New Zealand Elected To International Council Of Monuments And Sites

ICOMOS New Zealand is delighted to announce the election of Dr. Stacy Vallis to the Board of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The election occurred during the 20th General Assembly of ICOMOS. It is the first time that New Zealand has nominated a candidate for election, and we will be represented on the International Board of ICOMOS for a three-year term.

ICOMOS is a non-governmental, professional organisation based in Paris, France, dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage places. Founded in 1965, ICOMOS is one of three advisory bodies to UNESCO for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention 1972.

The other advisors are the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

With approximately 10,500 individual members and 271 institutional members, ICOMOS is the world’s foremost organisation promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to the conservation of architectural and archaeological heritage. The Board consists of 20 members elected by the General Assembly and is responsible for preparing, and monitoring the scientific, professional, and practical work program and budget of ICOMOS.

The New Zealand chapter, ICOMOS New Zealand was founded in 1987. ICOMOS New Zealand has over 150 members and is presently chaired by architect Pamela Dziwulska. Pam says “I would like to send a huge congratulations to Stacy Vallis who has been successful at becoming the first New Zealand member to be voted onto the ICOMOS International Board.

Her work has been invaluable to the work of ICOMOS New Zealand in gaining involvement and encouragement to emerging professionals and we look forward to seeing her make significant contributions to heritage within this global network.”

Stacy recently completed her doctoral studies in architecture at the University of Auckland, and has also worked in in architectural practice. She contributes to research projects on disaster risk management using emerging digital technologies.

Since 2018, Stacy has coordinated the ICOMOS Emerging Professionals Initiative, a global network, and working group consisting of approximately 100 representatives from ICOMOS Committees. She says: “coordinating international and local Emerging Professional networks demonstrated to me that all heritage practitioners confront ongoing changes in their daily work or study. I’m keen to foster targeted mentorship programs featuring early, mid, and expert career perspectives, as platforms for continuing professional development within evolving global conditions.”

In her role as a Board Member, Stacy will focus on enhancing diverse, intergenerational dialogue to address the impacts of climate change and to embrace shared histories. She believes that cultural heritage can be used as a tool for addressing many urgent global issues.

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