World Heritage and Cultural Diversity Editors German Commission for UNESCO Dieter Offenhäußer Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus Walther Ch. Zimmerli UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies Marie-Theres Albert Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de Copyediting and proofreading: Caroline Lawrence Layout and printing: DRUCKZONE GmbH & Co. KG, Cottbus © German Commission for UNESCO, 2010 Printed in Germany ISBN: 978-3-940785-20-6 Scientific Peer Review Committee The editors of this book were supported by an independent Scientific Peer Review Committee composed of recognized experts in the field of heritage research. We therefore wish to thank Robyn Bushell, Lodovico Folin Calabi, Thomas Heyd, Peter Howard, Klaus Hüfner, Jukka Jokilehto, Lothar Jordan, Reinhard Kleßen, York Langenstein, Jutta Ströter-Bender and Andrea Witcomb. The committee reviewed, evaluated, ranked and rated research papers based on internationally established procedures and guidelines. Contents Prefaces 10 Walter Hirche 11 Walther Ch. Zimmerli 13 Francesco Bandarin Prologue 15 Stella Chiweshe Intangible Musical Heritage Introduction 17 Marie-Theres Albert World Heritage and Cultural Diversity: What Do they Have in Common? Part 1: Setting the Framework 24 Mounir Bouchenaki World Heritage and Cultural Diversity: Challenges for University Education 32 Dieter Offenhäußer UNESCO's World Heritage Programme – Reasons for its Popularity 35 Birgitta Ringbeck On the Future of the World Heritage Convention 38 William Stewart Logan Development of World Heritage Studies in University Education 5 Part 2: Heritage in Time and Space 46 Margarita Hiebaum-Fichtl, Ruifan Yang Preface Standard References 50 Geneviève Susemihl Transnational and Transcultural Movements and World Heritage 59 Alice Halsdorfer Flight, Displacement, Exile and Migration: How to Represent Such Complex and Multifaceted Phenomena at World Heritage Sites? 69 Caroline Robertson-von Trotha, Robert Hauser UNESCO and Digitalized Heritage: New Heritage – New Challenges 79 Barbara Engels Serial Natural Heritage Sites: A Model to Enhance Diversity of World Heritage? 85 Susanne von der Heide Aspects of Transcultural Movements along the Ancient Trade Routes of the Himalayas 94 Jacek Purchla Towards a Heritage Preservation System: The Dilemmas of Poland's Transformation Part 3: Tangible and Intangible Expressions of Heritage 100 Konstantin Wenzel Preface 6 Standard References 104 Britta Rudolff Local Identity on the Global Stage: The Challenges of Representing Diversity 112 Christina Cameron World Heritage Sites of Conscience and Memory 120 Jagdish S. Gundara Religious and Cultural Diversity and World Heritage in Modern Constitutional States 129 Judith Herrmann Tolerance and Diversity Case Studies 138 Huang Ziming Indian Classical Dance in the Secular Context of a Multi-Ethnic Society in Singapore 146 Ulrich Schaaf ´ The Silesian Lutheran Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica: Symbol of the Struggle for Religious Freedom or Witnesses of Religious Tolerance? Part 4: Political Dimensions of Heritage 156 Ellen Lekka, Marc Wohlrabe Preface Standard References 160 Christian Manhart UNESCO's Fight against Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property, Restitution and Needs of Museums in Developing Countries 7 164 Christoff Jenschke Obligation to Restitute objets d'art According to the First Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention versus National Immunity from Seizure 167 Stefan Disko World Heritage Sites in Indigenous Peoples' Territories: Ways of Ensuring Respect for Indigenous Cultures, Values and Human Rights Case Studies 180 William Xiaojun Wei, Mathew Levitt The Qing Bronze Heads Case: Problems and Suggestions Regarding the Repatriation of Cultural Property 186 Nadia Capuzzo Derkovi´c Dealing With the Past: The Role of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Monuments in a Post-Conflict Society Part 5: Cultural Landscapes and Sustainable Development 192 Marie-Theres Albert Preface Standard References 196 Mechtild Rössler World Heritage and Sustainable Development: The Case of Cultural Landscapes 203 Michael Turner The Perception of Urban Space as Landscape: From Site to Space and Scape 8 213 Steven Yieke Ojoo Indigenous Interpretation of the Luo Cultural Landscapes 225 Ana Pereira Roders, Ron van Oers Outstanding Universal Value, World Heritage Cities and Sustainability: Mapping Assessment Processes Case Studies 238 Shadi Azizi, Nader Afzalan, Mahda Mohammadbagher A Case Study of Cultural Landscape as a Potential for Sustainable Development of Local Scale: Garme Village Redevelopment 245 Yuri L. Mazurov Challenge of Climate Change for Historical Heritage: Monitoring and Reporting in the Russian Federation 252 Thomas Raab, Alexandra Raab Impacts of Early Land Use and Mining on River Landscapes 262 Authors and Members of the Scientific Peer Review Committee 9 Walter Hirche Preface With the international conference on World Heritage and The symposium took place on the occasion of the inauguration Cultural Diversity – Challenges for University Education, the of the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies. In 2003, UNESCO international Master's programme World Heritage Studies at recognized the success of the Chair in Intercultural Studies at Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus celebrated its Cottbus University, which was heading the Master's programme 10 th anniversary in October 2009. This innovative and unique World Heritage Studies until 2009, by awarding the title of interdisciplinary study course is primarily based on the World UNESCO Chair, thereby integrating Chair and study course into Heritage Convention adopted by UNESCO in 1972. The Con- the international network of UNESCO Chairs to foster university vention defines the commitment to preserve cultural and natural cooperation worldwide. sites of “outstanding universal value” as heritage of humanity for present and future generations. In it the educational mandate of The international conference stands in a long tradition of the World Heritage and the idea of sustainability, of a responsible very successful collaboration between the Chair in Intercultural and future-oriented handling of our heritage, are placed. In this Studies, the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies and the Ger- respect the study course follows the request to lead young man Commission for UNESCO. Over recent years several con- people to constructively engage with the socio-economic, cultur- ferences have been jointly organized and publications designed al, ecological, political and technical challenges that are con- to celebrate the significance of World Heritage and to actively nected with the protection of heritage. Priority is given to captur- participate in the definition and application of terms and ing World Heritage in its complex diversity, which means the methods in the field of heritage protection. I wish to express my physical polymorphy of heritage, the significance of its immate- sincere congratulations to the Chair for its important contribution rial aspects, as well as its contribution to intercultural dialogue to the success of the World Heritage Studies course, which it has and mutual understanding. headed for the past ten years. World Heritage education is therefore attributed high signifi- Now, it is my pleasure to commend the publication associated cance. This was already acknowledged in the Cottbus Declara- with this conference, which will, I feel sure, provide interesting tion, which was adopted at the symposium on Constructing and intriguing insights into World Heritage. World Heritage in Cottbus on 5 June 2004: “The protection and safeguarding of the heritage of mankind is a central task for all societies and hence also a task for universi- Minister (retd) Walter Hirche ties and schools. To that end, innovative forms of education and President of the German Commission for UNESCO advanced professional training are required, such as inter- national, intercultural, and interdisciplinary study programmes. Knowledge about World Heritage should be implemented in all university and school curricula.” 10 Walther Ch. Zimmerli A philosophical preface By “culture” on the one hand we understand both the process of there is a necessary relation between the past, its reflection in transformation of nature by human beings and the results of this history and the future. “The future needs the past” is just one way transformation. The very notion of culture thus comprises the of expressing this strong mutual dependence of the two temporal whole range from physical to intellectual transformation, from dimensions constitutive of humanity. “tangible” to “intangible”. Reflecting on the fact that human beings are not just transform- Human beings on the other hand are but transformers of nature ing nature into culture, but also the future into the past, there is into culture. At the same time, we are beings, both constituted by a tendency to overlook the obvious: categorically speaking, the and constitutive of time: Our own products are cultural products future is ruled by possibility while the past is governed by only insofar as they are temporal entities being transferred from reality. It takes but one more thought to reach the obvious one generation to the next. This transfer process is what we conclusion: quantitatively or rather numerically speaking, possi- usually call “tradition” or – in a slightly different perspective – bility always implies plurality: There is no one “real” future but “heritage”. always just a plurality of “possible” futures. The very process of transforming nature into culture is at the same time the process Anthropologically speaking, to be human implies to be capable of transforming the many possible futures into the one real past. of distinguishing between past and future by permanently being Therefore being human is equivalent to being capable of present. The necessary condition for being able to distinguish transforming the Many into the One. past from future is memory. Therefore memory seems to be the very essence of humanity. Memory, however, presupposes an It was not until the age of Enlightenment that philosophy and additional dimension. To be capable of distinguishing between humanities in its modern shape came into being. It was not until the past and the future requires still another capability: to distin- the beginning of modern sciences and humanities that Euro- guish oneself from other beings, subject from object, me from the peans came to realize that there is an abundant plurality of dif- other. In short, to be human means to be temporal and to be ferent cultures which at the same time are opening up space for capable of reflecting the ever-present self as opposed to the envi- cultural alternatives and thus for freedom. But it took another two ronment and the past. centuries until people came to realize that to understand diversi- ty is to unleash its creativity. Neither the humanities nor the social Each and every culture is characterized by its peculiar way of sciences existed until then. During the last two centuries the objectifying its own products and of institutionalizing memory. In “great divide” between the “two cultures” (C. P. Snow) seemed European culture it took some time to develop this idea of the to define the limits of science and academic knowledge. Dual- relation between culture, memory and individual as well as ism, not pluralism, was the result. Only after the multitude of social or collective identity; but it took even longer to realize that cultures became evident were cultural studies born. 11 It is against this background that both the World Heritage Studies course at Brandenburg University of Technology and this volume celebrating the 10th anniversary of the World Heritage Studies programme have to be understood. “World Heritage” and “Cultural Diversity” look as if they are grammatical singulars but, taken together, they express not only plurality but even pluralism. Walther Ch. Zimmerli President of Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus 12 Francesco Bandarin Preface The World Heritage Convention has continued to evolve since it conferences and the resulting publications, this one has succeed- was adopted in 1972, and the World Heritage List has become ed in attracting top-level experts and internationally renowned a leading reference worldwide of the most extraordinary sites on contributors to comment on these innovative, and at the same the planet. As the reach of the Convention has expanded, so has time controversial, topics. For this reason, especially, the them- the need for qualified people to help safeguard these sites. BTU atic orientation of this publication needs to be pointed out. Cottbus is one of the universities contributing directly to this World Heritage and Cultural Diversity presents and reflects on a crucial need. broad range of UNESCO's short-, medium- and long-term devel- opment goals that had been previously formulated in the Millen- Ten years of World Heritage Studies at BTU Cottbus is reason nium Declaration. This is to say that this publication stands in enough to organize an international conference on the topic the tradition of a broad-ranging concept of culture, which also World Heritage and Cultural Diversity – Challenges for Univer- conceives the protection of the heritage of humanity as a socio- sity Education. Ten years of World Heritage Studies at BTU economic and socio-cultural dimension of development. The Cottbus have thereby, if nothing else, been an occasion to dis- conference and this publication already aim to bring the materi- cuss and reflect upon new developments and perspectives in the al and immaterial values of the world's cultural goods closer to context of the UNESCO Conventions concerning the protection people everywhere in the context of UNESCO's Global Strategy and the use of the tangible, intangible, and natural heritage of for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage humankind, particularly in respect of the run-up to the 40 th List. The point is to spread knowledge and awareness about the anniversary of the World Heritage Convention that will be cele- values of the various heritage programmes that bind different brated in 2012. The World Heritage Centre supported the nations together. The publishers have once again succeeded in World Heritage Studies programme during its founding phase an exemplary manner. World Heritage and Cultural Diversity and has ever since accompanied it in a constructive and critical considers not only the 1972 Convention, but also the 2003 Con- manner. We have not only been involved deliberatively – for vention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage example in the development of the curriculum – but also, and for and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the the most part, in setting priorities with regard to such important Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and aims explicitly at reflecting topics as the implementation of the provisions of the 1972 these forward-looking Conventions towards social, economic World Heritage Convention, the introduction of an emphasis on and cultural development. For this reason alone, this publication cultural landscapes or best practice management of World should enjoy wide distribution. Heritage sites. We have been co-organizers of international con- ferences run by this programme and are also acting as patron Yet another strategy underlies this publication, however. Devel- for this conference. oped to commemorate the 10 th anniversary of the World Her- itage Studies programme, it is directed at the entire scientific It is therefore my particular pleasure to write this preface to the community. This includes on the one hand young professionals, fourth in the series of World Heritage Studies. As with previous who are, among others, alumni of the programme, active as 13 young scientists and practitioners in the context of the heritage of humanity. This also includes UNESCO Chairs that have already established their profiles for some time with scientific expertise in international debates on the protection and usage of heritage, particularly in the context of climate change and its effects on culture and nature. The publication thereby pursues a strategy for education and professional training, which is last but not least laid out in the strategic goals of UNESCO. World Heritage and Cultural Diversity opens up new horizons and will reach a large audience. I am therefore also pleased to welcome new activities of the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Stud- ies at BTU Cottbus: the establishment and consolidation of a PhD programme in Heritage Studies. I expect this publication, like the previous ones, to set the stage for the International Graduate School in Heritage Studies concerning the discussion and imple- mentation of the Conventions in cultural and socio-economic practice. Francesco Bandarin UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Director of the World Heritage Centre 14 Prologue mbira music when it was forbidden for a woman to play an instrument. This was between 1966 and 1969, the study years Stella Chiweshe, Zimbabwean musician of mbira-dzavadzimu. The instrument itself consists of twenty-two to twenty-eight metal keys mounted on a hardwood soundboard, Intangible Musical Heritage and is usually placed inside a large gourd that works as a res- onator. The keys are played with the two thumbs plucking down The materiality of the Shona people in the twenty-first century and the right forefinger plucking up. has become a force that breaks away from the spirituality of musical heritage, which had been the cornerstone of society. The During the 1970s she played throughout Zimbabwe, as she has last hundred years have seen a rise in materiality to such an said, mainly solo. At this time she recorded more than twenty extent that it has caused the individual to become more egoistic singles in Zimbabwe, of which her first, Kasahwa, went gold in and ambitious for personal gain and immediate gratification, 1974. In the 1980s she continued to develop her music and casting aside the musical heritage that has been handed down founded her first band, Earthquake. With tours all over the by parents to children. world, she again played as a soloist and also with her band. At that time it was not only forbidden to play the instrument, but This disintegration is the downfall of communal spirituality. What mbira music was furthermore not convenient for women, can be the link between the two forces? How can a society hold because a woman's place was at home and not playing all night itself together? What traditions can move across and be accept- at ceremonies. ed in the new? What can be a healing influence to keep the spirit in harmony with itself? People are lost without their