The meaning of culture in global policy for sustainable development
Online talk with Cornelius Holtorf, Professor of Archaeology, holder of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures (Department of Cultural Sciences) at Linnaeus University, Sweden
The talk will be conducted in English.
Time: December 5 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Danish time
“In my talk, I will begin by reviewing various academic definitions of culture.
I will then discuss the difficulties that arise in global policy contexts when there are competing (and confusing) understandings of the term ‘culture’. This applies not only to the ongoing campaign to include culture in the Post-2030 Agenda but also to the efforts to do justice to the significance of culture in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
I will conclude by sharing some of my own views on why culture matters in global contexts and what ‘cultural sustainability’ may mean.”
The meeting was introduced by the Vice-minister of Culture of the Kingdom of Spain. Mr. Jordi Martí Grau who emphasized the rights of all citizens to culture and creative work, stressing the significance of education in that respect, and that “there cannot be sustainable development without culture”. Grau emphasized the rights of all citizens to culture.
The meeting was attended, among others, by the Assistant Director General for Culture (ADG Culture), UNESCO, Mr. Ernesto Ottone-Ramírez, and by representatives of Cultural Ministeries from many European countries, the U.S. and Canada. It was moderated by the representative of Andorra and featured simultaneous translation of all contributions between Spanish, English, and French.
In my own short address to the participants I emphasized the opportunities for culture, UNESCO and MONDIACULT arising from the 2024 UN Pact of the Futures. In conclusion, I suggested for MONDIACULT 2025 to
integrate foresight, anticipation, and the benefits of ‘futures literacy’ in cultural policy around the world,
promote the potential of culture and cultural heritage for globally addressing the needs of future generations in the context of change and transformation.
Reconsidering the Heritage Future of Nuclear Waste Hazards: A Permanent Legacy
By C. Pescatore, Affiliated Researcher and member of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University
The question of “How long and how dangerous is high-level nuclear waste?” is rarely answered in full. Often, people are told that the radiation threat will diminish over time, as many radioactive products decay. While this is true to an extent, it only tells part of the story. The reality is more complex and far-reaching. Spent nuclear fuel is composed of roughly 95% uranium-238 (U-238), an isotope that behaves differently than the remaining 5% components that are much more actively decaying. Although its radioactivity may initially seem insignificant compared to more immediate hazards, over time U-238 will reconstitute its decay chain, leading to a resurgence of radioactive danger.
The radioactivity of U-238 does not simply decrease to insignificance; instead, it eventually increases as it reestablishes its broken decay-family, producing a host of hazardous progeny isotopes. For spent fuel, this increase becomes dominant beyond the one-million-year mark – well beyond the timeframe when many safety analyses have already been concluded. While safety cases often focus on the decay of radioactivity, they overlook the radioactive ingrowth that arises from U-238. This shift challenges conventional thinking and demands a refocusing of our long-term strategies for managing nuclear waste.
The implication is profound: the danger from high-level nuclear waste does not merely fade away. It transforms into a persistent, long-term alpha-, beta- and gamma-radiation hazard that requires sustained vigilance and robust containment strategies far into the future. This enduring risk calls into question assumptions about the timeframe for which safety must be maintained, extending our responsibilities across an almost unimaginable span of time.
Preserving Memory and Heritage for the Far Future
This brings us to the pressing question of heritage, memory, and how we communicate the information about high-level nuclear waste across extended time spans. Ensuring that future societies remember the existence and significance of these waste repositories requires a robust effort to preserve records, knowledge, and memory (RK&M).
One promising approach is the use of millennial time capsules strategically placed within or near repositories. These capsules can carry messages, warnings, and cultural artifacts that bridge the gap between our time and a distant future. Some capsules could be constructed from the same materials as the waste containers and placed within the repository to offer a final, deeply embedded source of knowledge that future discoverers might encounter, potentially guiding their understanding and actions.
Near-surface capsules could further engage communities through rituals of memory preservation and periodic inspections, creating cultural continuity and reinforcing the message of caution. Historical examples like the Osaka Castle Dual Time Capsule illustrate how science and cultural heritage can blend to transmit knowledge across generations.
Photo: Osaka Time capsule monument, Wikipedia, 12 februari 2012 https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Osaka_Time_Capsule.jpg
However, even with the best physical and cultural tools at our disposal, the fundamental question remains: How do we effectively communicate the danger posed by these wastes across millennia? Symbols, language, stories, and rituals may change, but the risk endures. Preserving memory is not just a technical challenge; it is a societal one, requiring us to create a living “heritage future” of caution, awareness, and responsibility – one that future generations can draw upon to protect themselves from the enduring radiation hazard that lies beneath.
