Joint ICTP-IAEA Advanced Workshop on Strengthening Climate Resilience of World Cultural and Natural Heritage | (smr 4239) (28 September 2026

Administration

Description

An ICTP-IAEA meeting

The world cultural and natural heritage faces significant hazard due to climate-related extreme events and disasters. Historical buildings, monuments, archaeological sites, and natural features are continuously exposed to changing temperature and precipitation patterns. The resulting acidification and rising levels of oceans and seas, landslides, increased frequency of freeze/thaw cycles, coastal erosion among other factors, can cause materials to crack and split; by destabilising the structure of buildings and damaging archaeological and natural heritage sites. Solutions to this challenging situation calls for comprehensive actions in the areas of research, education, mitigation and adaptation.

The workshop aims at creating a trans-disciplinary international forum to discuss best practice and explore novel pathways to build climate resilience to preserve cultural and natural heritage under threat in the context of sustainable people-environment relations.

The workshop will bring together trans-disciplinary international specialists, including archaeologists, curators, nuclear physicists, geochronologists, geochemists, architects, climatologists, ethologists and specialists of natural sciences. Both PhD students, early career and experienced scientists are welcome to apply.

Topics

Introduction to cultural and natural heritage under threat
Present and future environmental changes and pathways to build climate resilience
Nuclear analytical techniques for improved preservation of world heritage
Changes in the ecological system related to people, animals and environment
Sustainable heritage management: case studies and success stories

Speakers
F. Aubert, UNESCO Regional Office, Italy
El Tayeb Abbas, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Egypt
V. Masson-Delmotte, LSCE, CEA Paris Saclay, France
O. F. Matalonga, UNESCO, Belgium
R. Yuan, Monash University, Australia
F. Zanini, University of Udine, Italy

Call for Abstracts: All applicants are required to submit an abstract for oral/ poster presentation.

Useful information: IAEA “Accelerators for Heritage”: https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/accelerators/SitePages/accelerators-for-heritage.aspx

Grants: A limited number of grants are available to support the attendance of selected participants, with priority given to participants from developing countries. There is no registration fee.

Material

Abstract Templates Poster Preliminary list of Participants Workshop Programme smr4239 group photo

Joint ICTP-IAEA Advanced Workshop on Strengthening Climate Resilience of World Cultural and Natural Heritage | (smr 4239)

Go to day

Monday, 28 September 2026

09:00 - 09:30
- 09:00 Registration Formalities 30' ( Adriatico Guest House - Registration desk (Lower Level 1) )

09:30 - 20:15

Location:

Adriatico Guest House - Kastler Lecture Hall (ICTP) ( Giambiagi Lecture Hall (AGH) )

09:30 Welcome and Opening of the Workshop 30'

Speaker:

Ralf KAISER (ICTP, Italy), Magda LANDRY (UNESCO, Italy) (remote), Aliz SIMON (IAEA, Austria), Anita QUILES (CEA Paris-Saclay, France)

10:00 Introduction of the Participants 30'
10:30 Group Photo 5' ( Adriatico Terrace )
10:35 Coffee Break 25' ( Adriatico Guest House - Cafeteria )
11:00 ICTP as International Educational and Research Hub 30'

Speaker: Ralf KAISER (ICTP, Italy)
11:30 Overview of the IAEA Activities in Support of "Atoms for Heritage" 30'

Speaker: Aliz SIMON (IAEA, Austria)
12:00 Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Challenge of Climate Change: Observe, Study, Preserve 1h0'

Speaker: Anita QUILES (CEA Paris-Saclay, France)
13:00 Lunch Break 1h0'
14:00 Assessing Climate Vulnerability of Archaeological Infrastructure: Evidence from the Cairo Citadel Excavations 1h0'

Speaker: Mohamed Ibrahim Abdelail IBRAHIM (Ain Shams University, Egypt)
15:00 Beneath the Lahar: Climate and Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment of the Cagsawa and Budiao Ruins in Albay, Philippines 20'

Speaker: Marie Bernadette Balita BALAGUER (National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines)
15:20 Complementary application of analytical techniques for the characterization and conservation of archaeological metal objects from North-Patagonia: an interdisciplinary methodological proposal 20'

Speaker: Josefina Maria SCHWEICKARDT (CONICET, Argentina)
15:40 Cultural and Natural Geoheritage of the Indian Peninsula and the Himalaya Under Climate Threat: Pathways to Resilience and Conservation 20'

Speaker: Jaishri Sanwal BHATT (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, India)
16:15 Coffee Break 35'
16:50 Round Table discussion - Archaeological sites and Museums in the challenge of Climate Change - issues 1h0'

18:45 Welcome Reception 1h25' ( Adriatico Guest House - Cafeteria )

All Participants are  cordially invited to the Welcome Reception

Tuesday, 29 September 2026
- 09:00 - 18:00
  - 09:00 Current state of human-caused climate change and climate action, and implications for future trajectories 1h0'
    
    Speaker: Valérie MASSON DELMOTTE (LSCE CEA Paris-Saclay, France)
  - 10:00 An Integrated Climate Risk Management Framework for World Heritage Sites: Saudi Arabias Pioneering Toolkit 20'
    
    Speaker: Mona Ahmed ALZAHRANI (General Department of UNESCO Heritage Protection Conventions, Saudi Arabia)
  - 10:20 River deltas: a hidden but essential environmental heritage as carbon sinks and sources 20'
    
    Speaker: Jean-Pascal Nicolas DUMOULIN (CNRS - LMC14, France)
  - 10:40 Coffee Break 30'
  - 11:10 Heritage, Science and Climate Resiliance: Strengthening Communities through Culture 1h0'
    
