Amid COVID-19 pandemic fear and worldwide lockdown, World Heritage Day 2020 was celebrated on April 18.
Theme
This year the day was celebrated with the theme of ‘Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility’. The theme reflects the global context of heritage as part of cultural identity at a time of rapid population shift, conflict, and environmental uncertainty.
About World Heritage Day
Every year, April 18 is observed as to promote cultural heritage via activities which are undertaken by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
It was in 1982 that the ICOMOS suggested that April 18 should be celebrated as the International Day for Monuments and Sites. Subsequently, the proposal was approved the next year by UNESCO during the 22nd General Conference.
About ICOMOS
The Second Congress of Architects and Specialists of Historic Buildings, in Venice in 1964, adopted 13 resolutions, the first one being the International Restoration Charter, better known as the Venice Charter, and the second one, put forward by UNESCO, provided for the creation of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
According to the ICOMOS website, it works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places. “It is the only global non-government organisation of this kind, which is dedicated to promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to the conservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage”, says the official website.
The International Secretariat is located at the headquarters of ICOMOS in Greater Paris.
