TICCIH Congress 2025 (Heritage in action) – The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage

Location: Kiruna, Sweden
Dates: August 25 – 30, 2025

Theme: Heritage in Action

The 19th TICCIH Congress will explore the theme “Heritage in Action: Legacies of Industry in Future Making.” The focus will be on the tensions and controversies surrounding industrial heritage and its relation to broader societal issues. Key themes include:

• Sustainability
• Inclusion
• Colonialism
• Future Generations
• Popular Culture
• Artificial Intelligence

About Kiruna

Kiruna is a small town in the Swedish Arctic with a rich industrial history. Officially established in 1900, it was part of a large project to extract vast iron mineralizations in the region. However, the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, with steel-making based on bog-ores dating back 2000 years and mining activities from the 17th century.

Current Developments

• Largest Underground Iron Ore Mine: Kiruna hosts the largest underground iron ore mine in the world, which is still operational.
• New Industrialization: The region is experiencing a new wave of industrialization, including rare earth elements mining and CO2-free steel production. This development competes with traditional land uses of indigenous people and national minorities, such as Saami reindeer herders and Tornedalians, leading to growing tensions about land use and the future.

Excursions

Several pre- and post-congress excursions will be offered at varying costs:

Pre-Congress Excursions

• Arctic Mine Fields and Hydroelectric Plants of Northernmost Sweden
• Center of the Green Industrial Transition in Sweden
• Mid-Swedish Mining District Bergslagen

Post-Congress Excursions

• Torne River Valley
• Oil Rig in Stavanger
• Röros Copper Mine
• Svalbard

Organization

The congress is organized by Luleå University of Technology, a leading university in the European Arctic, and the TICCIH sections in Sweden and Norway. Collaborators include:

• Jernkontoret
• Swedish National Heritage Board
• LKAB
• Municipality of Kiruna
• Various leading actors within industry and civil society in the Scandinavian north