Australia ICOMOS National Conference 2025
Our Shared Heritage. Un-Settling Ground.
Ballarat, Victoria | 17–19 November
Venue: Goods Shed Ballarat
Set on the Traditional Country of the Wadawurrung Peoples, in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields—recently added to Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List—this year’s conference in the historic city of Ballarat invites you to explore heritage through critical, future-focused perspectives.
Themes:
Battlefronts: Heritage under pressure—past survival through conflict and exclusion; future challenges from climate change and global demand and disruption.
Un-Settling: Rethinking heritage—revisiting histories of upheaval and transformation and imagining new models of heritage that prioritise community agency, local adaptation and inclusive governance.
What to Expect:
þ Two full days of dynamic presentations and discussions
þ A spectacular conference dinner and the Aura light show at Sovereign Hill on Day 2
þ Engaging field trips across Ballarat and the wider Victorian Goldfields region
þ Provocative case studies, diverse voices, and innovative solutions.
This year’s themes, ‘Battlefronts’ and ‘Un-Settling’, invite participants to critically examine heritage through lenses of disruption, resilience, and transformation. Contributions will offer solutions-focused insights, innovative approaches, and provocative case studies that challenge conventional narratives and expand the scope of heritage practice.
Set on the Traditional Country of the Wadawurrung Peoples in the Victorian Goldfields, which was added to Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List earlier this year, the 2025 conference brings together practitioners, researchers, educators, and community voices to explore the dynamic and often contested nature of heritage.
Mark your calendar now and stay tuned for registration, call for abstracts and sponsorship details coming soon!
More information can be found on the conference website https://sjvenues.eventsair.com/a-icomos2025/