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Posts Tagged ‘sustainable development goals’

Cultural Heritage and Wellbeing

Thursday, March 24th, 2022

 

As part of the EUniWell Open Lecture Series, Prof. Cornelius Holtorf presented on 24 March 2022 on

“Cultural Heritage, Well-being and the Future”

ABSTRACT

Cultural heritage is often assumed to be of timeless value. But over recent decades, cultural heritage has been fundamentally reconceptualised in global policies. Whereas for about two centuries, cultural heritage was usually appreciated as a tangible token of collective histories, usually connected to ideas linked to Romantic Nationalism, now we see a different paradigm gradually taken over: cultural heritage is increasingly valued in relation to the intangible impacts and uses it has for specific communities. In this context, the concept of wellbeing has become central, and I will give a few concrete examples what that means for cultural heritage. Taking this development even further, cultural heritage in global contexts is today most commonly addressed within the framework of sustainable development. Yet political bodies such as the UN and national governments (even those embracing wellbeing) are still locked into older perceptions and often fail to embrace fully the ‘new’ cultural heritage. The UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures is contributing to changing this by focusing on how cultural heritage can best benefit future generations.

The lecture was recorded and will be available online soon.

Heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals

Wednesday, March 17th, 2021

Now published:

Labadi, Sophia, Francesca Giliberto, Ilaria Rosetti, Linda Shetabi, Ege Yildirim (2021). Heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals: Policy Guidance For Heritage And Development Actors. Paris: ICOMOS.

A remarkable document in many ways! Here is one interesting comment, for example (which may have been inspired by some of my comments on a draft version):

At the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), we strongly believe that heritage can play a key role in addressing the SDGs, but more work is needed to understand and address the potentials and challenges that link heritage to each Goal. The Policy Guidance document is the first step in addressing this gap. It illustrates where heritage can make a positive contribution and be leveraged by all actors in the heritage and development fields to improve policy and practice. It also addresses the challenge points where heritage practices might be at odds with sustainable development objectives, with the awareness that more in-depth studies and debates are called for in future outputs of the SDGs Working Group.

More research is needed indeed!

“Heritage And Our Sustainable Future”

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021

I am attending this week and next the digital conference “Heritage And Our Sustainable Future: Research, Practice, Policy and Impact“, organised by the UNESCO Commission for the UK and attended by an audience or more than 300 people from around the world. Ernesto Ottone (Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO) contributed with an introductory note.

In a discussion on heritage in relation to disaster response and resilience, Joe King (ICCROM) agreed with my call for more ethnographic research on what heritage actually does in societies by suggesting that we need to build capacity among heritage managers to learn that heritage conservation is not always part of the solution in conflict situations but can also be part of the problem.

Similarly, Charlotte Andrews from Bermuda suggested that maybe the community could be asked what they want to be restored and what not, as there could be benefits from some destruction too, which we saw recently in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Future in Heritage Studies

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Cornelius Holtorf was invited to present a digital lunchtime seminar on “The Future in Heritage Studies and its Future” at the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, University of Cambridge (4 February 2021).

For an audience of almost 70, Holtorf reviewed the significance of the future in heritage studies, arguing that the anticipated needs and benefits of heritage for specific future generations have very rarely been explicitly addressed or critically discussed. As heritage is increasingly linked to the Agenda 2030, the significance of the future in heritage studies becomes ever more important and a critical engagement with this notion and its meaning is urgently needed.

The UNESCO Chair om Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University attempts to make a difference in that respect by building global capacity for futures thinking among heritage professionals.

Archaeology Today – now in print

Thursday, December 31st, 2020

Our unique colouring book Archaeology Today (for children and adults alike!) is now available