UNESCO

Chair on Heritage Futures

Heritage Futures – origins and significance

2025-01-30

In an interview published by the Association of Critical Heritage Studies, I am talking about origins and significance of ‘heritage futures’, both for me and my work and academically in a more general sense.

Specifically, I am answering the following questions:

  1. What inspired your interest in the concept of “heritage futures,” and how do you see this concept reshaping the field of heritage studies and archaeology?
  2. Your work challenges traditional approaches to heritage by emphasizing its dynamic nature in contemporary society. Could you provide some examples of how this approach has influenced your own research or projects?
  3. In your view, what is the role of archaeology and heritage studies in addressing global issues such as climate change, sustainability, and cultural identity? 

The Power of History and Heritage

2025-01-29

Donald Trump’s Inaugural Speech on 20 January 2025, demonstrated the significance of history in building a narrative for national politics. These are some of the key passages in his speech:

“The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.  …

“Above all, my message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization. …
 
“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation — one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.  …
 
“Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers.  The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts.  The call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls. 
 
“Our American ancestors turned a small group of colonies on the edge of a vast continent into a mighty republic of the most extraordinary citizens on Earth.  No one comes close.
 
“Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness.  They crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens, and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand.  If we work together, there is nothing we cannot do and no dream we cannot achieve.“

We will come to see to what extent the Trump administration will even employ cultural heritage to signify its ‘historical’ mission. And whether heritage will be seen as a tool for future-making.

While campaigning for his first Presidential period, there was one example of Trump possibly using a type of ‘heritage futures’. That was the occasion of the fictitous war memorial erected in 2015 on one of his golf courses. The River of Blood monument was installed at the Trump National Golf Club in Lowes Island, Virginia, which purports to mark an American Civil War battle site even though no records to that effect are known. The intention seems to have been to connect Trump’s patriotic America-first agenda with a heritage site commemorating an imagined historic event during the American Civil War.

Lets see how all this plays out over the coming years.

The Atom & Cornelius

2025-01-27

Chairholder Cornelius Holtorf got interviewed by film-maker Vicki Lesley in her series entitled “The Atom & Us“. Vicki was the Director of The Atom: A Love Affair (2019).

She introduces the interview with Cornelius like this:

“Cornelius is a Professor of Archaeology, originally from Germany but now based in Sweden. But in an unusual twist, his work doesn’t focus on the past, but instead, on the future. And more particularly for our purposes, on the legacy of nuclear waste and what we in the present can leave behind to empower generations far in the future to manage this legacy safely.

“I’m fascinated by his work as these questions of nuclear knowledge and deep time have been a preoccupation of mine ever since I first got interested in nuclear issues back in the mid 2000s – and of course, they remain a live and pressing issue now, not just in the UK where I am, but in places across the globe who’ve experienced the footprints of nuclear activity, be they military or civilian.

“I find his perspective on this as an archaeologist insightful and stimulating. And on top of that, he also has a vivid tale to tell about his own personal relationship to the atom, shaped by the particular time and place he grew up in, as well as impactful encounters later in life.”

— (Cornelius writes:) I found the questions really stimulating and a good opportunity to tell about some sides of my interest in ‘the nuclear’ which I haven’t previously written about anywhere.

Various Activities October-December 2024

2025-01-15

Cornelius Holtorf had an informal meeting with Maria Wilenius, new Secretary-General, and Ellinor Hellberg, responsible for culture, Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, to discuss the renewal of our UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures 2025-2029 (4 October 2024).

Gustav Wollentz lectured for two hours on heritage futures to XX students reading the course “An introduction to Cultural Heritage”, Linnaeus University, Kalmar students (TO BE COMPLETED).

Cornelius Holtorf lectured for three hours on “Cultural and heritage tourism – making choices for the future” for 14 students taking the advanced-level course on Tourism and Sustainability in the Anthropocene 15 credits in Tourism and Recreation Studies at Linnaeus University, Kalmar (10 October 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf held a class on culture and the future for about ten students taking the course “Ethics and Anthropology” at the University of Cork, Ireland (10 October 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf was invited to present for ca 50 participants of the Swedish County Museums Autumn Meeting (Länsmuseernas höstmöte) on the extent to which the Swedish County Museums are contributing to peace rather than preparing for war (17 October 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf introduced and led a discussion on the importance of the past and cultural heritage for civil defense and cultural mobilisation during the Meeting of the Scientific Council of the LEIBNIZ Centre for Archaeology (LEIZA) held in Schleswig, Germany (24 October 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf had an informal meeting with Steven Hartman, Executive Director, UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition, about future collaborations and mutual endorsements (4 November 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf held an informal meeting with Michael Münker of Milliongenerations Foundation in Utrecht, Netherlands, about future collaborations relating to global art and culture in relation to future generations (22 November 2024).

Gustav Wollentz and Anders Högberg ran a futures workshop for XX decision-makers at the Cultural Administration at Västragötalands Region in Göteborg, Sweden (22 November 2024). TO BE COMPLETED

Cornelius Holtorf was invited to contribute to a panel on 60 years Venice Charter, addressing the topic “Regeneration vs the Venice Charter”, for 20 members of ICOMOS Sweden attending the ICOMOS Sweden Advent meeting in Stockholm, Sweden (26 November 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf took part in the Transitional First Meeting of the Expert Group on Archiving and Awareness Preservation (EGAAP) of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD (27 November 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf contributed as a panel member to Linnaeus University’s internal “Future Day” on 3 December 2024.

