The International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day, is an annual event held on April 18 to celebrate and bring attention to cultural landscapes and structures that play a key role in the life of individuals, communities and nations.
A fresh theme is chosen for each year and 2024 is all about “Disasters and Conflicts through the Lens of the Venice Charter.” Here’s all you need to know about the origins of the date and what this year’s theme means.
In 1982, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) established April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, followed by its adoption by UNESCO during its 22nd General Conference. The aim is to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity, their vulnerability, and the efforts required for their protection and conservation. ICOMOS has an expansive definition of what constitutes a monument. There are monuments built especially to celebrate or reminisce about an episode, moment or character of a country’s history. This involves the creation of architects, sculptors, artists and so on. Others are remnants of the past which have survived to the present day and are held in reverence by society as collective symbols.
Around the world different types of activities are held to commemorate the day, including visits to monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables and newspaper articles.
The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites were a set of guidelines established in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice for the conservation and restoration of historic sites, as well how to conduct excavations respectfully. Some of its most notable articles are:
Article 5 - The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the lay-out or decoration of the building. It is within these limits only that modifications demanded by a change of function should be envisaged and may be permitted.
Article 10 - Where traditional techniques prove inadequate, the consolidation of a monument can be achieved by the use of any modern technique for conservation and construction, the efficacy of which has been shown by scientific data and proved by experience.
Article 12 - Replacements of missing parts must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but at the same time must be distinguishable from the original so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence.
The Venice Charter’s opposition to reconstruction has been contested in the present day by historians, conservators and archaeologists. Reconstruction is now cautiously accepted by UNESCO in exceptional circumstances if it seeks to reflect a pattern of use or cultural practice that sustains cultural value, and is founded on empirical data.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Venice Charter and the 2024 theme asks us to consider our shared inheritance and the pragmatic needs of heritage conservation today.
There are 42 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. Out of these, 34 are cultural, seven are natural, while Khangchendzonga National Park is of a mixed type. The Western Ghats, the Sunderbans National Park, the Khajuraho Group of Monuments, Manas National Park, the Taj Mahal, the Ajanta Caves, the Ellora Caves and the rock shelters of Bhimbekta are just some of the country’s culturally and naturally important heritage sites.
If you want to get involved in celebrations for World Heritage Day, check out the social media and website of ICOMOS India.
