#Icon19 draft programme out now!

The wheels have been turning quite briskly at Icon central over the last few weeks!

Notifications were dispatched to all those who had submitted abstracts to speak at #Icon19, while a new International Delegates Reception was added to the mix - and Champion Sponsors Conservation By Design visited our conference venue, Belfast Waterfront, with Michael Nelles, Icon Head of Membership, to work out even more ideas for all the excitement in store!

Draft programme now out

With notifications now dispatched to all who submitted, this of course means the draft programme v1 is now ready! Have a look at what’s in store here.  Please note that at this stage the draft programme is still subject to change as our speakers respond to the invitations. 

#Icon19 welcomes substantial international contingent

Alongside this, as you may have heard Icon secured our first-ever grant from the Getty Foundation to engage with conservators from emerging economies and fund their attendance at #Icon19. 

With this, and the stunning geographic diversity of abstract submissions, we realised quite a few speakers would be traveling long distances to join us.

We’ve therefore booked the historic SS Nomadic at Titanic Belfast to welcome our international friends in style. We’ve added a drinks reception to our events agenda on Tuesday 11th June – the day before Wednesday’s conference tours and proper Opening Reception at Ulster Museum. 

The event will be free to attend for #Icon19 delegates traveling from abroad to join us – but all delegates are warmly invited to join us to network and make connections to take us all through the days of the conference and beyond. 

Look out for booking details coming soon!

Conference Tours

The conference tours agenda is coming together nicely, and we are almost ready to open our conference tours booking portal. Previous feedback emphasised how highly-valued conference tours were for our delegates, so this year we’ve been working to ensure there is something for everyone.

Some of the conference tour options in store for Wednesday 12th June include:

• Conservation and Belfast City Centre + Inside Belfast City Hall
• Conservation and Belfast Street Murals
• Day trip: Conservation at Mount Stewart
• Day trip: Conservation at Hillsborough Castle
• Day trip to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and NMNI Museum Store

There's more in the works so watch this space and stay tuned for booking details coming soon.

Early Bird rate ends soon

In the meantime, time is steadily running out on our Early Bird Rate, which ends 28th February – something to bear in mind!

Core registration includes the Opening Reception at Ulster Museum on Wednesday 12th June and two days of conference sessions on 13th and 14th June – while the conference tours on Wednesday 12th June, Gala Conference Dinner at Belfast City Hall on Thursday 13th June and Steam Jazz Night on Friday 14th June are optional extras. 

Stay tuned for more details on all the excitement as they become available!

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Image: Belfast City Hall