tradi- Additionally, Stella Chiweshe became a member of the Nation- tions, which contribute to mental and physical diseases and al Dance Company of Zimbabwe as an mbira soloist, actress disharmony in a society. and dancer. And again she performed around the world. To mention only a few of the countries where she gave concerts – These diseases are running through and obliterating mind and Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, soul. What can rest and heal the spirit in these great times of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, India, China, the Republic of Korea, the change? In my life, it is mbira music, my cultural heritage, which United States, New Zealand, Italy, the United Kingdom and the has become a bridge with healing water that is restoring body Scandinavian countries. and soul, earth and air. I include myself in these great songs for it is through me that the songs of my ancient people resonate. Another artistic field for her was acting, for example in a film where she played the role of Ambuya Nehanda – the national These simple mbira songs heal and strike deep into the soul of the heroine of Zimbabwe who was killed on 28 March 1898 by the individual ego, serving as a call to reunite with the soul of the earth, colonial government. In the late 1990s she founded the Mother to restore harmony within ourselves. Hence the need to cultivate, Earth women's group in Zimbabwe. Since then she has been con- preserve, promote public awareness and appreciate our own tinuously performing either as a soloist singer or with a band. This indigenous sacred traditions in each culture, as well as to create an is why Stella Chiweshe has been recognized as the first female understanding of different manners and gestures of other cultures. artist who gained prestige and was honoured with recognition in Stella Chiweshe, the mbira queen of Zimbabwe, started playing a music tradition that has been dominated by men. 15 She is one of the few musicians in Zimbabwe and southern Africa who for more than thirty-five years has been working as a musician of traditional mbira music. Stella Rambisai Chiweshe is nicknamed “Ambuya Chinyakare” (Grandmother of Trad- itional Music). But she is not only recognized as an artist. She is a professional singer in the entertainment industry and in the international music circuit as well. When asked for some background information about herself, she wrote: If I may say that I was born on 8 July 1946. I am now a great- great-grandmother, that means one of my six grandchildren has two sons. I have three daughters, the first passed away when I lost the pregnancy at six months. I count her but most people do not count those who are no longer in bodies, I count her because she talks to me through my dreams sometimes and, giving advice or asking questions. The second is Charity Mukwesha Shaw, born in July 1963. The third and last is Virginia Mukwe- sha Hetze, born in May 1966. I got married in Germany to Peter Reich in 1988. I keep travelling back to Zimbabwe every year. The reason why I do not speak good German is because I travel a lot around the world with my music. I will continue to play my music until I go back home to where all of us humans belong. Even when I become blind I can still play. It can only be impossible when I lose my two thumbs and the right index finger that I use for playing. Who other than Stella Chiweshe could write a preface for a book on the subject of cultural diversity? 16 Introduction Essentially, the concept of culture that underlies the Convention has been broadened and new nominations now have to be Marie-Theres Albert measured against that broader concept. Beyond this – in the context of UNESCO's so-called Global Strategy – new cate- World Heritage and Cultural Diversity: gories and focal points for the identification and nomination of What Do they Have in Common? culture and cultural heritage have been formulated and estab- lished in recent years. It is indeed remarkable how constructive- Background ly the world community has created legal instruments to protect The Master's programme in World Heritage Studies, founded at the cultural diversity of local, national and regional cultural Brandenburg University of Technology in 1999, was the first to expressions from unifying tendencies of global culture. place the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cul- tural and Natural Heritage (known as the World Heritage Con- Against this background, the editors have compiled a volume vention) for the protection of the heritage of humanity at the that presents the diversity of human life embodied in its tangible heart of its curriculum. Today other universities have developed and intangible forms of expression, and related to the heritage study courses following the example of Cottbus. The integral ele- that reflects this diversity. This has generated new insights into ments of the World Heritage Studies curriculum at Cottbus were heritage and diversity, and therefore benefits the academic and still are – apart from the focus on the Convention – the discussion. broad and dynamic concept of culture, as well as a special emphasis on cultural and natural diversity. In this respect it seems Goals natural that World Heritage and Cultural Diversity, the fourth One aim of this publication is to discuss the ways in which the publication from the World Heritage Studies course, is con- different aspects of cultural diversity, as they appear in real life, cerned with the close relation between the heritage of humanity can be protected by international legal instruments and how and the diversity that represents this heritage. Like previous pub- such instruments may affect this. The understanding of culture lications, it is the result of an academic conference, which used presented here reaches further than the approaches that under- the 10 th anniversary of the study course as an occasion to invite lie the Conventions. The common substance of all contributions, experts from all over the world to have future-oriented discus- either directly or indirectly, refers back to the fundamental ideas sions on aspects of heritage in relation to cultural and natural of the United Nations and of UNESCO. For the achievement of diversity. these objectives, the UN Millennium Declaration, one of its most important and forward-looking documents, has served as a con- The subject matter originates from the fact that over recent years, ceptual orientation. The Millennium Declaration explicitly reverts due to the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of to the founding ideas of the UN and transports these objectives the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention on by promoting the diversity of world cultures into the twenty-first the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expres- century. sions (2005), the international community has considerably expanded its understanding as to which cultural goods shall be Another aim is to connect this broad understanding of diversity, protected. The World Heritage Convention has received impor- in all its manifold expressions, to current as well as future World tant and necessary additions through these new instruments. Heritage sites. This concern is reflected in Part 3 on Tangible and 17 Intangible Expressions of Heritage. World Heritage sites are re- architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which presentative expressions of material culture that have been cre- illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history” (UNESCO, ated by human accomplishments. Both need to be considered 2005, p. 52). and established in the nomination categories of World Heritage. It is essential to determine the potential of heritage for human Thus UNESCO World Heritage does not do justice to the diver- development. This potential is not sufficiently embraced in the sity of cultures. Given the abundance of similar types of site, in ten criteria for the definition of outstanding universal value, as similar geographical regions, with similar historical contexts, it defined in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of could be said that the nomination process results in uniformity, the World Heritage Convention. not diversity. The potential of the World Heritage Convention for human devel- One concern of this publication, therefore, is to strengthen the opment most notably lies in the understanding of how humans diversity of World Heritage and to establish arguments for the – from a historical point of view – have shaped their material enrichment of the dimensions concerning the definition of out- and immaterial life expressions, or how human interventions in standing universal value. It needs to be considered if, and how, material and immaterial culture have created heritage. All con- these abstract categories for the definition of outstanding uni- tributions revolve around this aspect, most specifically in Part 2, versal value can be amended through further specific criteria Heritage in Time and Space and Part 4, Political Dimensions of that should derive from the interests of the people, and therefore Heritage. could contribute to the practical implementation of community participation in heritage matters. The formal declaration of the Concerning the present and the future, Part 5, Cultural Land- World Heritage Committee concerning the fifth “C”, for “Com- scapes and Sustainable Development, offers some profound dis- munity involvement”, which was adopted in 2007 in New cussions on how this heritage should be evaluated and used Zealand, is not sufficient to reach this goal. Equally, besides today, or respectively, what the international community should tangible aspects of World Heritage sites, these sites' intangible do in order to sustainably protect this heritage. values have to be recognized more comprehensively. In this respect also, criterion (vi): “be directly or tangibly associated World Heritage and diversity with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with Particularly since the World Heritage Committee's Budapest artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance” Declaration of 2002, the call for a better thematic, cultural and (Jokilehto, 2008, p. 78) seems to be in need of improvement. geographical balance regarding the worldwide nomination of The point is to give people more recognition in their creative heritage sites has been a pressing issue. The background is that work. Contributing to this endeavour is one of the aims of this approximately 50 per cent of all heritage sites are located with- publication. in Europe and North America. For this reason, the distribution of types of heritage site shows a bias towards monuments and Success implies that heritage sites will be better received by the historic old towns. Accordingly, the most frequently applied cri- respective local communities. Thus, new potentials concerning terion for the definition of outstanding universal value aims pri- sustainable socio-economic development of heritage sites should marily at monuments: “(iv) [Nominated properties shall there- be created. The fundamental idea of this publication is how the fore] be an outstanding example of a type of building, cultural, religious, economic and political diversity of human 18 development and expressions can be represented by World Her- institutions, such as UNESCO, but also by research institutions. itage while constructively influencing the rather static structure of The latter should, in a further step forward, develop strategic conventional architectural conservation. recommendations on how to make cultural diversity usable for human development in a constructive way, and if necessary, Cultural diversity and expressions how to place more emphasis on its protection. For all these The scientific construct of diversity of cultures is as old as culture reasons, World Heritage and Cultural Diversity addresses a itself. Cultures have always formed different subcultures and a burning issue. diversity of life expressions. Cultures are never closed systems. Even when autocratic systems have tried to isolate cultures from In the context of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the the outside world, these cultures would inwardly develop in Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Convention on the Protection different ways, progressing and creating new material and and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, in immaterial expressions. This dynamic until now has not been addition to the World Heritage Convention itself, a number of sufficiently reflected in discussion about World Heritage, so this fundamental questions occur that are addressed explicitly and publication is an attempt to take the discussion forward. implicitly by the contributors, notably: The expression of cultural diversity plays an integral role in cul- • How can intangible heritage and cultural expressions be tural development itself and is not a phenomenon caused by protected in dynamically changing cultures without recent social developments. Cultural diversity originates in the hampering cultural innovation – the dynamic potential of dynamic processes by which cultures move from the past to the all cultures? present, and by which they shape their futures. • What is the sense in safeguarding intangible heritage, and when does support and protection of lifestyles turn into The implied question is how diversity should be understood and making a museum out of people's lives? Where is the line communicated so that people may benefit from it. This question between the protection of culture and its transformation into refers to the diversity of human cultures, to their values and an exotic object? norms, as well as to religions and their representations. • How can traditions be conserved and passed on without Diversity has always manifested itself in different styles of music, becoming static? performance and art. Diversity can also be seen where current • What needs to be done to prevent the safeguarding of living conditions transform into different cultural expressions, intangible cultural goods from becoming counterproductive such as in today's youth culture. to the development of diverse practices and cultural innovation? Diversity – as mentioned above – refers to the heritage of human- ity and how the categories of this heritage must be defined so International dimensions of heritage that geographical, cultural, religious, tangible and intangible The United Nations Millennium Declaration and its Declaration diversity can be represented. on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007 have added impor- tant political goals and implementation strategies to the This need for an application-oriented interpretation of cultural UNESCO Conventions of 1972, 2003 and 2005 for the protec- diversity has to be answered by international and national UN tion of tangible and intangible heritage. These declarations 19 establish the right to have diverse life expressions while suggest- through specific case studies. Part 5 relates heritage to sustain- ing plans for its implementation. These demands need to be able development. In this focus area, among others, cultural applied to the Conventions for the safeguarding and conserva- landscapes are discussed as the reflection of dynamic inter- tion of heritage. Moreover, the general goals for human devel- action between man and nature in all its various facets. Each opment formulated by these new instruments need to be applied section is introduced by contextual and overarching contribu- to the heritage of humanity as well. This creates a new frame- tions. work concerning the mediation between World Heritage and cultural diversity, within which lies the connection to education in A line is thus traced ranging from the historically inherited signif- general, and to university education in particular. icance of World Heritage sites for cultural practices, to touch on the intangible aspects of their development, in addition to their The papers published here discuss if, and to what extent, such reassessment for present and future generations. instruments are being taken into account in political practice, for example in the nomination or management of heritage sites. Part 1: Setting the Framework They are also concerned with whether the newly established The contributors outlining the central themes are experts who demands of various stakeholders have been clearly formulated deal with the construct of diversity and heritage in their respec- in policy instruments. They question the criteria for the valoriza- tive fields, and who are also devoted to its implementation in tion of heritage that is based on social norms. Existing agree- social practice, such as through education. Already, the extent ments and implementation strategies are discussed with regard of the discussion is becoming clear, while the possibility of a to current problems, while also looking at the everyday life expe- focus is starting to take shape. The intertwined connection of cul- riences confronting these strategies. All criteria are examined tural diversity and World Heritage, as well as the implementa- either directly or indirectly. They are exposed to an analysis that tion of new insights from theoretical and practical contributions examines the definitions of outstanding universal value, authen- into further education initiatives, is the concern of all the authors ticity and integrity in the context of the above-mentioned goals, in this introduction. and which – if necessary – redefines them. Even though the var- ious aspects of diversity and cultural expressions are equally Part 2: Heritage in Time and Space important, this publication can only deal with a selection of top- Whether people are motivated by “free” choice to act on a ics. The focus is on those aspects which have been formulated in supra-national scale, or whether they are forced to leave their the context of the UN Charter and the Millennium Declaration, countries due to economic hardship, those who move away from but which so far have practically never been transferred to the their natural environment change both themselves and their sur- safeguarding and sustainable use of World Heritage. roundings. This is true of the former natural environment as well as the new one. In particular, temporary migrants who return to In Part 2, heritage is considered in the context of time and their home cultures after years of travel and stays in foreign cul- space, while taking into account migration, economic and tech- tures contribute very much to the diversification of cultural nical developments and their impacts on cultures. Part 3 further expressions. elaborates on the interdependencies between religious experi- ences and secular culture. In Part 4, political and legal develop- These migrants add new knowledge to an existing culture and ments and their consequences on specific cultures are