The 8th edition of the IKUWA conference will take place in Ostend in October 2025.
IKUWA is a global network of agencies, with a focus on underwater archaeology. Its aim is to raise awareness of underwater cultural heritage, and support an international regulatory framework for its protection. Since 1999, IKUWA has organized a conference approximately every three years.
We are therefore very proud that we were able to bring the organization of the next edition to Belgium, more specifically to Ostend. The conference will last no less than 5 days, with additional optional excursions and workshops. We expect around 300 participants from all over the world. It will take a while until October '25, but both the scientific committee and the organizing committee are working at full speed.
The main organizers are Onroerend Erfgoed, VLIZ and the City of Ostend, together with Toerisme Vlaanderen, Ghent University, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Agence wallonne du Patrimoine.
The scientific committee also includes researchers and policy officers from many different institutions: Onroerend Erfgoed, Ghent University, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Flemish Marine Institute, the Agence Wallone du Patrimoine, Urban.Brussels, and the Nederlandse Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed en Rijkswaterstaat.
The call for sessions is currently running until the end of August. The scientific program and social events are slowly but surely taking shape. The website also looks great now, and there is already plenty of activity on social media. Be sure to take a look and give our colleagues a like!