    Speaker: Frederique AUBERT, Oriol MATALONGA (UNESCO, Italy) (Remote)
  - 12:10 Round table II - Climate change: where are we now and what are the future perspectives? 1h0'
  - 13:10 Lunch Break 50'
  - 14:00 Cinque Terre National Park: The Park of Man and Nature as an NbS for Climate Change Adaptation Planning 1h0'
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Remote
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    Speaker: Giulia GALLUCCIO (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Sui Cambiamenti Climatici (Fondazione CMCC), Italy)
  - 15:00 Strengthening Climate Resilience of Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Dominican Republic: Vulnerability, Preventive Conservation, and Inclusive Governance 20'
    
    Speaker: Lombert RUAHIDY (Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
  - 15:20 Characterization of Archaeological Material using Nuclear Analytical Techniques in Batujaya Temple, Indonesia for Sustainable Heritage Preservation 20'
    
    Speaker: Utami Amalia PUTRI (Research Organization for Nuclear Energy National Research and Innovation, Indonesia)
  - 15:40 Coffee Break 30'
  - 16:10 Poster Session & Refreshments 1h50' ( Adriatico Guest House - Lower level Lobby )
Wednesday, 30 September 2026
- 06:30 - 21:00 Site visit in Venice
  - 06:30 Transfer to Site Visit 3h0'
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📢 Dedicated ICTP Bus departing at 06:30 from Adriatico - Grignano (by the sea)
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  - 09:30 Welcome and opening of the special session 10' ( Palazzo Ducale, Venice )
    
    Speaker: Luca DEL PRETE (Italy), Aliz SIMON (IAEA, Austria)
  - 09:40 IAEA "Atoms for Heritage" - The Italian contribution 20'
    
    Speaker: Aliz SIMON (IAEA, Austria)
  - 10:00 The Italian Experience in Bridging Climate and Cultural Heritage Reseach Communities through Joint Programming Initiative 20'
    
    Speaker: Giulia GALLUCCIO (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Sui Cambiamenti Climatici (Fondazione CMCC), Italy)
  - 10:20 MOSE, an integrated system to increase climate resilience in the Venice lagoon 1h0'
    
    Speaker: Franco ZANINI (University of Udine, Italy)
  - 11:20 Q & A 40'
  - 12:00 San Zaccaria Church Visit 1h0'
  - 13:00 Site Visit 6h0'
  - 19:00 Return to Trieste 2h0'
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📢 Dedicated ICTP Bus departing at 19:00 from Piazzale Roma to Adriatico Guest House
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Thursday, 1 October 2026

09:00 - 16:00

09:00 Mapping the archaeology of dynamic coastlines for priority research: An Indigenous organisation’s ‘traffic-light’ methodology for tracking rapidly shifting coastlines in GunaiKurnai Country, SE Australia 30'

Speaker: Runjie YUAN and Bruno DAVID (Monash University, Australia)
09:30 The Social Life of Ethnographic Collection: Learning Sustainability through Ilongot Material Culture 20'

Speaker: Jerome Christopher FLORES (National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines)
10:30 Coffee Break 30'
11:00 From Wildfire to Looting: Safeguarding Maya Cave Heritage Amid Growing Pressures in Belize 20'

Speaker: Jessica RATCLIFFE (University of Oxford, UK)
11:30 Round Table III - Communities and climate change 1h0'
12:30 Lunch Break 1h0'
13:30 Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in a Changing Climate: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Opportunities from the GreenHeritage project 1h0'
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Remote
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Speaker: Giulia GALLUCCIO (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Sui Cambiamenti Climatici (Fondazione CMCC), Italy)

14:30 European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage 20'

Speaker:

Elodie Marie CAZENAVE (Fondation Des Sciences Du Patrimoine, France), Sigrid Marie Beatrice MIRABAUD (Ministry of Culture, France)

14:50 Coffee Break 30'
15:20 Gamma radiation treatments against biodeterioration of cultural and natural heritage as a consequence of climate change 20'

Speaker: Laurent CORTELLA (ARC-Nucléart, France)
15:40 Multi-analytical studies about preservation and conservation of pyritized arachnid fossils under environmental changes 20'

Speaker: Marcello ZANELLA (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, Brazil)

18:30 - 21:00
- 18:30 Networking Activity 2h30'

Friday, 2 October 2026

09:00 - 13:00

09:00 Enhancing knowledge of past environmental changes through a multi-isotopic approach: a study of flax cultivation in Ancient Egypt 20'

Speaker:

Emmanuelle Jeanne Paule DELQUE (Laboratoire de Mesure du Carbone 14, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, France)

09:20 Unravelling Maritime Material Histories: Microanalytical Characterisation of Nassau Ship Timber 20'

Speaker: MAHDI EZWAN BIN MAHMOUD (Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Malaysia)
09:40 Impacts of Artificial Illumination on the Physicochemical Stability of Heritage Stone: Toward Climate-Resilient Heritage Lighting Strategies 20'

Speaker: Allayth Turkey Yousef ALDRABEE (Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, Jordan)
10:00 Analysing and dating rock art using nuclear techniques in order to better document and preserve this world heritage 20'

Speaker: Lucile BECK (LSCE, France)
10:20 Coffee Break 40'
11:00 Round Table IV - Archaeological sites and Museums in the challenge of Climate Change - perspectives 1h0'
12:00 Evaluation of the Workshop, Feedback by the Participants, Closing remarks 1h0'

Speaker: Aliz SIMON (IAEA, Austria), Anita QUILES (CEA Paris-Saclay, France)