analysed learn new things themselves. They are multipliers of knowledge 20 and transformers of cultures. One of the aims of this publication Part 3: Tangible and Intangible is to give more significance to culturally diverse expressions of Expressions of Heritage human life in international discourse, while making these expres- This section presents the diversity of cultural and religious expres- sions known through intercultural dialogue. Thus, the additional sions that are cutting across time and space, asking if, and how, message is to construct diversity as such, and to define it against the outstanding universal value that defines the nomination of the uniformity caused by globalization. Expressions of cultural World Heritage can be amended so that intangible cultural diversity and cultural change can be found in almost every soci- expressions are considered to a higher degree than in the past. ety, but so far they have only been integrated to a very minor This relates to historical religious practices. Also taken into con- degree into discussions about the diversity of heritage. sideration are rituals and customs, prayers and songs, which serve cultural necessities and are partly still practised today with- The most advanced is the discussion on migration and its impact out being appropriately accounted for in the context of the nom- on material culture. Through migration, technological innova- ination. While pilgrim routes such as the Camino de Santiago tions have found their way to new regions, where they were (St James Way) are represented on the World Heritage List, it adapted in ways specific to each region. This is expressed in cul- must be asked whether the nomination even recognized the tural shifts, such as from visual culture to oral culture, from oral historical and cultural diversity that developed between culture to print or typographic culture and from print culture back these peoples. The discussion refers back to the criteria of the to the visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. World Heritage Convention, as well as to the 2003 and 2005 These changes leave behind various traces that must be treated Conventions. as cultural expressions of outstanding universal value. An important message conveyed in this section is for more sig- While migration is both an old and new topic, in addition to nificance to be placed on the culturally diverse expressions of there being many reasons for a discussion of migration in the human life within international discourse, and for these expres- context of diversity and heritage, the consequences of global sions to be communicated to people of different societies involuntary and voluntary migration on the nomination of World through intercultural dialogue. In this respect, the aim is to Heritage and on expressions of cultural diversity have been little practically position diversity in opposition to the uniformity of analysed – a deficiency taken into account here. globalization. Migration movements are shown to enable and sustain the diver- Part 4: Political Dimensions of Heritage sification of cultural expressions. This is represented by new This section discusses the representation of oppression and resist- “cross-over” cultures and has resulted in changing cultural iden- ance in different situations while addressing the historical ques- tity. The conflicting priorities discussed in this section go beyond tion if, and how, tangible and intangible expressions of power this issue however, also covering the political changes in Eastern and dominion have been adequately taken into consideration in Europe as it touches on the utilization of space concerning seri- the UNESCO Conventions. The question of whether the misery al nominations. The triumph over time and space owing to new produced by power structures and the violation of human rights technologies is not least an expression of modernity. How this is examined in a manner that may lead future generations to development can be connected with heritage is also discussed. both a rational and emotional understanding of this injustice. The aim is to elaborate strategies that enable people to place 21 themselves into the situation of transforming experienced agony This section does not merely introduce cultural landscapes in the into a proactive support for human rights. classical sense but covers geographical regions and towns as well, notably emphasizing how people destroy their own living On the other hand, this section also deals with the right to exis- environment. tence, as well as the cultural expressions of minorities living in majority cultures that have developed through diverse historical Summary processes. In Europe, for example, until today the culture of the The papers published in this collection are only facets of the Sinti and Roma peoples was discriminated against by their broad range of topics relating to the protection of heritage and respective national mainstream cultures. The slave routes in diversity. Nevertheless, they may be considered as representa- Africa, across the oceans to the destinations of slaveholder soci- tive of this whole complex. They can to a large extent be seen eties, give an equally sad glimpse of this history. The initiatives as starting points for a long-overdue debate. The responses are and laws that claim retribution and compensation can however as diverse as the topics they derive from. It only remains to be be valued positively; such as the 1970 Convention on the stated that we wish for both positive and critical feedback from Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and our readers. Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and, not least, the debate on the restitution of stolen cultural goods. The message is that oppression – from a historical viewpoint – has yielded resistance that has yet to be institutionally supported to a higher degree. References Part 5: Cultural Landscapes and Jokilehto, J. (ed.). 2008. The World Heritage List – What is Sustainable Development OUV? Defining the Outstanding Universal Value of Cultural The concluding section discusses how cultural diversity is to a World Heritage Properties. Berlin, Hendrik Bäßler Verlag. large extent represented by cultural landscapes and the develop- ment perspectives of these landscapes in an environment threat- UNESCO. 2005. Basic Texts of the 1972 World Heritage ened by human encroachments. The category of cultural land- Convention. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. scapes was first discussed in 1992, and since 1994 more and more cultural landscapes have been listed as World Heritage sites. The forms of cultural landscapes range from landscapes designed for aesthetic reasons, from landscapes that have devel- oped organically, to associative landscapes. Excluded from the concept of cultural landscapes are those formed by industries and industrial society, such as the post-mining landscape in the histor- ical region of Lower Lusatia on the German/Polish border. Most particularly however, this type of landscape allows an especially deep understanding of the different layers of cultural diversity. 22  Part 1 Setting the Framework Mounir Bouchenaki university education to the relatively new paradigm of the pro- tection of cultural and natural World Heritage. World Heritage and Cultural Diversity: Challenges for University Education New meaning of cultural heritage The first point I would address relates to the new meaning of cul- It is a great honour for me to participate at this international con- tural heritage and the fact that this concept has considerably ference co-organized by the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies evolved since the meeting of the International Association of at Brandenburg University of Technology and the German Architects in Athens in 1931. After referring to the most repre- Commission for UNESCO, and I would like to express my deep sentative collections of works of art and of monumental remnants gratitude to the organizers for extending their kind invitation to of cultures, as we can see in Article 1 of the UNESCO Constitu- attend such an important gathering and offering such warm tive Act, this concept of heritage was gradually extended to new hospitality. categories drawn from non-artistic sectors of activity, such as industrial heritage and modern architecture, and is encompass- It also gives me great pleasure to attend this conference, which ing more recent concepts of intangible cultural heritage and cul- coincides with the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the tural landscapes, not to mention specific contexts such as under- UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage and the launching of its water cultural heritage. successful programme, and I want to use this unique opportuni- ty to convey my congratulations and best wishes to my colleague Undoubtedly, it is with the concept of cultural and natural World and friend Marie-Theres Albert. Heritage developed through the 1972 UNESCO Convention that the international community has been aware of its responsi- Having been involved for more than forty years with cultural her- bility towards a “World Heritage” that transcends, in principle, itage, I find it all the more difficult to present, in a relatively short political and geographical boundaries. time, such a complex topic as World Heritage and Cultural Diversity – Challenges for University Education. It is important to note that with this new concept, the creativity and the diversity of the various peoples of the world have been In the very substantial working papers prepared for this interna- formally recognized by normative international documents. tional conference, all important challenges and serious issues have been brought to our attention, and since the adoption of As at 2009, the World Heritage List includes 890 properties: the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural 689 cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed in 148 countries and and Natural Heritage on 16 November 1972, abundant litera- the Convention has been ratified by 186 States Parties. ture (articles, theses, books) has been produced on the impact of this Convention in terms of safeguarding and management of At the same time, we must acknowledge that the Report of the our common cultural heritage. World Commission on Culture and Development, chaired by the former UN Secretary-General, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, had I therefore concentrate my remarks on some major points that already underlined in 1995 this larger anthropological concept would help, hopefully, to widen the discussion and to make of heritage, considering “that a right place should be given to some response to challenges such as the adaptation of diversity in the field of heritage, and that everywhere, it should 24 be recognized that, in this field, there are no universal recipes To conclude this first point relating to the new meaning of cultur- to be applied” (Pérez de Cuéllar, 1995). al heritage, I would like to note that it is widely recognized that UNESCO has played a pioneering and historic normative role Today, the concept of cultural heritage is an open one, which in proclaiming, from 1954 to 2005, through six Conventions, can develop new objectives and put forward new meanings as ten Recommendations and two Declarations, a comprehensive it reflects living culture rather than an ossified image of the past. international legal framework for cultural heritage: Furthermore, we have become aware over recent decades, since the adoption of the 1972 Convention, that culture and • 1954 – Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property nature cannot be separated in our approach to “heritage” if we in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention) with are to render a true account of the diversity of cultural manifes- regulations for the execution of the convention as well as tations and expressions, and in particular those in which a close the Protocol and the Conference resolutions; link is expressed between human beings and their natural • 1970 – Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and environment. Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property; More recently, attention has focused on the conceptualization • 1972 – Convention concerning the Protection of the World and the designation of a complementary dimension to heritage, Cultural and Natural Heritage; one that is related to its intangible dimensions. This is the result • 2001 – Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural of a closer focus on the individual or/and community systems of Heritage; knowledge, both spiritual and philosophical, in which people • 2003 – Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible pursue their creative activities. Beyond the quest for the compo- Cultural Heritage; nents of intangible cultural heritage, the concept has taught us • 2005 – Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the that tangible vestiges and remains cannot be appreciated in Diversity of Cultural Expressions; their own right, but rather necessarily in relation to others, and • + ten Recommendations; through an understanding of their interactions with their physical • + two Declarations. and non-physical environment, both human and natural. In our era of globalization, we can affirm that this globalized This approach should reply to the concern expressed by Marie- approach with its international legal protection of cultural her- Theres Albert in her contribution to the Krakow International itage is contributing positively to advancing the knowledge and Conference held in May 2006, where she declared: “I disagree appreciation of the various cultures of humanity, but it is not with such a one-sided view of cultural heritage and its signifi- leading to any kind of standardization or uniformity nor any cance. … No building, no monuments, no historic structure and hegemony of one culture over another. no historic site will by itself guide experiences or forms of iden- tities. Cultural assets, however authentic or of ‘universal value’ – Article 7 of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural to stay with UNESCO's definitions – only become significant for Diversity recognizes cultural heritage as the wellspring of the formation of identities if they are declared to be representa- creativity, “… heritage in all its forms must be preserved, tive for convictions of today's society” (Albert, 2006). enhanced and handed on to future generations as a record of human experience and aspirations, so as to foster creativity in 25 all its diversity and to inspire genuine dialogue among cultures” In the wake of the destruction of cultural heritage during the Sec- (UNESCO, 2001). ond World War, the international community responded with the UNESCO 1954 Hague Convention. Since then, the nature of Having briefly considered the strong link between cultural her- warfare has changed, with conflicts becoming less a matter of itage and cultural diversity, although there are many more external belligerents and more one of internal conflicts. During aspects that could have been developed, I would like to these internal conflicts, warring parties often specifically target address a second point about the threats to cultural heritage cultural heritage. and then why it is necessary to develop strategies for training and capacity-building as one of the responses to why and how The Second Protocol of the 1954 Hague Convention, adopted this heritage could be protected and transmitted to future in 1999, was written to address in particular this changing generations. nature of conflicts. The international community for its part must continue to identify proper mechanisms to respond to the grow- Increasing threats to cultural heritage ing demand for the preservation of heritage badly damaged Cultural heritage has therefore become a more complex reality during such conflicts. that is all the more fragile and threatened as we become increas- ingly conscious of the part it plays in the life and development Brigadier General Wolfgang Peischel, Austrian Bundesheer, of societies. said at a meeting at The Hague, 25 March 2009: “Lessons learned from the early KFOR deployment stage showed that cul- The Values and Heritage Conservation Research Report pub- tural properties often turn out to be the ultimate backing and lished by the Getty Conservation Institute in 2000 notes that: “… identity-founding symbol, the last expression of self assertion of in the current climate of globalization, technological advance- people who lost almost everything in a perpetuated act of vio- ment, population mobility, and the spread of participatory lence and ethnic cleansing” (Peischel, 2009). democracies and market economies, it has become quite clear to the broad conservation community that these and other socie- UNESCO is the sole UN agency whose mandate includes the tal trends are profoundly and rapidly changing cultures and protection of cultural heritage and whose coordination role has communities. The future challenges of the conservation field will been included in the United Nations Development Group appeal stem not only from heritage objects and sites themselves but from mechanism for the reconstruction of post-conflict countries the contexts in which society embeds them” (Avrami et al., launched by the UN Secretary-General. 