ICOMOS Sri Lanka is the ‘National Committee’ of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). ICOMOS was created in 1965 and 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’.
‘ICOMOS is a network of experts that benefits from the interdisciplinary exchange of its members, among which are architects, historians, archaeologists, art historians, geographers, anthropologists, engineers and town planners’.
‘The members of ICOMOS contribute to improving the preservation of heritage, the standards and the techniques for each type of cultural heritage property: buildings, historic cities, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites’.
As of December 2022, there were 10,891 Individual Members in 132 countries; 248 Institutional Members; 113 National Committees and 30 International Scientific Committees. Its headquarters is based in Paris, France.
The National Committees with its local membership constitute the core of the ICOMOS. ‘The National Committees represent ICOMOS’ interests at the national level, and their member’s views within the international network. They engage their members in national and regional initiatives. National Committees can undertake specific activities on their own initiatives or at the request of their governments. National Committees are a channel through which individual specialists in each country take part in ICOMOS’ international activities including, for example, specific missions entrusted to ICOMOS by UNESCO.
ICOMOS Sri Lanka was created in 1981 is a membership organisation and has been at the forefront in supporting and contributing to the conservation and management of country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage resulting from long years of history with multi-ethnic and multi-religious background. ICOMOS Sri Lanka is committed to play a lead role in influencing national policies in a holistic manner by promoting people-centred approaches and nature-culture interlinkages with a view to improve the more effective conservation and management of rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Island nation for its present and future generations.
