ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Seychelles is launching an annual heritage award scheme that seeks to encourage best practices in the conservation and promotion of the islands’ built heritage. The ICOMOS Seychelles Heritage Award will recognize special accomplishments, projects, and efforts, which promote conservation of built and architectural heritage. Apart from new constructions, it will recognize restorations; rehabilitations; re-use of a building, property, or structure of heritage value, which would have been completed during the preceding year of the award.

The award scheme is being launched with the support of the Seychelles Tourism Board and is expected to contribute towards the enhancement of the country’s heritage landscape, which is important for the promotion of cultural or heritage tourism.

Apart from the Tourism Board, ICOMOS Seychelles expects to work with other partners in organizing the selection and the award presentation, which will be made in April each year to coincide with the international Heritage Day of April 18 as declared by UNESCO. The first award will be made in April 2013. It is expected that ICOMOS Seychelles will provide further details of the award shortly.

ICOMOS is an international non-government organization, with national committees in over a hundred countries and whose main objective is to work for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places. Its members form a network of concerned individuals and experts among whom are architects, historians, archaeologists, art historians, geographers, anthropologists, engineers, town planners, etc.

Its numerous scientific committees treat a range of heritage promotion and conservation issues, such as heritage at risks, heritage tourism, maritime heritage, etc. Formed in 2010, ICOMOS Seychelles is the national committee of ICOMOS international. It sees its mission as contributing towards national conservation efforts from a non-government perspective.