2000, pp. 3 – 4). This was the case in the following selected examples where I Furthermore, since the end of the Second World War, smaller- have been personally involved as a UNESCO staff member. scale conflicts have expanded in various parts of the world and cultural heritage has increasingly become a target, with a clear Viet Nam aim of attacking the symbols of culture and destroying a peo- After the war, UNESCO organized the first international seminar ple's identity. This destruction can often lead the international on the protection of cultural heritage, held in Hanoi and then Hué community to react. in 1993. This was the start of a long-term programme of rehabil- itation of the old city of Hué and the preparation of files for 26 inscription of sites such as Ha Long Bay, Hoi An Ancient Town Afghanistan and My Son Sanctuary, all affected during the period of war. After the looting and destruction of the National Museum of Kabul and the criminal destruction of the Buddhas in Bamiyan Iraq – Islamic Republic of Iran Valley, an international seminar was organized by UNESCO in After the war between the two countries, UNESCO sent a fact- April 2002 in view of the reconstruction of the National Museum finding mission to assess the damage along the borders of but and the protection of the Bamiyan site, which was simultan- also in the historic centres of Baghdad and Esfahan, which had eously inscribed on the World Heritage List and the Danger List. been affected by exploding missiles. Iraq Cambodia UNESCO conducted two missions following the war against The first intergovernmental conference on safeguarding the Iraq, the first in May 2003 and later in July 2003, in order to Angkor site inscribed on the World Heritage List and at the same assess the situation of the badly looted Iraqi Museum (more than time on the World Heritage List in Danger in 1992 was organ- 15,000 objects were stolen) and the damage perpetrated in ized by Japan in 1993 and UNESCO created an International major archaeological sites of the country (Babylon, Umma, Nin- Coordinating Committee for the safeguarding and the develop- eveh, Ashur, Ur, etc.) and regional museums. Since then, thanks ment of Angkor. It is still active and quite successful. to international cooperation efforts, the Iraqi Museum has been restructured and about 4,000 objects returned. Bosnia and Herzegovina Annex 7 of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement entrusted Lebanon UNESCO to organize regular meetings between the representa- Following the conflict in summer 2006 and the bombing of sever- tives of the three communities for the establishment of a common al cities, a UNESCO mission was sent to Lebanon in order to pre- list of their cultural heritage. Subsequently, UNESCO was involved pare an assessment report on the country's World Heritage sites. in the rehabilitation of the Old City of Mostar and the reconstruc- Except for the archaeological site of the old harbour of Byblos, tion of its medieval bridge that had been deliberately destroyed. which was hit by an oil spill from the destruction of a power sta- tion, the other World Heritage sites did not suffer major damage. Croatia UNESCO sent a technical mission to Vukovar for the situation on Jerusalem the city museum and discussions with the Serbian authorities on Since the harsh winter of 2005, which had an impact on the the restitution of objects at the end of the conflict. The rehabilita- Mughrabi ascent that leads to the Esplanade of the Mosques, tion and reconstruction of the Old City of Dubrovnik was also and following the excavations undertaken by the Israel undertaken with UNESCO assistance. Antiquities Authority, a crisis developed. New projects for access have been discussed between the Israeli authorities and Ethiopia – Eritrea the Jordanians with the participation of UNESCO World During the conflict between these two countries, the archaeolog- Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies the International ical stela of Matara, situated near the borders, was destroyed by Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Inter- bombing. A UNESCO mission was sent to assess the damage national Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration and restore the stela. of Cultural Property (ICCROM). 27 Conflicts affecting cultural heritage are unfortunately not the only context, our individual as well as our collective responsibility threats. In 2000, the president of ICOMOS, Michael Petzet, took linked to our attachment to our cultural heritage. the initiative to regularly publish reports on Heritage at Risk, pre- senting the “global trends” affecting heritage, such as the chang- As my colleague Mechtild Rössler recalls in a paper on the train- ing balance between public values and private interests, the ing of heritage professionals in the framework of the World Her- accelerated rate and greater scale of destruction and the lack of itage Convention: “Article 5 of this legal instrument asks the human, financial and professional resources. To name but a few: States Parties to give the Convention a function in the life of the communities and how could this be achieved without awareness • Archaeological sites and harmonious cultural landscapes raising and capacity building of professionals in long term her- have been torn down by unprecedented civil engineering itage conservation, protection and management. It calls specifi- projects (dams, roads, etc.); cally for the establishment of specialized institutions by the • Uncontrolled industrialization and unplanned urban growth national authorities” (Rössler, 2007, p. 38). have been at the origin of irreparable damage; • Air pollution has badly damaged limestone, especially The inventory, protection and conservation, as well as the pres- marble, which had remained intact for centuries. entation of immovable heritage, require professional knowledge with specialized skills in a large range of disciplines, such as his- Many risks from natural hazards are catastrophic for cultural her- tory, history of art, archaeology, anthropology, architecture, civil itage, which is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of cli- engineering, biology, chemistry and physics, economics, socio- mate change and global warming, for which human beings are logy, legislation, administrative and management sciences. largely responsible. Recent events such as tsunamis, repeated flooding, hurricanes and destructive earthquakes bear witness to It is important to recall, at this stage at the end of the 1970s, that spectacular and dramatic destruction. One of the latest exam- there were not many specialized educational institutions capa- ples is the L'Aquila earthquake in Italy. ble of delivering a training programme with a curriculum adapt- ed to the protection and management of this new form of cultur- With this in mind, I want to address the third point of my al heritage qualified as World Heritage. At the time there were presentation on the challenges for adequate preservation and very few specialized institutions, and those that did exist were management of cultural heritage and what should be the role of mainly located in Europe and North America. education in universities. ICCROM was the only international intergovernmental centre set Challenges of education for cultural heritage up by UNESCO in 1956, following a resolution of the General The protection of cultural heritage, its presentation and transmis- Assembly held in New Delhi (India), with the following mandate sion to future generations, are therefore considered today as eth- embodying the following statutory functions: information and ical imperatives, inseparable from the respect for the dignity of documentation; research; technical assistance and cooperation; the individual and the “desire to live together” on the part of training; communication and awareness. My colleague and peoples and communities with different cultural identities. special advisor, Jukka Jokilehto, who is currently in charge of Human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in particular writing a history of ICCROM, underlines that: access to education, allow us to exercise, within a democratic 28 “… in the programmes of the Organization, a particular empha- of defining the nature of the practices which ensure the authen- sis has been given to training and education. Different forms of ticity of each heritage. This research could also be applied in training have included a series of international courses, organ- contemporary architecture for it could well result in the rediscov- ized since the early 1960s, which have established a basic ref- ery of an architectural vocabulary specific to the culture” erence for the organization of training programmes in Member (ICOMOS, 1995). States, as well as providing specialized education for mid-career professionals responsible for the conservation of historic sites These important considerations should be carefully studied when and collections” (Jokilehto, 1995, p. 41). preparing strategies for training courses whether they are for long or short duration. Furthermore, academic programmes During the last thirty years a large number of study courses and should always be linked with practitioners, and space should be training centres have been established in various parts of the given to non-formal education, which still constitutes an impor- world, generally linked with existing academic structures. But the tant part of the transmission of knowledge and savoir-faire trans- gap between Europe and North America and the Asian and mitted by “traditional masters”, for example in earth architecture African continents still remains considerable. or wooden constructions. In 1995, the ICOMOS-CIF Training Committee organized a A rapid review of the very well-documented Training Strategies seminar on Training – Needs and Ethics in Helsinki (Finland), for World Heritage Management, edited by Marie-Theres Albert which proposed strategic guidelines for future action. During the et al. (2007) shows that what we have in hand is a good illus- discussion on conservation ethics, reference was made to the tration of the rapid development of various institutions and pro- Nara Conference on Authenticity in relation to the World Her- grammes dealing with this subject. itage Convention and special attention was given to develop conservation training programmes taking into account cultural As a follow-up to recommendations requiring establishment of a and heritage diversity. world network of training centres as well as the creation of national and regional institutes, I would like to mention a pro- ICOMOS has emphasized that conservation must make use of a gramme that I launched when in charge of UNESCO's Division variety of technologies and “that it is possible to safeguard a of Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Polytechnic Uni- part of the immovable cultural heritage with simple and effective versity of Valencia (Spain), putting in place in 1995 the network means and technologies within the scope of local labour, in as Forum UNESCO – University and Heritage. The first meeting of much as traditional techniques have survived or have been this network, which is now quite successful and linked to the reintroduced” (ICOMOS, 1995). World Heritage Centre, took place first in Valencia in 1996, then Quebec (Canada) in 1997, Melbourne (Australia) 1998, It therefore recommended: “… that the public authorities avoid and Ifrane-Al Akhawayn (Morocco) in 1999. launching preservation projects employing high level technology without having explored all possibilities of using local methods. I also organized a meeting at UNESCO Headquarters with The authorities should encourage the establishment of research ninety-five vice-chancellors and presidents of universities in June laboratories on the technologies suited to the specific problems 1999. On that occasion, they decided to ensure the ethical and of the country. These research laboratories would have the task voluntary commitment of their universities on behalf of their 29 national heritage as well as the heritage of humanity, to activate wide diversity, to appreciate it, and to do our best to reinforce the the role of universities in the protection and enhancement of her- international obligation of collective solidarity to safeguard it. itage in conjunction with ICOMOS, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), ICCROM, the Council of Europe, the Interna- The challenge is to reconcile universality and identity in our tional Federation of Landscape Architects, the World Monuments approach to World Heritage, both in practical as well as philo- Fund and the International Association of Universities. sophical terms. Today we are all faced with this new challenge: to make diversity of heritage an instrument for dialogue and A new trend has been developing in recent years with the estab- understanding. lishment of UNESCO Category II Centres, in particular the fol- low-up of activities relating to appropriate training in order to ensure the required monitoring, periodic reporting, preparation of indicative lists and files for proposed inscription of sites on the World Heritage List. It is clearly a reply to concerns expressed at regional level for better training for capacity-building. One of these centres has already been in operation in China References since 2008, the World Heritage Institute for Training and Research for Asia/Pacific (WHITR/AP) at Beijing Shinghua and Albert, M.-T. 2006. Paper presented at Cultural Heritage in Shanghai Tongji universities. ICCROM is partner of this centre the 21st Century – Opportunities and Challenges seminar. for the training courses offered to architects. International Cultural Centre, Cracow, 24 – 28 May. Other centres are in the pipeline, such as the Regional Centre Albert, M.-T., Bernecker, R., Gutierrez Pérez, D., Thakur, N. for Arab Countries to be created in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Zhang, N. (eds). 2007. Training Strategies for World after the agreement given by the Executive Board of UNESCO Heritage Management. Bonn, German Commission for in spring 2009, and by Resolution of the General Conference at UNESCO. its Session in October 2009 (17 October 2009). Similarly, a regional Centre for Latin America has also been opened in Rio Avrami, E., Mason, R. and de la Torre, M. 2000. Values and de Janeiro (Brazil). Heritage Conservation Research Report. Los Angeles, Getty Conservation Institute. I would like to conclude by apologizing for having addressed too briefly some issues which should be more thoroughly ICOMOS. 1995. Training Strategy in the Conservation of analysed and discussed, but I am sure that the work in following Cultural Heritage Sites. Prepared by Jukka Jokilehto for days will rectify that in the debate on this very important subject ICCROM in consultation with UNESCO World Heritage Centre that is bringing us together in this prestigious university. and Physical Heritage Division, and ICOMOS. We have at the beginning of the twenty-first century the unique Jokilehto, J. 1995. Conservation Training – Needs and Ethics. opportunity to enjoy our common human heritage in its world- Helsinki, ICOMOS-CIF Training Committee. 30 Peischel, W. 2009. Cultural Property Protection in Times of Conflict seminar, 25 March, The Hague, Ministry of Defence, Netherlands. Pérez de Cuéllar, J. 1995. In: World Commission on Culture and Development, op. cit. Petzet, M. and Ziesemer, J. (eds). 2007. Heritage at Risk: ICOMOS World Report 2006/2007 on Monuments and Sites in Danger. Paris, International Council on Monuments and Sites. Rössler, M. 2007. From training to capacity building: the evolution of a concept in the framework of the World Heritage Convention. In: Albert et al., op. cit. UNESCO. 2001. Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001271/127160m.pdf World Commission on Culture and Development. 1995. Creative Diversity – Draft Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development. Paris, EGOPRIM. ____. 1996. Our Creative Diversity: Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, 2nd edn. Paris, UNESCO. 31 Dieter Offenhäußer most stimulating UNESCO programme. Journalists would say: “It is the sexiest!” UNESCO's World Heritage Programme – Reasons for its Popularity Why? In 1993, the name “UNESCO” appeared 5,251 times in Ger- The answer is as evident as it is simple: World Heritage touch- man newspapers, but only 1,136 articles mentioned the World es the daily life of human beings, and at the same time it con- Heritage programme! Ten years later, in 2003, World Her- nects them and their daily life with universal questions, thus itage alone was mentioned 8,803 times out of 14,000 articles illustrating la condition humaine. relating to UNESCO. This in absolute numbers of articles. In relation to all UNESCO-related articles, the World Heritage A few months ago, nearly every morning one could hear part grew from 21 per cent to 63 per cent! numerous radio programmes commemorating the famous Woodstock festival of forty years ago. One of the songs at this These numbers show that the World Heritage programme is a festival was sung by Roger Daltrey from The Who, a song from success. Not only because until 2009 890 sites were inscribed the rock opera Tommy: “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me”, on the World Heritage list, and not only because 186 states repeated over and over. have signed the Convention: The World Heritage programme is first of all a success story because of its great popularity. One day, when I arrived at my office, I still had this music in That means it is better known, accepted and supported by the my mind. And while I was reading the first e-mails of the day people of the world than any other UNESCO programme. with the regular questions, lamentations, criticisms concerning World Heritage – I was sure: That's it! People see it, people Why is the World Heritage programme the most popular feel it, they can touch it! And sometimes, they want to heal it. UNESCO programme among journalists, among politicians, among “normal” people? What is the key to, what are the rea- “See me!” People see it. World Heritage is visible! Academi- sons for, that success? What is the secret of its vitality? cally speaking: World Heritage is cognitively perceptible. From whichever angle you look at it – and this publication “Feel me!” World Heritage is also and always intangible her- which is one of the outcomes of the international conference itage. People are moved by it: The Cathedral of Cologne is World Heritage and Cultural Diversity – Challenges for Uni- more than a huge building; the old town of Regensburg is versity Education, held 23 – 25 October 2009 in Cottbus on more than an ensemble of buildings. For my older neighbours the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the World Heritage and my family in Cologne, the cathedral is associated with Master's programme, is the best example – World Heritage their remembered experiences. My mother's generation for becomes more and more interesting the closer you get to it. example links their survival of the Second World War with the Be it migration, conflict, intangible values, landscapes, sus- survival of Cologne Cathedral. It is part of their “identity”, of tainability – all these conference topics give rise to new ideas their memory. It makes them feel good to see it during the day. and animated discussions, to new questions, new findings People are proud of their town, their cathedral, their and new perspectives. The World Heritage programme is the monastery, their landscape, etc. 32 “Touch me!” World Heritage is physical. It is part of the urban comes to people's home towns and homes. It is the positive side landscape, of the daily way to work, of urban planning proce- of globalization: challenges in the shape of cultural diversity, as dures, of local politics. spiritual values and artistic wealth. Because of all these attributes World Heritage is an outstanding But sometimes this same globalization arrives at a higher level subject for participation in social life. People have compassion. of debate, in a hotter “state of matter” – as in cases of conflict: “Heal me!” Sometimes they try to “heal” it. People hear and talk Then international experts appear and “foreigners” intervene in about it in public and private discussions. World Heritage is part local affairs, international media reach an international