In 2007, UNESCO forged a three-year partnership with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) for the “Preventive Conservation of Endangered Museum Collections in Developing Countries". The focus of this partnership was on the documentation of collections and access to storage in museums. It was felt that these two issues required stronger political support and the major involvement of decision-makers at both institutional and professional levels. ICCROM responded by developing didactic tools and methodologies, and by creating international networks. The RE-ORG methodology is the end result of this partnership. A two-week workshop to be held in Chengdu, China, on 14-25 September 2015, aims to enable participants to become familiar with the RE-ORG methodology. The RE-ORG China - International Workshop is organised by ICCROM, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), China; and the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (CACH). Working in team in a real museum context, participants will practice every step, from preparation to condition assessment, planning and implementation of the storage re-organization project. They will consider the building and space, the collections type and vulnerability, the storage furniture and equipment, and the collections management procedures. At the end, they will propose ideas to share the project outcomes with the local community. During the workshop, time will be allocated for participants to work on a RE-ORG project for their museum. 25% of the RE-ORG China - International Workshop consists of lectures and exercises; the rest of the time is dedicated to the practical implementation of the methodology in real museum storage. Special attention will be given to teamwork and communication skills to encourage participative processes, knowledge sharing and community involvement. Three months after the workshop, participants can send ICCROM their RE-ORG project for advice and validation. The working language will be English. The workshop is addressed to candidates fulfilling the following conditions:

• Staff of small to medium-sized museums in need of a storage reorganization project
• Directors, conservators, collections managers or technicians, curators, registrars, archivists, or external professionals working for this museum
• Candidates should have at least a colleague in the museum/institution who could team with them after the workshop to prepare and implement their museum RE-ORG project
• Their museum or institution should be committed to the project

There is no tuition fee for this course. Accommodation and meals, as well as local transportation are covered by SACH, the State Administration for Cultural Heritage, China. Participants will be responsible for their round trip travel costs to and from Chengdu (China).  A number of travel grants are available. Candidates should submit their applications, alongside a letter of interest and other documents, by 5 June. For additional information and access to the application form, please visit http://www.iccrom.org/re-org-china-international-workshop/