ECCO European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers‘ Organisations
2010 Istanbul Congress Conservation and the Eastern Mediterranean
ECCO and the countries in the mediterranean: towards common professional principles Monica Martelli Castaldi and Stefan Belishki
Istanbul is a crossroads of continents. With its cosmopolitan culture it is a natural focus for communication between the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. With this in mind the European Confederation of Conservator–Restorers’ Organisations (ECCO) presents its activities directed towards the development of a common professional profile in Europe and the impact on the Mediterranean region. Having established in the last couple of decades a significant structure of members in the countries in Western and Central Europe, ECCO focuses now part of its activities on two other regions: former communist countries in Eastern Europe, now members of the EU, and the countries in the Mediterranean. Progress was made at the last two meetings: in Sofia, in March 2009, and in Barcelona in November of the same year. ECCO sharpens the focus on a region that used to be neglected, that is, the Eastern Mediterranean. The first positive results were achieved during the meeting in Sofia. There was a good reaction from the three professional organisations from Greece, and a very positive response from Slovenian Restorer’s Organisation. Our colleague, presenting the Croatian organisation, was very active in the roundtable discussion and expressed many interesting ideas. Countries such as Malta and Cyprus, however, have been outside active communication with ECCO, and the Organisation will look for contacts with professional organisations there. Turkey, of course, with a great richness of cultural heritage, is another country ECCO must consider. The map on the Poster indicates the full and associate members at present and shows the countries which ECCO would like to get into contact with in the future. It shows the new achievements in this direction, as well as the most recent initiatives which ECCO undertakes. With this type of periodic analysis, it is easy to understand the geographical scope of activities of ECCO. A new outlook for a wider and more open network of associate members and partners will serve as a platform to facilitate discussion, and contribute to better establishment of our profession within the countries involved. full member states associated member states
To ensure the implementation of its ideas, ECCO is working closely with organisations such as the European Network of Conservation/Restoration Education (ENCoRE) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), bridging purely professional problems with the educational principles of conservation–restoration. With the support and participation of these organisations ECCO has drafted the first “European Recommendations for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage for the Council of Europe”. The second important project ECCO is about to complete, is the document “Proposed Competences for the Profession and Practice of Conservation– Restoration” in regard to the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and its impact on the Conservator–Restorers’ profession. An important pre-condition for the start of this project is APEL, a multinational European project, financed by the ECCO is now working at a wider international level, actively taking part in projects of the Council of Europe, thus taking steps ‘outside’ the strict borders of European Union. These international activities help the memberorganisations in their work at national level for better legal regulation of the conservation–restoration profession. A good example of success are achievements of Slovak Komora Restauratorov. Advances in legal regulation reflects also on the development of new modernised educational programmes. Monica Martelli Castaldi (
[email protected]) is President of ECCO and a Conservator/Restorer, specialising in the conservation of decorative features and in conservation at archeological sites. At present she is the Lead Conservator/ Restorer for the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a privately sponsored initiative for the entire archeological site of Herculaneum near Pompeii. Stefan Belishki is a member of the committee of ECCO and Professor in the Department of Conservation at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is also working on number of projects on paintings and wall paintings conservation. more information on ECCO @ www.ecco-eu.org
