The 19th Congress of the International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) took place this year in Kiruna, Sweden, under the title “Heritage in Action: Legacies of Industry in Future Making.” The congress explored the many issues and contentions surrounding industrial heritage and its role in shaping contemporary society, with sessions ranging from sustainability, inclusion, and colonialism to future generations, popular culture, and even artificial intelligence.
TICCIH’s mission is to not only foster international cooperation, but to also educate and creating awareness as well as to preserve, conserve, research and interpret, industrial heritage. These goals resonate closely with FIVA’s own Charter of Turin, which is why our paths often cross. As awareness of intangible culture within the field of mobile heritage continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important for FIVA to stay connected with TICCIH.
Kiruna proved to be a particularly fitting venue. The city is in the midst of an extraordinary transformation. A mining town, with huge iron ore and other rare earth deposits, the city municipality saw to it that the city be physically relocated three kilometres east to prevent a lowering of the ground level threatening collapse. In such manner, not only would the city be preserved, but the city’s lifeline, mining, could continue unabated as well. . The project has made headlines, especially the plan to move its church five kilometres at a cost of €45 million. Kiruna’s story is deeply tied to industry: iron ore having been mined there since the early 18th century, with the company LKAB founded in 1890, the same year construction of the city began. Just twelve years later, the railway line to Narvik’s ice-free port in Norway was complete, and today around 20 million metric tons of ore still leave the region every year.
The scale of this year’s congress was remarkable, with nearly 300 lectures, discussions, and keynote speeches. It was impossible to attend everything, and choices had to be made when sessions overlapped, but even the coffee breaks turned into moments of great value, with engaging conversations continuing long after the formal talks ended. As FIVA’s representative, I concentrated on topics most closely related to mobile heritage. Although few sessions addressed vehicles directly, many touched on themes relevant to our field. In the two days I was there, I managed to attend sixteen sessions and also took part in a meeting for European TICCIH members.
It was encouraging to hear FIVA mentioned on several occasions as a useful resource. Our existing collaboration with TICCIH through the Working Industrial & Mobile Heritage Platform is already fruitful, but discussions in Kiruna opened the door to strengthening ties further. One idea that emerged is the possibility of a new working group, following TICCIH’s reorganization, dedicated to “automotive heritage memories.” Such an initiative could create valuable opportunities for FIVA to contribute, ensuring that mobile heritage continues to be recognized as an essential part of the broader industrial story.
The congress in Kiruna underlined once again how deeply industrial and mobile heritage are woven into wider societal debates. By staying active in these conversations, FIVA helps to ensure that the stories of our vehicles—and the culture they represent—remain very much a part of heritage in action.
Carl Harbitz-Rasmussen, president LMK and associate member of Culture Commission