As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks comments by December 15 on a proposal for a new ISO technical committee (TC) on cultural heritage conservation.
SAC, the ISO member from China, submitted a proposal to ISO with the following scope statement:
“Standardization in the field of terminology, technologies, materials, and equipment for monitoring, evaluation, preservation, and restoration of cultural heritage. Excluded: ISO/TC 36, Cinematography, ISO/TC 42, Photography, ISO/TC 46, Information and documentation. Note: Limited to tangible cultural heritage. If an overlap or the potential for overlap with other TC/SC is identified, coordination with related TC/SC should be sought by contacting or working with working groups.”
According to the proposal, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) highlights the need for increased efforts to safeguard world cultural and natural heritages. To that end, standardization serves “as a crucial tool for enhancing the effectiveness of cultural heritage conservation efforts.”
The establishment of a TC on cultural heritage conservation will make several contributions to the conservation of cultural heritage, the proposal asserts, including fostering consensus on cultural heritage conservation; enhancing the level of cultural heritage conservation; creating an exchange platform for cultural heritage conservation; and promoting research on the origin and development of standardization.
Read the proposal and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, [email protected], by close of business on December 15. Following the deadline, ANSI staff will develop a recommended ANSI position and any comments for approval by the ANSI ISO Committee before ISO’s voting deadline of January 30, 2024.