Institute of Conservation

Chief Executive for the new Institute of Conservation

Things are moving apace now for the newly-formed Institute of
Conservation. Following a winter of intense planning and
preparation, with the arrival of Springtime comes much good news of
progress and growth for the Institute, its members and its public
supporters.

Firstly, we are very pleased to announce the appointment of the
Institute's new Chief Executive, Alastair McCapra.  Alastair says:

   "I am delighted to be joining the Institute of Conservation as
    its first Chief Executive and am very much looking forward to
    the challenges of the exciting times ahead.  In successfully
    merging five organisations for the greater good of the
    profession, I believe Institute members have taken a bold and
    exceptional step.  This tells me there are reserves of energy in
    the membership as well as a strong desire to raise your game as
    a profession, and I am very glad to have been entrusted with the
    task of helping you transform that energy and desire into real,
    tangible progress".

Alastair will join us in June from The Royal Society for the
Promotion of Health--a multidisciplinary membership organisation of
5000 professionals. His professional background and breadth of
experience equip him ideally for this new role, added to which he
has a keen empathy with our work and a personal interest in history,
the art world and early musical instruments, describing himself as
"an appreciative beneficiary of the work which conservators and
restorers undertake". Alastair also dives with sharks--so we have
every confidence that he will find the world of conservation and
cultural heritage mild by comparison!

In addition to this major step forward, the other corner-stones are
now in place for the transition to begin for real, with the founding
bodies (the Care of Collections Forum, Institute of Paper
Conservation, Photographic Materials Conservation Group, Scottish
Society for Conservation and Restoration, United Kingdom Institute
for Conservation) starting to join together effectively into the one
strong, new organisation that we have all been striving for. The
company and charity have been formed, exciting modern premises have
been identified in the heart of old London, the designers are
gearing up to create a unique, professional image that we can all
identify with, the publications board is meeting regularly and the
preparatory work to create the new website and database is about to
be commissioned. The first meeting of the new Members' Forum will
take place on 3 May and this will bring together representatives of
the existing specialist, national and regional groups to decide how
they want to work together in the future and how they want their
voice to be heard throughout the new organisation. The fact that
finally there is a single, important focal point in the UK for
conservation-related issues has attracted attention and the
Institute is already receiving invitations to represent the sector's
voice at key events.

>From now on we shall be issuing regular Information Releases that
will be widely circulated both within and outside the sector. In
addition to this, more informal news updates will be posted on the
interim website (<URL:http://www.instituteofconservation.org.uk>).
If you would like to know more about the new Institute, please
contact: info<-a t->instituteofconservation< . >org< . >uk.

Carole Milner, Chair of the Interim Board, Institute of
Conservation, March 2005

The Institute of Conservation is the lead voice for conservation of
cultural heritage in the UK. Following votes on unification that
took place in September 2004, it has taken the place of the former
National Council for Conservation-Restoration (NCCR), which was made
up of individual bodies representing various aspects of conservation
in the UK and Ireland. The Institute is the primary membership body
for conservation professionals but welcomes equally all who are
concerned with the care of cultural property, from associated
sectors to interested members of the general public. The Institute
is now operating the professional accreditation scheme (PACR), The
Conservation Register (<URL:http://www.conservationregister.com>)
and the Conservation Awards, supported by Sir Paul McCartney. It is
currently guided by an Interim Board, supported by professional
voluntary advisors.  For more information please see the interim
website: <URL:http://www.instituteofconservation.org.uk>

Sally A. Esdaile
Paper Conservator
69 Farley Road
Selsdon
South Croydon
Surrey CR2 7NG
United Kingdom


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:50
                  Distributed: Tuesday, April 19, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-50-001
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