Cornelius Holtorf took part in the online round table “Exploring connections – climate action for living heritage” co-organized by UNESCO, the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL) and the ICH NGO Forum and held in the framework of the Nineteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asunción, Paraguay (3 December 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf met with Emma Rydnér, co-ordinator of the Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland World Heritage property at the Municipality of Mörbylånga, Öland, to discuss future collaboration (4 December 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf presented an online talk on “The meaning of culture in global policy for sustainable development” for CultureSustain – a network researching Scandinavian museums’ impact on Cultural Sustainability based at the University of Aarhus, Denmark (5 December 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf had an informal meeting on heritage futures with Nataliya Oboznenko, researcher, Lecturer in Marketing, and Academic Director at the Lviv Business School of the Ukrainian Catholic University (13 December 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf lectured on “Archaeology, Climate and Sustainability” for 17 students taking the course “Archaeology I” at Linnaeus University, Campus Kalmar (18 December 2024).

Cornelius Holtorf lectured on “Global Cultural Policy” for 13 students taking the course “Possibilities and Limits of Cultural Policy”, which forms part of the Undergraduate Programme in Cultural heritage in present and future societies at Linnaeus University, Campus Kalmar (19 December 2024).

Future Day at Linnaeus University

2024-12-12

On December 3, 2024, the university management invited to a theme day in Växjö about Linnaeus University and the future. A recording of the event is available here https://play.lnu.se/media/t/0_tb0d3lc4

Cornelius Holtorf participated live in a panel discussion with Marie Hedberg, Pro Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Jörgen Forss, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Technology. Marcelo Milrad from the Faculty of Technology joined via link. The panel was chaired by Kerstin Årmann from the Office of External Relations.

Future Day at Linnaeus University 3 December 2024
Cornelius Holtorf in a panel discussion at the Future Day, Linnaeus University.

Workshop in Gothenburg

Anders Högberg and Gustav Wollentz from the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures were on the 22 November 2024 invited to conduct a workshop on future awareness for the management group at the Department for Nature and Cultural Heritage in the Region Västra Götaland. During the day we met 12 persons, and the workshop lasted for four hours. It took place at the Museum of Natural History in Gothenburg.

The main question we explored was: What will the museums’ societal role/mission look like in 2050? This question was approached through a series of sub-questions, for example with the aim of identifying societal challenges and how these can be proactively met through actions today.

The workshop was based on dialogue and the exchange of different perspectives and experiences. By such an approach, participants took on a more open approach to different types of futures in relation to the museums’ societal role and mission. In the exchange after the workshop, it was highlighted as particularly important to be able to approach the future as open where several different alternatives are conceivable. Participants expressed it as liberating not to see the future solely as an extension of the present, and to be able to seriously engage in considering alternatives for the future.

Museum of Natural History in Gothenburg
Museum of Natural History in Gothenburg. Photo Gustav Wollentz

Climate action for living heritage

2024-12-08

Cornelius Holtorf was among a team of international experts contributing to a UNESCO Guidance note on climate action for living heritage, passed recently at the 19th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asunción, Paraguay, 2 to 7 December 2024.

Among others, the Note refers to the significance of futures thinking in stating that

“The network of UNESCO Chairs and accredited non-governmental organizations should also be engaged in promoting research and education objectives, and in advocating for research programmes as a source of funding. Specific priorities for research might address:

  • (…)
  • engagement with the new fields of artificial intelligence and futures thinking;”

Gradually, heritage futures makes its way into UNESCO thinking regarding major challenges ahead…

Preparing MONDIACULT 2025

2024-11-22

On 21 and 22 November 2024, Cornelius Holtorf was attending the Regional Consultation for Western Europe and North America in preparation of the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2025, to be held 29 September – 1 October in Barcelona, Spain. I was one of three UNESCO Chairs participating in the meeting.

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

  1. integrate foresight, anticipation, and the benefits of ‘futures literacy’ in cultural policy around the world,
  2. promote the potential of culture and cultural heritage for globally addressing the needs of future generations in the context of change and transformation.

Note: an interesting background of global cultural policy development in relation to the work of UNESCO is given in Justin O’Connor’s 2024 essay on Global Cultural Policy at the Crossroads: Reflections on the Summit of the Future.

Nuclear Waste and Heritage Futures

2024-11-19

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.

Further reading

Research into time capsules was suggested to the Swedish Government in this 2016 report by Pescatore available online at:  https://www.sou.gov.se/contentassets/9ffa0b1ff6954c58ba9e0dd8db733ffc/report_pescatore_10_nov_2016.pdf

A November-2024 technical paper by Pescatore deals with the long-term intrinsic radiation hazards of high-level nuclear wastes: http://www.nukleonika.pl/www/back/full/vol69_2024/v69n4p215f.pdf

Clau Pescatore, Affiliated Researcher and member of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University

Claudio Pescatore is affiliated researcher and member of the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University.