FOREWORD
Dear friends,
I cordially welcome you to the XIX CIPA International Symposium in Antalya, Turkey 30
September - 4 October 2003.
This year CIPA celebrates its 35 th anniversary, being one of the oldest International Scientific
Committees of ICOMOS. With the opportunity of this occasion, I wish to reconfirm that our
mission to “encourage the development of Principles and Practices for the Recording,
Documentation and Information Management for all aspects of Cultural Heritage and to support and
encourage the development of specialized tools and techniques in support of these activities” is
valid and well pursuit.
Our main pylons to this pursuit are our Working Groups and their members, the Board of the
National Delegates and our Sustaining Members. Each one contributes in its own special way to our
quest for a better protection of human’s natural and cultural environment and history. I thank you all
for this.
The location of the conference is an area with a long history and a wealth of historical treasures. We
chose this place in order to underline the need for co-operation in a multi-national and multi
cultural framework.
Celebrating our 35 th birthday, our ambition for this Symposium is to bring together two worlds:
Conservators, architects and art historians, scientists and practitioners, will show their needs and
problems, will demonstrate good and bad examples, will report on the advances of inventory and
monitoring in their countries. On the other hand, technical experts from all around the world will
report on up-to-date methodologies, on easy to handle and low cost methods for inventories,
surveying and photogrammetry, on new advances in photography, aerial and geophysical
prospection, and information technology, for application in the heritage conservation and
development planning sciences.
This meeting is an opportunity for all of us to learn about the new developments as well as share
our experiences with others. I am sure that this Symposium will prove to be very successful and
rewarding for all participants.
Finally, I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Prof. Orhan Altan and his colleagues, who
tirelessly organized this event and wish you all a fruitful meeting.
Let’s promote CIPA as the international focal point for Heritage Documentation.
S incerely Yours,
Petros Patias
President of CIPA