public, of public awareness, it appears in the media. And thus, it is part and international publicity (good or bad) is the consequence. of a broader notion of lifelong learning, of education, of civiliz- Everything gets more global, more universal and less familiar or ing individuals and societies. intimate, and also less provincial or narrow minded. Just as dur- ing the Olympic Games, comparisons are made, concurrency This sensual vitality of World Heritage proves that it is the oppo- acquires a higher level and greater intensity. And it is very easy site of stagnation or musealization. Vitality is a precondition of on these occasions to distinguish the cosmopolitans from the par- World Heritage's success. Nobody wants or should want to put tisans of Freud's “narcissism of small differences”. the sites under a “glass dome”. Conservation means manage- ment of change: in this sense, World Heritage sites safeguard The conclusion is that UNESCO's World Heritage programme the past, but they are not at all a synonym of stagnation. means international cultural policy with locally rooted attributes and contributions. It means “act locally, think globally”. Thus, All these cognitive, spiritual, physical and participative attributes this programme is of great importance in educating people to contribute to and are the reasons for the worldwide reputation become global citizens. of the World Heritage programme. This reputation, on the other hand, engenders commercial, financial, and economic advan- The imperative “act locally, but think globally” is nothing less tages – connected with tourism and also with privileged financ- than another version of Kant's famous imperative complemented ing supported by public awareness. by a diachronic dimension. Sustainability is defined as a “devel- opment that meets the needs of the present without compromis- The power of tourism can be very strong. Tourism and marketing ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. alone are sometimes the “hidden agenda” behind the commit- This goal of sustainability is inherent to the notion of heritage. ment of some stakeholders to World Heritage. But commercial and economic aspects are only in the second rank as sources of There is no serious heritage without sustainability. Responsible international interest and international commitment. treatment and management of World Heritage is identical to acting sustainably. Learning and teaching World Heritage stud- The interplay and the interaction of inherent sensual vitality and ies – such as the World Heritage Master's programme in Cottbus this international reputation are essential. The inherent attributes – therefore means learning and teaching civilization and global merge with the aspect of universality. World Heritage sites are citizenship, safeguarding and protecting our wealth, our knowl- part of an international network. Through UNESCO's World edge, our capacities, our wisdom and our cultural diversity for Heritage programme the abstractly well-known “globalization” the generation living now, and for future generations. 33 The topics of this conference are nothing less than a few hotspots or focal points of this evidence: flight, migration, symbiotics, adaption, will never stop. On the contrary, it is evident that they will increase, intensify and become more and more complicated in a world that overcomes all limits of time and space. Our memory of past errors and successes will be necessary in conflict and post-conflict situations. The perception of diversity and of human rights will be in the core zones of these conflicts and in every multilateral matter of policy. The intangible values, the invisible aspects of what we can see and touch will also become more and more important for civi- lization – which is only another word for a worldwide “training in good behaviour and social manners” – to enable us to live in respect and solidarity with the rest of mankind. Last but not least: the sustainable use not only of landscapes, but of all our physical and cultural resources is already, here and now, the precondition of the survival of mankind. “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers but borrowed it from future generations”. “See it! Feel it! Touch it! Heal it!” Congratulations on the fourth publication based on the first ten years of hundreds of BTU World Heritage Studies at Cottbus – and congratulations on the very captivating conference which formed the background to it. As my Korean colleague would say: “Kadja – let's go ahead!” 34 Birgitta Ringbeck In addition, States Parties were asked to address the emerging On the Future of the gap between resources and needs of the World Heritage Centre World Heritage Convention and the Advisory Bodies and to respond to the questions of how the Committee could more strategically determine priorities for Background, documents and decisions1 limited funds; how financial, technical and organizational The World Heritage Convention, the flagship programme of resources could be strengthened; and how internal processes UNESCO, is considered one of the most successful international could be made more efficient. instruments for the conservation of heritage sites. The success demonstrates its almost universal membership (186 out of 193 The Committee has to find ways to deal effectively with an ever- current Member States of UNESCO are States Parties to the Con- increasing volume of work while it is important to ensure that suf- vention) and the large number of listed properties under its pro- ficient attention is given to policy and strategic issues. States Par- tection (890 in 148 countries as of June 2009). The Convention ties were asked what mechanisms were available to alleviate the is approaching two important milestones: forty years since it Committee's workload, whether existing governance arrange- came into force in 1972 and the inscription of the 1,000th prop- ments continue to meet changing needs, and if time should be erty on the World Heritage List. explicitly set aside for considering policy and strategic issues. At its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), the World Heritage Under the forty-four written submissions from States Parties are Committee decided, in view of the approaching 40th anniver- some remarkable reflections, ideas and proposals. Because of sary and the potential inscription of the World Heritage List, to time restrictions, only a few are highlighted. To slow down the convene a Reflection Workshop on the future of the Convention. rate of new inscriptions, a time limit between inscriptions from To prepare the workshop, States Parties were asked to reflect on each State Party and a further reduction of the number of nomi- a number of issues and questions (WHC-08/32.COM/INF.10). nations for inscription each year were recommended. For main- taining the credibility of the List the assessment of the current List To maintain the credibility of the List was a key point. Leading with the focus on how outstanding universal value is captured questions were whether there is a desirable limit to the number and a clearer definition, applicable to all regions, was pro- of properties inscribed in order to maintain the credibility and posed. Two remarkable answers concerning the application of value of the “brand”; how could the capacity of the Convention the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credi- be increased to ensure the effective conservation of inscribed ble World Heritage List to conservation, sustainability and properties; if increasingly complex properties, such as serial capacity-building and to reinforce Advisory Body capacities to national and serial multinational properties, need new concepts; continue thematic studies and gap analyse the question of re- and should properties already inscribed be reviewed and examining the Global Strategy. The advice to explore contribu- reassessed to ensure that they meet the evolving approaches tions of multinational serial nominations and to rationalize simi- and policies expressed by the Committee. lar properties addressed the imbalance between categories and All the relevant documents are available online (http://whc.unesco.org/en/futureoftheconvention). 1 35 property types. Concerning geographical imbalances in the List, the Convention over the next decade and identified some high- States Parties recommended helping developing countries to priority short- to medium-term activities on which action needs to improve heritage capacity through training, technical assistance, be taken immediately. These include developing an inclusive plan and participation in missions, expert group meetings and of action to increase community awareness and engagement; Committee sessions and to limit the number of properties from exploring creative approaches, including through the Tentative individual States Parties. List process, which might reduce the number of properties that experience significant problems; and drawing up recommenda- Proposals for new funding sources were to introduce a “user pays” tions to assist States Parties to respond effectively to the range of system, such as a processing and administrative fee to be paid by problems experienced by inscribed properties. a State Party for each property inscribed and to require that a per- centage of increased income due to inscription is paid to the Fund. The General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Recommendations concerning the conservation requirements of Convention at its 17th session (Paris, 2009), having examined States Parties were to develop guidance manuals on what inscrip- the relevant information, called upon States Parties to cooperate tion means, addressing basic concepts, mechanisms, criteria, stan- in continuing the process of reflection on the future of the World dards and procedures and to strengthen the implementation of Heritage Convention, addressing inter alia the following impor- Article 5 of the Convention, on the protection, conservation and tant topics (WHC-09/17.GA/10): preservation of properties. According to some States Parties, the nomination and monitoring of properties by category or theme, • The relationship between the World Heritage Convention, rather than region, would allow better references for discussion conservation and sustainable development; and summary statement of each. Even the implementation of strate- • The credibility of the public image of the Convention, gic measures to select properties for reactive monitoring would awareness-raising and community involvement in its improve the prioritization of material going before the Committee. implementation; Moreover, recommendations were made to ensure the dominant • Capacity-building for States Parties, particularly for presence of technical experts on delegations and to enable a developing countries and other stakeholders, to implement greater contribution from expert observers to Committee debates the Convention; in order to increase expert and balanced representation. • Strategic management and the Global Strategy for a Credible, Representative and Balanced World Heritage List; On the basis of these written submissions, the key themes of the • The efficiency and transparency of decision-making of the workshop addressed the values, messages and image of the Con- statutory organs of the Convention; vention, conservation and sustainable development and the • Working relationships with other relevant Conventions and World Heritage System. At its 33rd session (Seville, 2009), the UNESCO programmes. World Heritage Committee set up a Consultative Body with a spe- cific mandate to review the outcome of the Quebec workshop, to Documents and decisions on the future of the Committee and the formulate its recommendations thereon and to report back to the General Assembly underline that the future of the Convention is a Committee at its plenary session (WHC-09/33.COM/14.A2). challenge for university education as part of the World Heritage The decision adopted by the Committee highlighted the need to system. The system needs brilliant concepts, experts, highly edu- develop an overall strategic plan to guide the implementation of cated managers and a committed younger generation to ensure 36 the future of the Convention, the management and conservation of World Heritage sites. University education has a key function, but only a few universities try to meet this requirement. Many study programmes concern the preservation of monuments, but an ideal complement to these is a Master's degree in World Heritage Studies, including courses in international law and site management. 37 William Stewart Logan artefacts, to precincts, historic urban centres, whole towns and villages, cultural landscapes and historic urban landscapes, Development of World Heritage Studies in associative values and intangible heritage – the talents University Education embodied in people, such as artistic skills in dance, music and painting, or skills in language, or craft and construction skills. When I began my university career in Australia in the late Initially this meant the creation of a series of specialist courses, 1960s there were no heritage programmes; indeed, there was some dealing with the conservation of monuments and sites and no heritage legislation in Australia until 1974. That is not to say drawing heavily on the archaeology and architecture there was no heritage conservation taking place, but it was disciplines, others focusing on science- and laboratory-based done by private organizations, such as the National Trust, and materials conservation, and yet others on museology or public private individuals rather than as the result of government policy history. It also led to the emergence of a strong research and programmes. Architects wanting to develop their skills and agenda of theoretical and practical importance. understanding in the conservation field were forced to go to Derek Linstrum's course at the English University of York or to In the 1980s and 1990s, heritage conservation education shift- ICCROM in Rome. ed from technical restoration to focus on broader planning and management issues, often connected to economic development Enormous changes have occurred in the ensuing forty years through tourism. In the last fifteen years, the increasingly holistic internationally and within Australia; I have been part of them conception of heritage has led to new multidisciplinary courses and hope I have made a small contribution to shaping them in drawing many of these specialist interests together. Indeed, in sensible ways. Today, heritage conservation courses are found some countries, heritage studies has emerged as a new inter- in most Australian state capital cities and two in the national cap- disciplinary area in its own right, bringing together history and ital, Canberra. The nature of these course offerings has altered geography, architecture and archaeology, economics and town significantly over time. The first course I developed and taught planning, anthropology, art history and museum studies. It was was about architectural and urban conservation and was also recognized that wide variations exist in the way heritage is mostly for planners. The Master of Cultural Heritage course I understood from one world region to another, from one culture developed at Deakin University in the late 1990s has several to another, and that this is another element in the world's rich foci: collections and museums; heritage places, widened to and creative cultural diversity. The 1994 international confer- include cultural landscapes, shared heritage and World ence held in Nara (Japan), was a turning point in this regard, Heritage; and intangible heritage. culminating in the Nara Document on Authenticity that gave legitimacy to conservation philosophy and practice that differed Changing conception of heritage from the European approach that had previously prevailed. It This move from a narrow to a broader view of what constitutes marked a radical shift towards achieving greater parity between cultural heritage reflected the shifts in philosophical debates and cultures and empowering local people to play a meaningful role practice over that period, in UNESCO, ICOMOS and ICCROM in heritage identification and protection. internationally, as well as within many countries around the world. It is now well understood that our conception of heritage The trend towards involving local communities in the implemen- has changed in that time from monuments, sites and related tation of the World Heritage Convention has strengthened 38 during the present decade, as seen in Decision 31 COM 13B teaching of these issues (see, for example, Silverman and taken at the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee in Fairchild, 2007; Langfield et al., 2010). Christchurch in 2007 to add a fifth “C” – Community – to the first four, Credibility, Conservation, Capacity-building and Com- Cultural diversity munication, which had been adopted in the Budapest Declara- Today many people are concerned that this rich cultural diversity tion of 2002. This shift has also been reflected in teaching and is under threat. The forces of globalization are said to be sweep- research in a number of university courses where heritage is ing the world, undermining local cultures and imposing a degree understood as being produced through socio-political processes of uniformity, of blandness. Although the picture is in fact much reflecting society's power structures. For Laurajane Smith more complex than a simple “Westernization” (or “Americaniza- (2006), for example, there is an Authorized Heritage Discourse tion” via Hollywood and the music industry), there are some rea- that effectively creates “heritage”, establishes what its value is sons for anxiety (Logan, 2002a). The protection of variety in the and how it should be managed. This approach has produced a world is important and becoming increasingly urgent. rich stream of research and teaching in universities, shifting the locus of heritage studies into the social sciences. While we may Other commentators, however, have noted that since the end of continue to agree that the conservation of heritage for future the Cold War, there has been an upsurge in small and localized generations to enjoy is our primary purpose, we can no longer conflicts, mostly provoked by cultural differences. Think of the ignore the political character of heritage. It means that while Balkans conflicts, Timor, Chechnya, Georgia and so on. Samuel there remains a very clear need to produce graduates with prac- P. Huntington's “clash of civilizations” (1996) is conflict based tical architectural conservation expertise, heritage planning and on cultural difference at its most extreme. World politics, he says, management skills, the social sciences can add skills for is entering a new phase, in which the great divisions among analysing the social, political and economic context