8 C O N T E X T 1 0 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 ICOMOS Triennial General Assembly, Quebec Signs of a revitalised, more relevant, ICOMOS The abstract concept of spirit of place is not perhaps best suited to the pragmatists among us, especially given that we in the UK live in an essentially humanist and secular age, where the underlying term genius loci has its origins in mythology, spirituality and religion. So the idea of attending a week-long conference to debate ‘Finding the Spirit of Place’ was, on the face of it, a curious one. Even more so, as it was the theme of the 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a body whose specialised committees are all entitled ‘scientific’. ICOMOS is a non-governmental professional organisation whose international headquarters are in Paris. Founded in 1965, it now embraces 9,500 individual and institutional members worldwide. It boasts the 1964 Venice Charter as its baseline doctrinal text, and traditionally its focus has been on the preservation of historic monuments, ensembles and sites. The concept of ‘managing change’ is anathema to its fundamentalist members. The statistics of this event, which took place in Quebec City this autumn, were impressive: 853 participants from 77 countries and more than 500 proposals submitted for papers and posters. For the first time at an ICOMOS General Assembly, the main event was preceded by an International Youth Forum, with 131 participants from 29 countries. The maintenance of monuments and sites is not simply a matter of preserving those selected for conservation that have been allocated iconic status. Instead, the question raised was of securing continuity of the local skills and creative processes on which identity and sense of community – sense of place – depend. Quebec City has celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2008. Inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985, Old Quebec is the only city on the continent north of Mexico to have preserved the key components of its defensive fortifications.Today, cruise ships line the St Lawrence River quay.The hotel Château Frontenac (to the left) was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Rue du Petit-Champlain is at the heart of Vieux Québec and the principal magnet for the city’s frenetic tourist industry.
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