ICOMOS Ename Charter Ratified:

The Ename Center Plays a Major Role in an International Interpretation Initiative

On 4 October 2008, the 16th General Assembly of ICOMOS meeting in Quebec, Canada officially ratified the Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (known across the world as the "Ename Charter"). This text now takes its place as the 12th official charter adopted by ICOMOS since its establishment in 1965 (www.enamecharter.org).

The Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation is proud to have played a central role in the initiation, review, and eventual ratification of this charter, made possible by the generous support of the Province of East Flanders, the Municipality of Oudenaarde, and the Flemish Community of Belgium.

Beginning with the efforts of the Ename 974 Project in the early 1980s, under the leadership of Project Leader Dirk Callebaut working closely with former Deputy of Culture Jean-Pierre Van Der Meiren, and continuing through the 1990s with ambitious public communication efforts at the excavation site and at the Ename Provincial Museum, the importance of public involvement in ongoing heritage activities was always a hallmark of the Ename approach.

In an effort to mobilize international consensus on the main principles of effective public interpretation, the staff of the Ename Center launched the Charter initiative in 2001 with the circulation of a preliminary text. Thanks to the contributions and support of ICOMOS former Secretary-General, Jean Louis Luxen, and Gustavo Araoz and Sheridan Burke, of the ICOMOS International Executive Committee, the initial draft of the charter went through seven cycles of revision and review from 2002 to its presentation for ratification in 2008.

From 2005, the Charter Initiative was under the auspices of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP), chaired by Neil Silberman, who served as director of the Ename Center 2004-2007. During this extended process, the principles contained in the evolving charter text were broadened and nuanced, gradually coming to represent a consensus on the main principles of effective and sustainable heritage interpretation throughout the world.

Much work lays ahead to refine and elaborate practical guidelines for heritage interpretation, for the ratification of the Charter was only the first step. The Ename Center, working closely with the ICOMOS ICIP and hosting their secretariat, is planning the publication of an illustrated version of the Ename Charter, in which illustrations of the Charter’s main principles and noteworthy examples of effective public interpretation programmes will be collected and analyzed. In addition, a special session will be held at the upcoming 2009 CAA Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, (www.caa2009.org) devoted to the possible impact of the ICOMOS Ename Charter on the future of Heritage Technology.

The Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation is thus grateful to its colleagues within ICOMOS and all over the world for their collaboration and contributions to this important initiative. It is our hope that in the coming years, the ratification of the ICOMOS Ename Charter will be seen as an important step forward in the study and refinement of the principles of effective public interpretation of heritage sites and their significance in the contemporary world.

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