and for humanity and the dominating source of international conflict will negotiating heritage conservation outcomes in situations where be cultural. People seeing the world this way may well call for the identification, evaluation and interpretation of heritage items less cultural diversity, rather than its protection. I personally is contested between various groups within the community. would agree that some manifestations of “heritage” deserve to be forgotten today, just as the American slave trade, Chinese Thus, increasingly heritage is seen not simply as a reflection of feet-binding and Indian suttee have been left behind in the past. the world's rich and creative diversity but as the very under- pinning of the cultural identity of people and its maintenance is Another criticism directed at the concept of “heritage” is that it considered a basic human right. In other words, heritage conser- is history distorted by governments and political elites for ideo- vation can no longer be seen just as a technical issue; it always logical purposes (Hobsbawm, 1997, p. 5). This is of course true involves fundamental philosophical and ethical questions and – all governments use particular, often mythical representations these must be incorporated into heritage courses in universities: of the nation's history to create a sense of national identity. Her- Why are we doing it? Who for? Who said? Are the local peo- itage, used in this way, can be dangerous, a major cause of con- ple whose heritage is being “protected” involved? How does it flict – indeed of war and genocide. fit with other human rights? How does it fit with sustainability? Books dealing with the links between cultural diversity, heritage Thus there are good aspects of heritage and bad. Dilemmas and human rights are now becoming available to support the such as these make heritage studies an important and 39 challenging subject for a university to focus on. How do we is no longer acceptable to provide a universal answer to the decide which elements of heritage are worth protecting? Part of question of how we identify, evaluate and save heritage, the the answer lies in finding out what the community wants. But challenge of the twenty-first century is to make the most of the what if the community – local, regional, or global – is divided complexity of standards that now exists. The philosophy behind on such matters? Another part of the answer then lies in having the global effort to protect World Heritage and the processes of recourse to notions of universal values, such as those espoused identifying, conserving and managing World Heritage attempt by the United Nations and UNESCO in its various international to deal with the issues and orientations. This is especially seen Charters and Conventions. The right to maintain particular forms in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the of cultural heritage does not override the more fundamental World Heritage Convention, which, unlike the Venice Charter, human rights such as women's rights, or the rights of children to have been revised or expanded eighteen times since they were be children rather than young labourers or soldiers. first promulgated in 1977. World Heritage and the spirit of UNESCO If UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre have responded to UNESCO was established in 1945 and was – and to an extent these changing times, so too must university courses. The issues necessarily remains – a creature of its time, a modernist creation being dealt with in the World Heritage system are fraught and (Logan, 2002b). The key actor in the distinctive new chapter that they provide wonderful material with which to educate students in the twentieth century brought to cultural heritage protection was the collection and analysis of data and in listening to and weigh- the establishment of a globalized effort over and above the work ing up multiple views of the world. “World Heritage” is a mental of nation-states. This entailed a new cultural heritage bureaucra- construct; the outstanding universal values that are protected are cy on an international level, the development of new sets of “uni- simply subjective values, with all the complexity that this entails. versal” standards, and a new set of places deemed to be of The focus of World Heritage, at least as the States Parties to the World Heritage significance. All of this was done in the spirit of Convention see it, is on celebration and commemoration with a goodwill and optimism that infused the modern movement and strong emphasis on achieving economic advantages through that made possible the establishment of the so-called Bretton tourism and political status through having their heritage recog- Woods organizations such as the United Nations, as well as the nized internationally. Judging by much of the self-interested politi- parallel organization specifically dealing with cultural heritage, cal bargaining that surrounds World Heritage Committee sessions, UNESCO, and its subsequently established specialized agen- it seems that the system is losing its universalist objectives. cies, ICOMOS, ICOM and ICCROM. Indeed, it might be useful to remind the Member States of the In recent decades cultural relativists have challenged the drive founding Constitution of UNESCO, the basis of all UNESCO's towards uniformity implicit in the global activities of the mod- activities, and certainly students in university courses should reflect ernist organizations, and various parts of the world have react- on it. For the central notion, although the Constitution drafters ed against aspects of the global cultural heritage approach. The make the point less explicitly than we might do now, is that main- Venice Charter, for example, is no longer regarded as the sin- tenance of cultural diversity is a basic human right. This is the key gle, universal way to conserve heritage places. It has been sup- idea in the Preamble when it talks about war being made in the plemented in large parts of the world by alternatives and modi- minds of men: that is, cultural difference is often the cause of, or fications such as the Nara Document and Burra Charter. But if it at least the excuse for conflict; when people meet other people 40 who have different cultures they tend to regard them as alien and Heritage Convention, now has its own Convention (2003). a threat, and this can lead to tension, conflict, war, genocide and Cultural expressions and cultural industries also have their own ethnic cleansing. The Preamble goes on to say that it is therefore Convention (2005) and programmes are still in their infancy. in the minds of men that we need to build bridges to peace. We need cross-cultural dialogue to create greater understanding, toler- It is often said that the World Heritage Convention is the most ance and empathy between cultures. The need for intercultural popular, if not the most successful of the UNESCO Conventions. understanding and tolerance is clearly as urgent today as it was Certainly it now has almost universal acceptance, with 186 coun- sixty years ago when the Constitution was adopted. tries ratifying it and becoming States Parties to the Convention – but the World Heritage system is not without its problems. As The World Heritage Convention then seeks to protect key her- suggested above, the Convention's popularity is partly for the itage sites as reflections of diverse cultural identities. If it is wrong reasons. Where is the World Heritage system going? Is it in accepted that the diversity of cultural identities is important, it danger of losing sight of the spirit of UNESCO and turning into the can be logically argued that the way we go about this should cultural heritage equivalent of the Olympic Games? Is the focus on also be culturally diverse. This is essentially the key new idea in World Heritage detrimental, in many countries, to the rest of the the Nara Document on Authenticity. The Operational Guidelines heritage? As the World Heritage List moves towards having 1,000 have therefore a difficult balancing act to accomplish – to set entries, are we now starting to see places nominated that are some rules and minimum standards for protecting World Her- merely the top of the national heritage list rather than having itage sites while allowing for cultural diversity at the same time. clearly identifiable outstanding universal value? Is the agenda They attempt to convey the spirit of the UNESCO Constitution – becoming dominated by national and nationalist interests rather to achieve more effective intercultural dialogue – but this is some- than focusing on achieving more and better intercultural dialogue? what lost in procedures, protocols and politics. This is indeed a very post-modern dilemma. World Heritage education It is clear that there are many complex and fascinating questions The way UNESCO has programmed its heritage work shows a on which to build an intellectually challenging university course. widening conception of heritage but the various aspects have I have some concern about focusing too narrowly on World Her- tended to be separated organizationally, making it hard to see itage and at my university we have chosen to embed it within a the holistic nature of heritage. The international campaigns for more general approach to heritage that covers world, national, the protection of the heritage of mankind were largely technical, state/provincial and local levels. Nevertheless in terms of World while World Heritage is largely management, the conservation Heritage education, the goals should be: works themselves being undertaken by the States Parties. At least these two programmes have been integrated into the World • To support the spirit of the UNESCO Constitution as a key Heritage Centre in recent years. The Memory of the World pro- element of the course's philosophical and ethical basis; gramme meanwhile deals with archives and library collections, • To offer an impartial critique of established trends, policies while museums are left a little to one side, although the Interna- and processes, making use of independent thinking based tional Council of Museums (ICOM) has been housed within the on the best information and methods available; UNESCO grounds (Miollis campus) for several decades. • To reconsider policy directions and develop relevant and Intangible heritage, which has always had a place in the World positive policy responses to problem issues; 41 • To identify, develop and teach best practice, which includes Heritage inscriptions that say something about sharing heritage promoting a multidisciplinary range of skills (technical or that find ways to interpret sites in more cross-culturally restoration, materials conservation, interpretation strategies, sensitive ways, telling various sides of the story or highlighting site and museum visitor management, intangible, etc.) and messages of reconciliation. which is taught through coursework and research (Master's with minor theses, PhD by thesis or with major thesis); In a conference here at BTU Cottbus in 2006 I was also asked • To consider and monitor impacts on local communities; to discuss heritage education in universities (Logan, 2007). I • To transmit effectively the conservation ethos (message) began by arguing that universities have a responsibility to deal to all stakeholders, not just to the authorities but to all with these challenging issues and that their heritage courses those affected by heritage decisions. should be as holistic and multidisciplinary, if not interdiscipli- nary, as possible. But they should also be responsive to student I adhere to a liberal view of the university and its purpose. It is needs and interests as well as maintaining active links with the not a place that primarily serves the market or any particular “heritage industry”. These aims are often made difficult by the branch of industry. That is what a R&D programme does and universities themselves, as when faculty structures get in the way industries should be doing this anyway. There is an important of bringing all the heritage elements together into a single unit distinction to be made between education and training. Univer- or programme. There are tensions, too, between the pressures sity education should be broad, questioning, liberating and on course design and content coming from parts of the heritage improving. With regard to World Heritage, university teachers industry that are more interested in training to meet specific are not trainers seeking merely to serve the needs of the World industry performance needs than the wider educational needs of Heritage system. Of course there is a necessity to do some of this the students or the need to maintain universities as places where and perhaps some training institutions can specialize, but as uni- pedagogical principles seek to encourage free, open and criti- versity educators, while we provide technical expertise, we have cal enquiry. Finally, I argued that we should have a commitment also to engage our students in the larger philosophical concerns to help build a fairer and safer world. This foreshadowed the and to inculcate in them an appreciation of ethical responsibility. main point of my paper today, which is to argue for embracing, as a key ambition for university heritage education, the building University courses should return to the spirit of the UNESCO of bridges to peace through intercultural dialogue and to do this Constitution and focus on the critical interconnection between using as a pedagogic vehicle the rich and diverse cultural cultural diversity, the right to maintain diversity, the need for heritage of communities around the world. intercultural dialogue and understanding, and the achievement of greater tolerance and, ultimately, peace. We need to consid- er how we can make the heritage systems around the world, not just the World Heritage system, work to this end. It is good but not enough to have people of different cultures sitting in the same room, on the same committee, following the same Opera- tional Guidelines or, in universities, taking the same course syl- labus and examinations. Perhaps we need to be advocating changes to the system, such as giving priority to new World 42 References Hobsbawm, E. 1997. On History. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Huntington, S. P. 2003. The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, Summer. See also his extended argument in 1996, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York, Simon & Schuster. Langfield, M., Logan, W. and Nic Craith, M. 2010. Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights: Intersections in Theory and Practice. London, Routledge. Logan, W. 2002a. Introduction: Globalization, cultural identity and heritage. In: W. S. Logan (ed.), The Disappearing Asian City: Protecting Asia's Urban Heritage in a Globalizing World. Hong Kong, OUP, pp. xii-xxi. ____. 2002b. Globalizing heritage: World Heritage as a manifestation of modernism, and challenges from the periphery. In: D. Jones (ed.), Twentieth Century Heritage: Our Recent Cultural Legacy: Proceedings of the Australia ICOMOS National Conference 2001, 28 November – 1 December 2001, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide, University of Adelaide/Australia ICOMOS, pp. 51 – 57. ____. 2007. Heritage education at universities. In: M.-T. Albert and S. Gauer-Lietz (eds), Heritage Education: Capacity Building in Heritage Management. Frankfurt am Main/Cottbus, Germany, IKO-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation/ Brandenburg Technical University, pp. 64 – 69. Silverman, H. and Fairchild, D. R. (eds). 2007. Cultural Heritage and Human Rights. New York, Springer. Smith, L. 2006. Uses of Heritage. London, Routledge. 43  Part 2 Heritage in Time and Space Margarita Hiebaum-Fichtl, Ruifan Yang connecting them to contemporary purposes”. In order for more people to be aware of the migration stories, new and modern Preface techniques of storytelling, connecting the heritage of the past to our contemporary world, are needed. Furthermore, she stresses Migration, internal and external political, economic and cultural the importance of reading World Heritage above all as transcul- changes, technological innovation – they all influence the shape tural. The paper illustrates the urgent need to adjust the selection and form of our heritage. In most instances they enable and sus- criteria for World Heritage sites for the sake of strengthening tain the diversification of cultural expressions. In some cases these “the visibility and representation of peoples' movements through processes could also threaten established cultural identities. The cultural World Heritage”. contributions to this section outline heritage transformation in time and space. They open a discussion on the necessity for sufficient In “Flight, Displacement, Exile and Migration: How to Represent representation and methods to ensure the richness and complex- Such Complex and Multifaceted Phenomena at World Heritage ity of heritage. Topics covered include transnational and transcul- Sites?”, Alice Halsdorfer is concerned with phenomena that tural movements, cultural and religious syncretism impacted by have existed for centuries, along with their continuing influence ancient trades and pilgrimage routes, illustrating how to represent on post-modern identities which has implications for World Her- diversity and authenticity at serial natural heritage sites and how itage. Flight/displacement/exile have been insufficiently repre- to modify the criteria for defining outstanding universal value. sented at World Heritage sites. States of origin are unlikely to Bringing to mind recent technological developments, the possibil- address flight and displacement unless political changes have ity of applying new technologies to the work of World Heritage taken place, and on the other hand, states of exile tend to focus protection is also analysed. Moreover, there is an example of on aspects considered to belong to their “mainstream culture”. transformation under a suitable preservation system and the The fact that nominations may only be entered by states makes implementation of heritage conservation policies at local, region- it difficult for migrant groups to promote their heritage claims or al and national levels. There is a general consensus on the need enforce their cultural rights. To facilitate global and local under- to increase the political and emotional awareness of these issues, standing, Halsdorfer argues that there should be application and the closely related theme of applicable linked and compre- rights for migrant groups and adoption of criteria to better pro- hensive university education. tect migrant and minority cultures. Further, to incorporate person- al experience and migrant identities a closer connection Geneviève Susemihl's paper, “Transnational and Transcultural between World Heritage sites and related intangible heritage