Founded on 18 April 1997
Our mission
We research and promote the understanding, identification, international cooperation, and comparative study of legal, administrative and financial issues in connection with the protection, maintenance, conservation and management of cultural heritage.
Our Role
- We are an international scientific committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
- International scientific committees bring together professionals from ICOMOS’ worldwide network to work together in their fields. They are at the heart of scientific development and exchange, advancing knowledge and conservation in their different fields. These vital, dynamic groups work through international, interdisciplinary knowledge sharing in order to advance heritage protection and management.
Our Approach
- Addressing the needs of new associate members and emerging professionals in developing specialization and competence.
- Collecting and disseminating diverse professional experience and knowledge and developing guidance for ICOMOS, taking into account cultural diversity and sensitivies and in cooperation with other ICOMOS national and international scientific committees.
- Encouraging knowledge and understanding through study visits, scientific conferences and publications.
- Providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information on legal, administrative and financial issues.
- Promoting international cooperation and the proposal of solutions.
- Providing support for capacity-building around understanding, identification, international cooperation, study and development of solutions.
- Raising awareness about and promoting appreciation for the importance of legal, administrative and financial tools for ensuring the protection, maintenance, conservation and management of cultural heritage.
Our Programmes
- Assisting the World Heritage Panel established by the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention to assess legal issues relating to management and protection of potential World Heritage Sites.
- Comparative research into the impact of international and domestic laws, and administrative and financial issues, on cultural property.
- Organizing annual symposia and heritage study visits to promote collaboration and discourse among ICLAFI members.
- Participating in ICOMOS international working groups.
ICLAFI Symposium and Annual Meeting 2025
The 2025 Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held in Dublin, Ireland, from 25 to 27 September 2025. The theme for the symposium is cultural rights.
The image at the top shows monumental statues from a tomb-sanctuary dating to the first century B.C.E. built by King Antiochus I of Commagene on the top of Mount Nemrut in southeastern Turkey. Photograph by Dr. Jack Tsen-Ta Lee.