On 11 November 2024, Cornelius Holtorf and David Staley ran a digital research seminar bringing together a unique gathering of historians and archaeologists from Ohio State University and Linnaeus University, working on the future. The title was “When history and archaeology meet the future” and the seminar was attended by 18 students and researchers from different disciplines and in different time zones.
Professor Christopher Nichols, Ohio State University
Among the participants and contributors to the half-day seminar were most members of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, including Sarah May, Emily Hanscam, Ulrika Söderström, Leila Papoli-Yazdi, and Helena Rydén.
Den 16 oktober 2024 var jag inbjuden att delta på Länsmuseernas höstmöte i Uddevalla. Mötets tema var ‘Länsmuseerna i en brytningstid – kultur, motståndskraft och innovation’. Under en session med rubriken Kulturarvets beredskap för krig och fred höll jag ett anförande där jag ställde frågan om Länsmuseerna och den svenska kultursektorn gör tillräckligt just nu för att förebygga krig.
På grund av Zoom-formatet och den begränsade tiden var det svårt att föra en fördjupad diskussion med publiken. Sedan dess har två deltagare skickat in en gemensam skriftlig kommentar, som jag har besvarat.
I spent three days in AlUla in Saudi Arabia, on invitation of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to attend the AlUla World Archaeology Symposium 2024. The Royal Commission is extremely well resourced to shape AlUla’s Future, thanks to the Government of the Royal Family. They paid all costs of the Symposium participants and hired a charter jet to get them there from Ryadh (whereas I was driven 300 km through the nightly desert from Medina).
AlUla (also al-Ula) is an ancient Arabian oasis city with some spectacular archaeological sites from various periods as well as additional attractions. The idea is to develop it as a tourism destination until 2030 – which is the year the Saudi King and Crown-Prince’s “Vision 2030” is aiming at.
Vision 2030, they say, “is a blueprint that is diversifying the economy, empowering citizens, creating a vibrant environment for both local and international investors, and establishing Saudi Arabia as a global leader”. The Vision even incorporates comprehensive reforms in the public sector, the economy, and society.
Like other Gulf States (I saw this even last year in Dubai), bold visions are modernising the region at a fast pace and changes, for example regarding women rights, are already visible. The region is engulfed (!) in future visions of the kind that have become practically forgotten in Western countries dominated by either apocalyptic fears or initiatives to maintain the status quo.
The idea for AlUla, according to the RCU is this: “By safeguarding AlUla’s unique heritage and natural features, we aim to generate economic growth and sustainable development. Our strategies are crafted to not only protect but also enhance AlUla’s environmental and historical integrity, ensuring every initiative aligns with sustainable principles. This thoughtful approach positions AlUla as a model for preservation and progress, where its past informs its future.”
They actually take this very seriously, commission a number of comprehensive archaeological research projects in the area and are doing their best to work sustainably in various ways (obviously less so regarding carbon footprint…).
We are invited for the sake of product development and marketing as AlUla is trying to set itself up as the Place of Heritage for the World (as on the incription above) and the Archaeology capital of the world (as they have it on another occasion). The RCU is ambitious in its aspirations, has much archaeology to study and show to visitors, and they also have come far in many ways already.
The experience we get is certainly very different compared to what we see about Saudi Arabia in our media. I am thinking about the BRICS alliance and their claim to manifest an emerging multipolar world. While the old Western powers are increasingly in political, economical and cultural (?) crises, perhaps even decline, there is a perceptible momentum towards fast future development in the Gulf. Interestingly, they embrace culture and heritage (rather than cut budgets which we have become familiar with in Europe by now). A new world order may indeed be emerging, and in Saudi Arabia we saw it being crafted right now.
Some questions remain for Saudi Arabia to work through more fully, e.g. about the exact role of the local community and the human rights record of the government. But it is impressive nonetheless that they have entered a path for change, not just focussing on the economy but also embracing culture and society.
Heritage Futures in the making! Very interesting to see it happening.
Opponent: Professor Bodil Axelsson, Linköpings universitet
Examination Committee: Dr Anne S Beck, Museum Sydøstdanmark, Professor Mats Burström, Stockholms universitet, Docent Richard Pettersson, Umeå universitet
Supervisor: Professor Anders Högberg; Linnéuniversitetet
Chair/internal examiner: Professor Cornelius Holtorf, Linnéuniversitetet
ABSTRACT:
Claiming that cultural heritage must be preserved for sustainable urban development and for the benefit of future generations is common practice in cultural heritage management and urban planning. But when cultural heritage is used as a resource in urban transformation processes, do current heritage practices, including archaeology, promote the socially sustainable urban futures they aim to achieve?