Movements and World Heritage”, introduces three examples of could be established. Lastly, Halsdorfer contends that serial nom- cultural heritage of First Nations in Canada – the Klondike (a inations should be encouraged in order to reflect dynamic region), Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) (a film), and Kamloops change. Indian Residential School (a building). The main idea is that cul- tural heritage can function as a signifier of cultural diversity, In “UNESCO and Digitalized Heritage: New Heritage – New keeper of transcultural historic narrative, and shaper of identity. Challenges”, Caroline Robertson-von Trotha and Robert Hauser Susemihl holds that cultural, religious, economic and political attempt to categorize a number of important issues in the context diversity of human development and their expressions “need to of digitalized heritage and UNESCO's Memory of the World be represented in cultural World Heritage in lively structures, Programme. They argue that the protection of heritage using 46 technologies of digitalization not only promises cost-efficient and broader guidance, which would allow States Parties, World permanent data protection, but also offers an interactive form of Heritage managers and other stakeholders to effectively use the discussion and an opportunity for intercultural communication. concept of transboundary World Heritage in nomination and The authors discuss aspects of digital heritage, its definition and management practices. the concept of “new heritage”. Furthermore, they examine the technical and cultural impacts in the process of adopting new Migration movements could lead to rapid reconstruction and media technologies into the work of World Heritage protection. change of the cultural distinctiveness of a society. In “Aspects of The paper makes clear that more research is needed in the future Transcultural Movements along the Ancient Trade Routes of the – technologies of digitalization raise crucial questions around Himalayas”, Susanne von der Heide examines aspects of trans- how tangible and intangible World Heritage should be digital- cultural movements along ancient trade routes through the ized and managed. Through analysis of the Memory of the Himalayas. In Bhutan, traditional trade patterns led to the estab- World portal, the authors point out the challenges of preserva- lishment of important monasteries along trade routes, forming tion and transmission of heritage, while emphasizing its poten- Buddhist cultural landscapes of great significance. Cultural her- tial for intercultural education. They also suggest more active itage with its diversity is considered the foundation on which the role for States Parties in the preservation of digital documents. identity of the Bhutanese people is built. Since the 1980s, the mainly Hindu Nepalese migrants have changed the dynamics. Along with cultural heritage, natural heritage also finds its place The impact of Hinduism on neighbouring cultures has been in this section as an example of the necessity, challenges and accelerated in part by labour migration. The acculturation of successes of serial nominations to the World Heritage List. In these migrants has the potential to transform the cultural identity “Serial Natural Heritage Sites: A Model to Enhance Diversity of of the whole society, a trend that is clearly in evidence along the World Heritage?”, Barbara Engels deals with the concept of seri- ancient trade and pilgrimage route through the Nepalese district al World Heritage properties, as defined in the current Opera- of Mustang. The ancient Buddhist cultural heritage in the south- tional Guidelines to the World Heritage Convention. She ern area of Mustang is partly dilapidated or is falling into obliv- explores the increased number of nominations of serial natural ion. Additionally, the increasing labour migration of the Lopa heritage sites to the World Heritage List in light of the require- people of North Mustang to other countries is another threat to ments for outstanding universal value of properties, indicating their cultural heritage. that individual characteristics of the separate components com- plement each other and add to the collective value of a serial In “Towards a Heritage Preservation System: The Dilemmas of site, or enhance its integrity. Furthermore, Engels details how Poland's Transformation”, Jacek Purchla presents the case of the serial World Heritage sites provide not only models for cooper- establishment of a heritage preservation system in the period of ation on a transnational level, but also more appropriate political, economic and cultural transformation in Poland after “opportunities to fill global gaps”, find a better balance and 1989. The present ineffective protection mechanism in Poland augment the diversity of sites represented on the World Heritage stemming from the inadequacy of the current state policies in the List. She maintains that nomination as World Heritage represents field is unable to extricate the heritage from unreasonable a critical incentive and motivation for States Parties to improve exploitation and destruction. The existing legal and financial the protection of valuable ecosystems and consider the establish- tools with the main concentration on the economy are insufficient ment of protected areas. Finally, she calls for the drafting of a in the case of heritage protection, and political leaders overlook 47 the significance of heritage preservation. The paper suggests that there is an urgent need to create a modern effective heritage management strategy and system in Poland, responsible for the protection and care of historic sites and objects. Furthermore, like Susemihl, Purchla maintains the crucial importance of local communities in the process of heritage valorization and preser- vation. The heritage debate and subsequent new system should involve all stakeholders, local government and civil society alike. During the long process of history, heritage is passed down from generation to generation and invariably influenced by patterns of migration, or reinvented through modernization and techno- logical breakthroughs. In this process, issues of outstanding uni- versal value and serial nominations, digital and documentary heritage, became relevant within the context of World Heritage. They have enriched the discourse on cultural diversity and her- itage in spatial and temporal transformation. This discourse must continue with the topics discussed, which are worthy of further research and analysis. 48 Standard References Geneviève Susemihl UNESCO as dealing with migration (UNESCO, 2007, web- site).1 These few sites, however, do not represent the complexi- Transnational and Transcultural ty and extent of migration movements and their cultural impacts Movements and World Heritage exhaustively enough. Introduction People who move and leave their natural environment have a In the past ten years the concept of culture fundamental to the massive impact on historical changes, their communities and sur- World Heritage Convention has been broadened and enhanced. roundings. They contribute enormously to the diversification of With the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the cultural expressions, multiplying knowledge and transforming Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention on the the cultures of the receiving societies. The numerous traces left Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions behind must consequently be treated as cultural expressions of (2005) fresh focuses have been articulated for recognizing cultur- outstanding universal value. al expressions and nominating cultural heritage. These novel stan- dards are the consequences of a broader understanding of cul- Worldwide, there are countless material and immaterial cultural tural diversity that has been developed by the international references that represent people's movements. North America, heritage community and that has initiated the proposal of numer- for example, is a gold mine for migration studies as well as the ous tangible and intangible life expressions of distinct cultures study of cultural diversity and the dynamics and innovations worldwide. There are, however, certain dimensions of human life through people's movements (e.g. Kahn, 2003; Susser and Pat- that need to be better recognized by the concept of World Her- terson, 2001). The current list of World Heritage sites in North itage and the categories of outstanding universal value. Among America, however, tells a different story. Of the thirty-five listed others, the recognition and safeguarding of cultural heritage sig- sites in Canada and the United States, only fourteen are cultur- nifying cultural changes in time and space in an increasingly al properties. Two out of six cultural properties in Canada and globalized context – and thus cultural heritage representing peo- four out of eight in the United States are related to Native Amer- ple's movements – need to be considered more thoroughly. ican cultures, whereas the remaining properties are related to English, French and Spanish colonial life and the political birth People's movements – whether voluntary or involuntary – are of the two nations. World Heritage sites dedicated to the move- still insufficiently represented in cultural World Heritage. ment of ethnic minorities, commemorating their movements and Transnational and transcultural movements, i.e. the migration of cultures, are virtually non-existent. people and peoples, including the settling of new areas and work migration, but also the slave trade, trafficking in human There are no World Heritage sites telling the story of the thou- beings, or ethnic cleansing, has not yet been adequately reflect- sands of Chinese immigrants who came to North America as ed in World Heritage. Only eight of 714 cultural and mixed gam saan haak (“gold mountain men”), lured first by the Cali- properties on the World Heritage list have been considered by fornia gold rush of 1849 and later by railroad jobs, to live “on 1 The list of sites has recently been removed from the UNESCO web pages and redirected to the International Migration and Multicultural Policies site (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/social-transformations/international-migration/, accessed 25 June 2010), on which current news and policies are listed. There is no longer a list of properties on the UNESCO home page that connects cultural heritage sites with the theme of people’s migration. 50 the frontier with barbarians” (Lee, 1990, p. 61) until the Chinese argue, are first the reflection of cultural diversity; second the Exclusion Act of 1882 in the US and the imposing of a head tax keeping of stories (and histories); and third the shaping of iden- on Chinese immigrants in Canada in 1885 closed the entrance tity. In this paper I discuss these aspects more thoroughly, draw- gates. Their unique cultural heritage as well as their personal ing on three different forms of First Nations' cultural heritage in and emotional adjustments left deep traces in Chinese-American Canada, i.e. a region, a film, and a building. Even though these and Chinese-Canadian traditions and lifestyles. There are no examples of cultural heritage have not yet been inscribed on the World Heritage sites telling the stories of the Jewish exiles who World Heritage List,2 they serve as excellent illustrations for the came from a variety of countries in different waves, escaping different aspects. While outlining ways in which these forms of religious or mortal persecution or economic pressures in Europe. cultural heritage reflect people's movements, I comment on the These immigrants brought with them new religious customs and above-mentioned aspects in more detail. traditions, but at the same time had to face discrimination, pre- judice and unemployment in the receiving societies. There are Cultural heritage as signifier of cultural diversity: also no World Heritage sites in North America commemorating the Klondike the routes of the slave trade and the underground railroad, an The relationship between land, history, ethnic or national informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by nine- identity and cultural heritage has been a fascinating subject in teenth-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free Cultural and Migration Studies for years. This “interrelationship states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sym- between the natural givens and cultural manifestations is an pathetic to their cause. Finally, there are also no World Heritage axiom” (Lutz, 2007, p. 9), however, that is neither limited to a sites reflecting the countless movements of Native Americans, certain region, nor to the present time. Throughout history, who had already settled North America long before Columbus migrants always had to re-establish their ways of life and to set foot on this vast continent. While some of them traditionally readapt to new geographical, climatic, social and cultural con- lived as nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples, others were forced ditions. And looking at the world today we see that the pressures to migrate and relocate multiple times throughout history, which of human migrations, whether as outright conquest or by slow had enormous consequences for their traditions, communities, infiltration and resettlement, have affected many territories. religions and cultural diversity. One region that has been moulded by countless movements of Regardless of whether people's movements have been caused diverse ethnic people who had to adapt to new living circum- by changing economic conditions, natural catastrophes, military stances is the Klondike – an area in Canada's Yukon Territory might or some other reason, cultural heritage reflecting migra- and British Columbia that was submitted to the UNESCO World tion needs to fulfil certain requirements. Besides being of out- Heritage Tentative List as a transboundary serial cultural land- standing universal value and meeting at least one of the cultural scape in First Nations traditional territories in 2004. It includes selection criteria, there are specific aspects or functions that the Tr'och Tr'ochëk fishing camp, the Chilkoot Trail, the need to be considered representing people's movements. These Klondike gold fields and the historic district of Dawson, illustrat- implicit features that cultural World Heritage must comprise, I ing “life before, during and after the Klondike Gold Rush of 2 Whereas the Klondike was inscribed on the UNESCO Tentative List in 2004, there have not yet been any attempts to nominate the other two sites discussed here. Their nominations, however, would be a significant enrichment of the List in terms of the representation of people’s movement in time and space. 51 1896 –1898” (UNESCO, 2004, website). First Nations’ stories in people's minds primarily represents the gold rush, without and languages communicate this environment, which echoes signifying much cultural and ethnic diversity. centuries of indigenous presence as well as physical and cultur- al transformations wrought by corporate mining and migra- Traces of human settlement in the Klondike, however, go back tions. The name “Klondike” itself is an anglicized version of the 8,000 years. The Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation (or Han, named name of the First Nation group in the Dawson area, the after their language) have been inhabiting the Yukon around Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in. Dawson for hundreds of years, as a semi-nomadic people, living from hunting and fishing. Contact with the newcomers presented The history of the Klondike has been one of continuous change fresh challenges and opportunities. While trade increased and and migration. Centuries before the arrival of the first Euro- new goods and economic practices were introduced, the Han peans, Tlingit traders brought goods such as weapons and tried to maintain their survival and assist the newcomers using a beads into the region, trading them for furs. In 1846, the first combination of traditional and newly introduced skills, goods and Europeans ventured into the area, shortly after which the Hud- materials. To protect the Han from the damaging influences of the son Bay Company opened a fort, and in 1862 William West gold rush, Chief Isaac removed them from Tr'ochëk to Moose- Kirby arrived as the first missionary at Fort Youcon. Starting in hide, downstream from Dawson, where the government estab- 1896, more than 100,000 stampeders from all over the world lished a Han reserve. Furthermore, foreseeing the impact that entered the region and built Dawson City right across the river new lifestyles would have on the Han traditional culture, he from the village of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in. During the 1940s, entrusted songs and dances of his people to the people of white construction workers came to build the Alaska Highway, Mansfield, Alaska, “to be returned when the time was right and and today hundreds of tourists visit this area every year. the Tr'ondek People were ready” (Wenger and Brown, website). As a location of cultural heritage, the Klondike represents the During the years following the gold rush, the Han worked to find movements of many peoples. It thus signifies cultural diversity as a balance between their traditional lifestyle and the ways of the reflected in material and immaterial traces of diverse ethnic cul- newcomers. While Yukon First Nations set the land-claims tures, but also tells of the interaction between these cultures once process in motion during the 1970s, the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in migrations had ceased. Opulent administrative and institutional began negotiating their individual land claim in 1991 and buildings tell about the past prosperity of Dawson as a former signed the Final Agreement in 1998. Today, the tribal govern- territorial capital. The Klondike gold fields, sites of the labour- ment is growing and evolving to support citizens in ensuring a intensive individual miner society, the gigantic Dredge No. 4, strong and healthy future, while maintaining connections to tra- and massive tailing piles left by corporate mechanized mining ditional knowledge and the land. Promoting the Han language, tell about the world's greatest and most renowned gold rush. learning traditional skills from the Elders, and investing in young During this period, however, the Klondike was for whites only; people's education have all strengthened Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Natives were welcomed only as curiosities or suppliers of provi- development. The respect for their heritage and dedication to the sions and furs (Coates, 1985, p. 83). Today, little is known future is reflected in a variety of ways, such as the establishment about the Yukon's First Nations or the Tr'och Tr'ochëk fishing of a cultural centre, the designation of the Tr'ochëk National camp, the centre of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in traditional territory Historic site, and the return of the traditional songs and dances downriver from the Chilkoot Trail, and the image of the Klondike from the Native people of Mansfield. 