World Heritage USA, the US National Commitee of ICOMOS

Since 1984, the International Exchange Program (IEP) has worked with heritage partners around the world to provide hands-on training opportunities for emerging cultural heritage professionals. To date, more than 700 interns from over 100 countries have participated in the program. The IEP sends participants from the United States to internship placements abroad and welcomes international participants to placements in the United States, in order to expose the next generation of heritage professionals to global best practices of historic preservation and heritage conservation. In this way, the program encourages the cross-cultural exchange of ideas and practices, enabling hosts and interns to learn from one another and increase their impact in the heritage field.

Over the last several years, the intersection of heritage, governance, and how citizens interact with pieces of the past has been present in the public eye. Americans all across the nation are beginning to question the history around them, and many are noticing that the monuments and historic fixtures in their communities are unsolicited reminders of a darker time in our nation’s history.

World Heritage USA has been awarded a grant by the Mellon Foundation to support the development of the Monuments Toolkit, a website and app aimed at answering questions about monuments of oppression. Upon completion of this project we will provide interactive maps, resources, decision guides, blog posts, podcasts, and webinars that create accessible spaces to learn about the past and put society’s best foot forward for the future.

In addition to the International Exchange Program, World Heritage USA provides opportunities for emerging professionals to learn from and interact with each other, get involved with ICOMOS, and work on projects such as the International Underground Railroad initiative mapping international sites and the history of self liberation.