This research aims to generate new knowledge on how Swedish contract archaeology can contribute to sustainable urban development and good living environments in an informed and innovative manner. By adopting a broad perspective, I explore how cultural heritage is utilized as a resource in urban transformation and design processes to promote social sustainability. Employing an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, I examine how the social sustainability effects of current heritage practices, including archaeology, affect sustainable futures making. The research includes three case studies on urban transformation: the Caroli quarter in Malmö (1967–1973), the Valnötsträdet quarter in Kalmar (2008–2018), and the ongoing transformation of Kiruna town.
The results highlight how contradictions between legislation’s focus on the past and cultural and urban planning’s future-oriented goals institutionalize ideas about cultural heritage value and the perception that preservation is a sustainable heritage practice in itself. Consequently, archaeology is rarely seen as a process or practice that promotes social sustainability. Instead, focus is on the value of the built historic environment and stories about the past, assuming that using these elements in development and design processes will promote present and future sustainability values, such as attractiveness, security, social cohesion, and collective identities. However, the results show that expected social sustainability goals are rarely met due to a lack of citizen participation and a lack of understanding of what is required to achieve these goals in the present and for the imagined futures. I argue that to effect change, it is necessary to explore futures literacy in theory and practice, deepen comprehension of how archaeology and heritage practices contribute to social value, and broaden participation in discussions and decisions regarding how cultural heritage can be used as a resource in urban development processes.
From left: Members of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, Helena Rydén, Cornelius Holtorf, Ulrika Söderström, Anders Högberg and Gustav Wollentz.
A new report covers the seventh year of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University. Among the highlights of the year were several global occasions at which our Chair could contribute with perspectives on ‘Heritage Futures’.
This included the ICOMOS General Assembly 2023 held in Sydney, Australia, the Dubai Future Forum in Dubai, UAE, and UNESCO World Futures Day 2023 in December at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris where Cornelius Holtorf was running a topical plenary panel (photo in the head of the page).
On various occasions throughout the year, the team members had the chance to meet and connect with UNESCO Chairholders from different corners of the world, working on culture, heritage, the future, and other questions. Such meetings and exchanges of views are always stimulating and important, not the least as it contributes to strengthening global trust and joint multilateral engagements for a better world.
Heritage in Transformation
In spring, Cornelius Holtorf spent three months as a Conservation Guest Scholar at the Getty in Los Angeles, USA. His project was entitled “Heritage in Transformation” and explored how, in a world where the future is not what it used to be, we can conceptualize the past and practice cultural heritage in correspondingly new ways.
This report is published shortly after the 2024 UN Summit of the Future has been held in New York. The Summit agreed on a global Pact for the Future and a Declaration on Future Generations, both of which referring to culture and cultural heritage. It will be exciting to follow how this will strengthen the case for heritage futures in Sweden and the other UN member states across the years to come.
Please get in touch if you have any comments or suggestions!
In a new paper in the International Journal of Cultural Property, the Glasgow-based law scholar Andreas Giorgallis discusses the idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations in international cultural heritage law.
Giorgallis (2024: 1-2) points out that the idea of protecting cultural heritage to bequeath it to future generations is probably the most commonly cited rationale upon which legal regulation is justified. But nevertheless, law scholars hardly ever studied it. Instead, he notes, intergenerational concerns for cultural heritage “have migrated to other fields of studies, including heritage studies, cultural economics, museum studies, archaeology, and anthropology taking on sizable portions of the discourse”. Here, he also cites some of the work of authors associated with the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures.
Intriguingly, Giorgallis confirms (2024: 11) that none of the routine legislative pieces referring to future generations designates their exact identity nor does it determine their rights and obligations regarding cultural heritage.
Giorgallis also suggests (2024: 18) that “[a]ttempting to predict the tastes and priorities of future generations in cultural heritage is not an easy enterprise. The danger of imposing a majoritarian take on contemporary tastes in a rather paternalistic and neocolonial way is ever-present…” But this risk of presentism can be avoided by drawing on foresight and futures literacy – which is a capability our Chair is building among global heritage professionals.
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Giorgallis A. The idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations in international cultural heritage law. International Journal of Cultural Property. Published online 2024:1-24. doi:10.1017/S0940739124000171
Cornelius Holtorf participated and presented the work of our Chair in the 2024 International UNESCO Chairs Conference at Leuphania University Lüneburg, Germany, dedicated to the theme “UNESCO Chairs’ Perspectives on Sustainable Development Goals” (7-9 October 2024).
Among the ca 60 participants were UNESCO Chairholders and team members of 10 German UNESCO Chairs as well as of ca. 10 international UNESCO Chairs from Canada, India, Netherlands, Norway, and the U.K., and several senior representatives of the German UNESCO Commission and its Secretariate in Bonn.
I participated on invitation of Michael Kloos, UNESCO Chair on Historic Urban Landscapes and Heritage Impact Assessments at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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