ICOMOS Hybrid Conference “European Heritage Homes in Climate Policies and Action” on 6.10 in Tallinn
Conference Venue: The Office of the Chancellor of Justice History of the building | Õiguskantsler
Organisers: ICOMOS Estonia in cooperation ICOMOS Climate Action Working Group, ICOMOS ISCES and ICOMOS Europe group, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Ministry of Climate of Estonia, National Heritage Board, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonian Academy of Arts, Chancellor of Justice
Europe’s green transition must build upon its cultural foundations. Europe’s path toward climate neutrality must be one that values its past as much as its future. Historic buildings are living witnesses of our shared heritage, identity, and craftsmanship – yet they are too often overlooked or treated as obstacles in the race towards energy efficiency. Historic buildings are living assets – repositories of craft, identity, and embodied energy. Their continued use and adaptation are critical for achieving climate neutrality.
Aims of the conference: 1) to highlight current trends and strategies for cultural heritage and historic buildings in climate policies in the world and in Europe; 2) to exchange experiences from ongoing research and development programmes on the role of historic buildings in climate action and energy renovation; 3) to discuss challenges and ways forward on the climate action for historic buildings from policies to practice
Programme:
9.00 Coffee and registration
9.30-12.30 Cultural Heritage in Climate Action: Principles and Policies
Welcome from the Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise. The Role of Culture in the Legislative Framework of Europe.
Johanna Leisner, Chair of EU OMC Group “Cultural Heritage Resilience for Climate Change”. The Role of Historic Buildings in Climate Policies in Europe.
Ave Paulus, ICOMOS Climate Action Working Group, ICOMOS Estonia. The Role of Cultural Heritage in Global Climate Policies.
Riin Alatalu, ICOMOS Vice President. European Heritage Homes and EPBD.
James Ritson, ICOMOS UK. Maintenance as Sustainability Strategy for Historic Housing.
Filippo Calcerano, Institute of Heritage Science of the National Research Council of Italy. Energy and Environmental Improvement of Built Heritage, Why and How?
Moderated panel discussion
12.30 Lunch buffet
13.30-16.30 Historic Homes in Climate Action: Examples
Kadri Kallast, Ministry of Culture, Laura Ingerpuu, Heritage Board, Alois Andreas Põdra, Tallinn Techincal University. Heritage Homes Legacy Report, Estonia. Perspectives of Project Partners.
Lori Ferriss, ICOMOS USA. Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage: Heritage Now!
Grainne Shaffrey, ICOMOS Ireland. Ireland Historic Houses Programme, Europa Nostra Award Winner.
Philipp Hesse, ISCES, ICOMOS Denmark, Futurhist Project.
Jana Jakobsone, ICOMOS Latvia. EPBD and Latvian Historic Buildings.
Moderated panel discussion
The conference is supported by the LIFE heritageHOME programme, led by the Estonian Ministry of Culture and co-funded by the European Union, launched to promote energy retrofitting of historical buildings while preserving their culturally valuable qualities. The Legacy Report of the three year project, coming to end in October 2026, will be presented at the conference, including a demo of the newly piloted online renovation services to assist homeowners. Find out more about the programme: https://www.kul.ee/en/heritagehome.
The conference is targeted to European policy makers, heritage experts, architects and engineers, state and local administrations, heritage communities and scientific networks.
The conference language is English, with a simultaneous Zoom translation option. The conference is livestreamed worldwide in ICOMOS, ICOMOS Estonia and partnerś web pages and facebook page. NB! All the times are in the Tallinn/Helsinki time zone, (GMT +3).
Registration link https://forms.gle/p9MEwjrRcGfnGtTw9
As there are limited amount of places, the registration in presence is available for invited participants
Zoom registration is available for all interested parties
Contact: estonia@icomos.org
