International Day for Monuments and Sites Celebration on 18 April | Western Cape Government

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International Day for Monuments and Sites Celebration on 18 April

17 April 2015

On 18 April 2015 the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will celebrate its 50th anniversary on the International Day of Monuments and Sites.

The aim of this annual celebration is to encourage local communities and individuals throughout the world to consider the importance of cultural heritage to their lives, identities and communities as well as promote awareness of diversity and vulnerability and the efforts required to protect and conserve it.

This year ICOMOS will honour its founders and highlight its achievements of the past 50 years, but above all, reflect on its future objectives through a series of international events and on the basis of a modernised set of statutes and ethical principles.

“The international day of Monument and Sites comes at such an fitting time in South Africa as we have just recently opened the dialogue around monuments and heritage sites,” said Charlene Houston from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) Museum Services. “This is an important conversation to have because it takes us one step further on the journey of transformation.”

For more information, please visit the ICOMOS website www.icomos.org.

Media Enquiries: 

Tania Colyn
Head of Communication Service
Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport
Tel: 021 483 9877
E-mail: tania.colyn@westerncape.gov.za