About
This Annual Symposium was established in 2011 to bring together people in and around the Australian Capital Territory with an interest in heritage or planning. It is jointly organised by the Canberra Archaeological Society, National Trust of Australia (ACT), Canberra & District Historical Society and Australia ICOMOS. The Symposium grew out of the ACT Historical Archaeology Workshops of 2009 and 2010.
Each year we choose a topical theme to highlight achievements and understand issues in our region, from the local to the national. The Australian Capital Territory holds the nation's capital, Canberra. This means that we typically host a diverse speaker-base and audience which includes government administrators and policymakers, university lecturers and students (Canberra is home to three universities), representatives of relevant national professional associations (e.g. ALIA, ASA, Australia ICOMOS, ICOM Australia, RAIA), and paid and unpaid workers from community organisations through to national cultural institutions. Archaeologists, architects, and archivists, through exhibition creators and interpreters, to oral history recorders and World Heritage advisors all share ideas during formal and informal discussion times. A list of outcomes and proposed remediations has previously been produced during the final session of the day and taken forward by relevant attending organisations after each symposium.
Past Themes:
Each year we choose a topical theme to highlight achievements and understand issues in our region, from the local to the national. The Australian Capital Territory holds the nation's capital, Canberra. This means that we typically host a diverse speaker-base and audience which includes government administrators and policymakers, university lecturers and students (Canberra is home to three universities), representatives of relevant national professional associations (e.g. ALIA, ASA, Australia ICOMOS, ICOM Australia, RAIA), and paid and unpaid workers from community organisations through to national cultural institutions. Archaeologists, architects, and archivists, through exhibition creators and interpreters, to oral history recorders and World Heritage advisors all share ideas during formal and informal discussion times. A list of outcomes and proposed remediations has previously been produced during the final session of the day and taken forward by relevant attending organisations after each symposium.
Past Themes:
- 2025 'A Future for the Past'
- 2024 'Planning for Heritage'
- 2022 'Heritage and Healing: How Heritage Helps'
- 2021 'Heritage at Times of Crisis: Saving, Sustaining, Sharing'
- 2019 'The Spaces Inbetween: connecting Canberra's Urban Landscape'
- 2018 'Heritage on the edge: continuity with change in Canberra'
- 2017 'The Politics of Heritage: The Art of the Possible'
- 2016 'Inside Out | Outside In'
- 2015 'Sharing Heritage: Create, Change, Cherish'
- 2014 ‘The Future of Heritage’
- 2013 ‘A Centenary of Celebrating Heritage: accessing, presenting and interpreting heritage places and their collections in Canberra and region’
- 2012 ‘Valuing heritage: advocating for community attachment in planning’
- 2011 ‘Heritage and Planning: partners in development’
Convened by:
