Advisory Committee’s Scientific Council, which advises the Board on technical and scientific matters.

Annual Advisory Committee meetings take place on the same occasion as the annual ICOMOS General Assembly.

 

Current Composition of the Advisory Committee Officers

Six elected Advisory Committee Officers (three from the National Committees and three from the Scientific Council) drive the committee’s initiatives forward. Together, they coordinate activities, ensuring seamless collaboration to support the Board in implementing ICOMOS programmes and policies effectively.

President: Kerime Danis, (Australia).
Vice President: Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, (United States of America).
National Committee Officers: Renate Bornberg (Austria); Jordi Tresserras (Spain)
Scientific Council Officers: Verónica Casanovas González (Türkiye); Lassana Cissé (Mali).