First Conference Announcement BigStuff 2015 Technical heritage: preserving authenticity – enabling identity? About BigStuff conferences Big Stuff is an international meeting focused on the challenges and requirements for conserving the large industrial structures and technical objects that form such an important part of our modern heritage. The meeting has been so far hosted in Canberra/Australia (2004), Bochum/Germany (2007), Duxford/UK (2010) and Ottawa/Canada (2013). In 2015 it will be held in Lewarde/France. The conference features two days of talks and discussions about the preservation of industrial sites, oversized objects, machinery, and working technology in the context of their significance and interpretation. The meeting aims to bring together Conservation professionals, Curators, and those working in or interested in the heritage field; to share experiences and ideas, and encourage a consistent approach to preserving technological heritage. Venue: BigStuff 2015 will be held at the mining museum ‘Centre Historique Minier (CHM)’, Lewarde/France (http://www.chmlewarde.com/en/index.html). Date: The two-day conference will take place from 3rd to 4th September 2015. It will start on the morning of Thursday, 3rd and end late afternoon Friday, 4th September. Additional Day trip: We are planning to offer an additional day trip on 5th of September 2015 (not included in the conference fee). This trip will be in conjunction with the TICCIH-2015 congress, which is taking place in Lille/France from September 6-11, 2015 (http://ticcih-2015.sciencesconf.org/?lang=en). The details are being finalised with the TICCIH organizing committee and will be sent to BigStuff participants in April 2015. Scientific program of Big Stuff 2015 conference: Day 1: Industrial Heritage Session 1: Handling and preservation of large industrial structures and buildings (including concrete problems) Session 2: Preservation and operation of machinery – a contradiction? Day 2: Large technical objects in museum condition Session 3: Traces of usage – how much of the original may be preserved Session 4: Working together - community and professional approaches to conserving BigStuff Languages at the conference: Contributions can be given in English and French. Simultaneous translation will be available. Conference fee: Conference fee will be 150.00 € per person. It will include conference documents, drinks and meals during the conference, and transport from the hotel to the conference location and back. Hotel accommodation: Room contingents will be reserved by CHM in Douai close to Lewarde (not included in the conference fee). Transportation from the hotel to the museum will be offered during the conference. For more information: Please view the conference homepage: www.bergbaumuseum.de/bigstuff2015 to get further information. Expression of interest in participating(without a contribution): Please send an informal email to Stefan Brueggerhoff (stefan.brueggerhoff@bergbaumuseum.de) and we will keep you informed about the progress of the conference program and registration. Call for papers (deadline 30th April 2015): If you are interested in presenting a topic at the conference, please send an abstract of about one page to scientific committee representative Alison Wain (alison.wain58@gmail.com).Please identify your preferred conference session on the abstract; you will get an answer by the end of May from the scientific committee of the conference. Further time schedule:  middle of April: first option to register for the conference  end of April: deadline for submitting one page abstracts  end of May: information to authors about their contribution (acceptance as oral contribution or poster)  beginning of July: distribution of final program  end of July: deadline for registration  3rd of September: start of conference