ECCO - Conservation-Restoration in Europe
By Alexandra Taylor and Maickel van Bellegem
In April 2025, conservation-restoration professionals and educators gathered in Prague for a significant joint event hosted by the European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers' Organisations (E.C.C.O.) and ENCoRE (European Network for Conservation-Restoration Education). The symposium, titled Specialisations: Trends and Challenges, and E.C.C.O.’s subsequent General Assembly, offered a timely reflection on the state of the profession in Europe and E.C.C.O.’s role in shaping its future.
As the only pan-European organisation that explicitly advocates for conservator-restorers, E.C.C.O. has taken on a unique and increasingly important position within the cultural heritage sector. Nowhere is this more evident than in its recent leadership role in the CHARTER project (European Cultural Heritage Skills Alliance), which concluded in 2024.
CHARTER, funded by Erasmus+, was a major initiative aimed at strengthening the sustainability and resilience of the cultural heritage field through a comprehensive sectoral skills strategy. Its focus extended across the entire cultural heritage value chain, but E.C.C.O. ensured that the distinct contributions of conservator-restorers were both highlighted and prioritised.
What did CHARTER achieve for the conservation-restoration field?
- Professional Profiles: CHARTER defined and mapped core professional roles, creating clearer career pathways for conservator-restorers across Europe.
- Education Alignment: It advocated for improved links between training and real-world needs, incorporating vital new themes like digitalisation, sustainability and emerging conservation specialisations.
- Lifelong Learning: The project supported continuous professional development, reinforcing the importance of upskilling throughout a conservator’s career.
- Policy Influence: Through regional case studies and strategic frameworks, CHARTER informed policies at both national and EU levels.
- Ongoing Collaboration: The launch of the CHARTER Alliance ensures that this work continues beyond the project’s lifespan, providing a platform for shared knowledge and advocacy.
E.C.C.O.’s work in CHARTER underscores its role not only as a professional network, but also as a political actor in Brussels and beyond. It has been active in dialogues with the European Commission, the Council of Europe and major heritage platforms like Europa Nostra and ICOMOS. These efforts aim to make sure the voices of conservator-restorers are present in shaping codes of ethics, sustainability agendas and recovery plans such as those underway for Ukraine.
We found another major achievement – which unsurprisingly was years in the making – to be E.C.C.O.’s success in securing a specific economic code for conservation-restoration activities across the EU. This milestone resulted from persistent efforts by both E.C.C.O.’s internal committee members and national boards advocating at the European and national level simultaneously. With this dedicated classification in place, the profession will soon be more visible in official statistics, making our work more accountable and recognisable to policymakers and funding bodies across Europe. It’s brilliant. Let’s delve into it briefly.
All photographs taken by Funs van Diem, ECCO & ENCoRE Symposium: Trends and Challenges in Conservation-Restoration Education, April 5th, Prague, Czech Republic, 2025
NACE Codes and Professional Recognition
In recent years, E.C.C.O. has actively engaged with European institutions to improve the visibility and recognition of the conservation-restoration profession across EU-wide systems. One significant area of progress has been in the field of activity classification, particularly the NACE code system (Nomenclature of Economic Activities). This classification is used across Europe to define sectors of businesses, employment, economic revenue in terms of data and statistics. Thanks to sustained advocacy by E.C.C.O., conservation-restoration is now more clearly recognised as a distinct activity within this system. This improved classification supports policy development, funding eligibility and the inclusion of the profession in broader labour market strategies.
As part of this transition, many national authorities are reviewing their own versions of the NACE system (e.g., SBI in the Netherlands, APE in France, WZ in Germany). While terminology and implementation may vary, the structure must be aligned across Europe. Conservator-restorers (particularly those who are self-employed or run their own studios or companies) are advised to take proactive steps: review your current registration, check that your description includes key terms like cultural heritage, conservation, or restoration, and update or suggest new codes where possible. In many countries, revised codes will come into effect in autumn 2025, so now is the time to ensure your professional activity is accurately represented. While this may seem like a bureaucratic detail, proper classification strengthens the visibility of conservation-restoration across policy, funding and professional frameworks, and it’s a tangible example of how E.C.C.O.’s advocacy is shaping the future of the field.
Specialisations: Trends and Challenges
The Prague symposium showcased other challenges and innovations in specialisation within the field. From Spain’s expansion of master's degrees in niche areas like photographic materials, to Portugal’s pathway for experienced professionals to gain recognition, discussions revealed both common struggles and diverse solutions across Europe.
A recurring theme was the need for ongoing professional development and a shared understanding of responsibility - whether from academic institutions, professional bodies, or public agencies. These are precisely the types of issues E.C.C.O. is equipped to tackle at scale.
Looking ahead, E.C.C.O.’s involvement in new projects such as ECHOES (European Cloud for Heritage OpEn Science) will further embed conservation-restoration in broader digital and scientific initiatives. ECHOES will create a shared platform for data, training and collaboration among heritage professionals and researchers, supporting innovation and accessibility.
In a rapidly evolving cultural heritage landscape, E.C.C.O. continues to advocate for clarity, cohesion and excellence in conservation-restoration. Its work reminds us that even in a fragmented professional environment, strong collective representation at the European level can drive real change. I believe that E.C.C.O.’s achievements over the past years offer a compelling example of what is possible when we come together across borders to safeguard our shared cultural heritage.
If you’d like more information regarding the CHARTER: please see here all deliverables of the project.
Here you can check extra results, including the ESCO occupational profile for the conservator-restorer.
And here you can find in a more direct and convenient way, the last relevant documents and especially the final Skills strategy.