Amended Statutes The ICOMOS Statutes were adopted in 1965 and amended only once in 1978. However, ICOMOS has significantly evolved since 1978 and the world in which it is operating has also changed. By its resolution 17GA17 2011/10, the 17th General Assembly established “a working group with a view to submit to the 18th General Assembly in 2014 amendments to the ICOMOS Statutes as well as Rules of Procedure for approval”. The working group together with members designated by the Executive Committee formed the ‘Merged Working Group’, co-chaired by the former Secretary Generals Bénédicte Selfslagh and Dinu Bumbaru, which prepared the amendments. The amendments were prepared through an extensive, transparent and documented 3 year consultation process, where suggestions from the membership, Advisory and Executive Committees were taken into account and legal experts consulted. The 18th General Assembly meeting in Florence in November 2014, adopted the joint proposal submitted by the Merged Working Group and the Executive Committee by a two-thirds statutory majority with some minor modifications taking into account recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on the final draft. The new Statutes entered into force on 1 January 2015. Subsequently, according to a timetable established by the 18th General Assembly, a set of consolidated Rules of Procedure will be elaborated for adoption by the General Assembly in 2017.
The main changes are:
❱ the recognition of the intangible dimension of cultural heritage, ❱ the requirement to adhere to the ICOMOS Ethical Principles as integral part of ICOMOS membership, ❱ the adoption of a policy on cultural diversity and multilingualism to increase the use of more languages, ❱ the inclusion of young members as a formal membership category , ❱ the extension of voting rights to individual members even when no National Committee exists, ❱ and increased transparency in terms of finances and reporting. Other changes include: the possibility to create Transnational Committees, the inclusion of affiliates as a category of membership, the recognition of the Scientific Council, the clarification of the duties of the statutory bodies and elected officer positions to avoid overlapping, the allocation of votes taking into account to a certain extent the membership numbers, and the organisation of an annual Assembly in conjunction with the annual Advisory Committee meeting to adopt the accounts and the budget. The new ICOMOS Statutes and full documentation on the amendment process are available on the ICOMOS website (in part in the member-only section) http://www.icomos.org/en/about-icomos/mission-and-vision/ statutes-and-policies
The new Statutes reflect current practices and standards, but they do not alter the existing structures of the association; they clarify governance and offer new ways to improve financial standing.
Plenary meeting debates at the 18th General Assembly
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ICOMOS Annual Report 2014