52 Cultural diversity and migration is presented in the history and documentary heritage that reflects the diversity of languages, the very traces that have been felt by its inhabitants and written peoples and cultures and thus presents “a mirror of the world on the land of the Klondike. Listed under criteria (iv) and (v) on and its fragile memory”, the UNESCO Memory of the World the UNESCO tentative list, the Klondike is indeed an “outstand- programme is a first step in that direction. An excellent example ing example” of a cultural landscape that illustrates significant of a documentary that embodies cultural heritage and serves as stages in different ethnic peoples history, representing tradition- keeper and narrator of stories is the film Atanarjuat, which tells al indigenous and newcomers settlements and land-uses as well the story of an ancient, migratory people in a modern, digital- as interactions between whites and indigenous cultures. Given ized form. that it presents an image that does not only denote gold-rush culture and history, the region will make an excellent cultural The film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) – one of the most celebrat- heritage site representing people's movements and cultural and ed Canadian films of recent years – is the first Inuit feature film ethnic diversity. ever to be written, directed and acted entirely by Inuit in their language Inuktitut (Isuma, 2007a, website). Set in Igloolik and Cultural heritage as keepers of transcultural stories: the area between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula in the Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) pre-contact past, the film is an “electronic storytelling” of an Besides cultural diversity, a second aspect that needs to be an ancient Inuit legend that is a central story in their oral tradition, inherent feature of World Heritage is storytelling. We relate to passed down through centuries, and one that the filmmakers cultural heritage in the same way that we relate to land – heard as children. In a community already split by rivalry and through stories. While migrants might be able to preserve imma- lust for power, an evil shaman arrives to increase the pain by terial cultural heritage throughout their movements, most materi- committing a murder and placing a curse. The cure plays out al cultural heritage, like the land itself, must be left behind. And through the lives of the characters, until spiritual forces and whereas indigenous people have “stories relating to the land”, human courage begin a process of healing and growth. The as Hartmut Lutz argues, “which tell them where they are from, story has also “didactic functions”, as Kerstin Knopf argues, “as why they are here, and how they must live to survive and thrive, it admonishes listeners not to let envy, rivalry, and personal inter- the newcomers can claim no such stories. Their narrations relate est overtake the sense of responsibility and community that is of to the Old Place, and it takes generations to develop a body of utmost importance” for the survival of the Inuit society (Knopf, cultural narratives related to the ‘New Land’ which entail a spe- 2008, p. 204). cific history shared by the people on and of that land” (Lutz, 2007, p. 14). Standing “in constant dialogue with colonial filmic discourse which has objectified and stereotyped colonized cultures and Cultural heritage thus ought to serve as keeper of stories of established them as the ‘inferior Other’” (Kopf, 2008, p. 209), diverse cultures and movements. Storytelling today, however, the film, the making of the film and the setting in Igloolik reflect can take on different forms. Instead of presenting cultures mere- the development of transculturality in Canada's Arctic, which ly as a part of the past and preserving lifestyles by “museifica- was caused by “Western contact, colonization, Christianization, tion”, cultural heritage must tell old stories in new ways, connect- and the implementation of Canadian assimilation politics” ing the heritage of the past to the contemporary world and (Knopf, 2008, p. 202). The community of Igloolik, with a popu- making use of modern techniques of storytelling. Preserving lation of about 1,600 people today, is one of the oldest and 53 most traditional Inuit communities in Nunavut. For almost 2,000 Igloolik at the last millennium into modern film and thus continues years, the area was inhabited by the Dorset culture, while today the tradition of storytelling in a modified way, bringing back lost many people are descendants of the members of the Qid- traditions to contemporary listeners/viewers and preserving oral larssuaq migration to Greenland in the 1800s. The first direct knowledge for future generations. Moreover, the plot, length and contact the people of Igloolik had with Europeans was in 1822 slow pace of the narrative also “help position the film in the when the British Navy ships Fury and Hecla under the command sphere of oral tradition” (Knopf, 2009, p. 341). of Captain William Edward Parry wintered at Igloolik. In the 1930s, the Roman Catholic Church set up a mission, and three In addition, the film reconstructs a pre-contact Inuit way of life, decades later, the Anglican Church, the Igloolik Co-operative, a on and off screen, and revives the traditional making of cos- school, a nursing station and the RCMP detachment were estab- tumes, tools, weapons, and means of transportations. The tradi- lished. The present Inuit economy is a co-existence and com- tional sets and props used in the film were reconstructed on the bination of several income sources, including wage labour, basis of Inuit cultural knowledge combined with Western anthro- traditional sustenance, arts and crafts production, and welfare. pological findings of museums. The kayak in the film, for exam- ple, was rebuilt according to drawings made during the Perry Despite all the changes that Igloolik has undergone, the commu- expedition in 1822 which are now held in the British Museum. nity has never lost sight of its cultural roots. The Igloolik Research While thus the filmmakers relied on cultural knowledge that has Centre focuses on documenting Inuit traditional knowledge and been “made part of the Western anthropological museums dis- technology, as well as climatology and seismic data research. course” (Knopf, 2008, p. 208), the film production took an Through an active Elders group, valuable land skills and tradi- active part in preserving traditions and sustaining Inuit cultural tional sewing techniques are taught to the community (Qikiqtani knowledge. The remaking of traditional clothes, tools, hunting Inuit Association, 2007, website) and the only Inuit circus, Art- weapons, sleds, a kayak, igloos, and seal-skin tents by local cirq, engages young people in traditional Inuit culture to relate artists and elders after traditional models was also part of a with the techniques of modern circus. For the film production, unique community approach of the film. Moreover, while filming Inuit were employed as cast, crew and support staff, jobs and on location in the Igloolik region, cast and crew camped in local spending on the film channelled money into the local econ- dwellings and conditions in the tundra very similar to their ances- omy, and the film became the cornerstone of an Inuit-owned tors' hundreds of years ago (Isuma, 2007c, website). Nunavut film industry (Isuma, 2007b, website). As a transcultural heritage product the film Atanarjuat (The Fast The film itself is a transcultural document and product, as it inte- Runner) together with its setting of Igloolik, preserves and passes grates components of Inuit and Western cultural origin and film- on traditional stories and values of the Inuit without them making techniques. Western techniques of storytelling and film becoming static. Furthermore, the “autonomous presentation of technologies were adapted to Arctic conditions and to an Inuit Inuit culture from an inside perspective helps to de-exoticise the story. For the writing of the script, eight Elders were interviewed filmed material and its cultural context”, as Kerstin Knopf argues for their unique version of the legend as it has been passed down (Knopf, 2009, p. 347). By consciously merging Indigenous and to them orally by their ancestors, before combining their various Western cultures, the filmmakers and the film safeguard narratives into a single story in Inuktitut and English (ibid.). A intangible cultural elements without becoming counterproductive modern storyteller narrates and translates an ancient myth set in to the development of diverse practices as well as to cultural 54 innovation. As such the film, with its production and setting, serves One movement of Native Americans that remains significant to as an outstanding intangible example of the cultural heritage of a First Nations identity or loss of identity, culture and society today unique culture and tells a story of migration and transculturality. is the forced removal of Native American children from their families to Indian boarding schools. The idea that successful Cultural heritage as shapers of identity: acculturation depended on separating the children from their Kamloops Indian Residential School “uncivilized” families and home communities became a central A third intrinsic feature of cultural heritage is the representation part of the education systems that developed in Canada, the and formation of identity. Identity is formed through cultural her- United States and Australia during the late nineteenth and early itage when people transmit “the significance of their respective twentieth centuries, and boarding schools became “the favourite material and immaterial historical products from the past to the tool to accomplish the goal of cultural assimilation” (Nichols, present and to future generations” (Albert, 2006, p. 30). The 2010, p. 2). At these schools, instruction in a combination of preservation and conservation of cultural assets thus helps to sedentary agriculture, vocational education and Christianity maintain and reinforce cultural identity, whereas the destruction were used to destroy native cultures and replace them with “civ- of cultural assets, whether material or immaterial, is “accompa- ilization”. The children were converted into temporary migrants, nied by a destruction of identities” (Albert, 2006, p. 31). It is forced to leave their home communities for many years, but often through the forming and manipulating of cultural and ideologi- returned after years of physical and spiritual absence and cal beliefs and values connected with cultural heritage that cul- estrangement (Nichols, 2010, p. 20). tural identities are thus shaped and reshaped. From 1874 to the early 1990s, more than 150.000 Native chil- Migrants also use cultural assets as shapers of identity. This is dren in Canada were educated in 130 residential schools fund- true for intangible cultural assets such as the songs, dances, or ed by the government and run by churches of various denomina- stories that migrants may carry with them into new territories. But tions. Kamloops Indian Residential School, in northern British also the material cultural assets that migrants encounter in their Columbia, which operated from 1893 to 1977, was one such new region often serve as identifiers for the newcomers, while at school where children completely isolated from their families, the same time migrants may lose part of their identity through the communities and cultures were forced to assimilate. While initial- loss of material culture. This is especially true for the land, which, ly attendance at these schools was voluntary, legislation was in material and immaterial terms, “co-determines who we are”, passed to enforce attendance when parents refused to send their as Hartmut Lutz states. “Over time and generations, a region's children (SCES, 2000, p. 8). The last of the residential schools climate, the food it produces, and the people we interact with in was closed in 1996, and in 2008 Canadian prime minister that region, influence our physical condition. More obviously, Stephen Harper issued a formal apology for the government the region (in)forms our mental history” (Lutz, p. 14). Once torn policies of assimilation. South of the border nothing of this kind from the land, migrants may lose or change their cultural identi- has occurred yet (Beech, 2010, website). ty. At the same time, the immigrants personal relation to their home country, their self-identification, change of values and sat- Attendance at residential schools had a devastating effect on isfaction, together with their economic, political, social and cul- children. They lived at the school throughout the year and were tural adaptation, help to evaluate their integration success in the alienated from family relationships, cultural and spiritual prac- receiving society (Susemihl, 2004, pp. 32 – 36). tices and teachings. The Secwepemc Daniel Saul (age 59) 55 speaks with deep contempt and bitterness about humiliations found remnants of ancient decaying pit houses and tools such as and pains that he had to endure as an 8-year-old when his hair stone points that are remains of an old Secwepemc winter was cut, when he was no longer allowed to speak his native village site and thus witnesses to Secwepemc history and culture Secwepemctsin language, even though he did not know any dating back more than 2.000 years (Secwepemc Museum & other language, when he experienced physical punishment and Heritage Park website). did not see his parents for long periods of time (personal inter- view, 13 August 2008). The feeling of shame directed at the Kamloops Indian Residential School shaped the identity of its Secwepemc culture and language was deeply instilled in the unwilling students in many ways. When uprooted from their children, and when they became adults they were unable to home communities, the children lost part of their identity, which pass on their language and culture to their children. This attempt could not be replaced with a new identity, as the dominant white to force assimilation left deep scars with those affected, which society had intended. While the school signifies the lost identi- continue to be felt in every Secwepemc community and which ties of the “stolen children”, it also helps them to return to their include cultural and spiritual estrangement, family dysfunction, cultural roots. The site furthermore represents different histories near extinction of the language, loss of traditional lands and of First Nation culture, from ancient indigenous life as represent- indigenous knowledge, substance abuse, and a high suicide ed in archaeological findings, to assimilation policies and con- rate (SCES, 2000, p. 11; personal interview with Jerry Adams, temporary cultural recovery. The reading of these (hi)stories is of Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society, 25 August utmost importance to First Nations' culture today, as Hartmut Lutz 2008). explains: “Such historical explorations of the conflicted past con- stitute first steps in reading the palimpsest and creating a collec- Separating the children emotionally and geographically from tive narrative of peoples in time and place ... . Before a healing their families, communities, language, customs and spiritual can begin, the festering sores of the past need to be opened and beliefs for years was traumatizing. The structure and cohesion of (ad)dressed ..., and once credit is given and grievances and family life suffered, parenting skills were diminished, low self- guilt-laden legacies are acknowledged, dialogues and co- esteem and self-concept problems arose as children were taught operations can follow” (Lutz, 2007, p. 21). Kamloops Indian that their own culture and way of life was inferior and “savage”, Residential School thus serves well as cultural heritage for First and traditional production skills tied to the land were lost Nations' migration culture, reflecting the shaping of Native (Martens and Daily, 1988, p. 110). Witnessing or experiencing identities throughout history. abuse, sleep deprivation, hunger, neglect or degradation would each compound to the severity of trauma. Conclusion The cultural heritage of people's movements is a great opportu- Today, Kamloops Indian Residential School serves as a museum nity not only for understanding history, but for exploring people's and research centre, where former students work as guides contemporary lives. Representing the dynamics of movements facing their childhood memories every day. The building also and migration by cultural World Heritage, however, is challeng- functions as a meeting point, a place where community members ing. For to exemplify the routes taken by migrants, the networks are looking for traditional values and healing. Ironically, on the they created, the new “cross-over” cultures they formed or the site of the former school, where for decades authorities sought identities they may have lost or gained, many aspects need to to eradicate traditional First Nations values, archaeologists have be considered. 56 Cultural, religious, economic and political diversity of human the representation of people's movements in cultural World development and their expressions need to be represented in Heritage will be a valuable extension of the UNESCO List. cultural World Heritage in lively structures, connecting them to contemporary purposes. Cultural World Heritage, other than sites and documents of outstanding universal value, must reflect cultural diversity and incorporate different ethnic pasts. Further- more, cultural heritage must tell cultural narratives in modern ways i.e. recount the stories of cultures, nations and histories for References people to learn, experience and relate to. Finally, cultural her- itage serves to shape identity. As migrants identify with cultural Albert, M.-T. 2006. Culture, heritage and identity. In: Albert, heritage and their self-identification provides one measure of M.-T. and S. Gauer-Lietz (eds), Perspektiven des Welterbes – their integration and adaptation success, heritage will support Constructing World Heritage. Frankfurt am Main, IKO – Verlag the formation of identities through the reflection of cultural values für Interkulturelle Kommunikation. and traditions. As can be seen from the examples above, com- munity involvement is of utmost importance in preserving, pro- Beech, L. 2010. Apology to Native Peoples Long Overdue. tecting, exploring and interpreting cultural heritage. 12 January. http://64.38.12.138/News/2010/017951.asp (Accessed 12 May 2010.) To learn more about the movement of people, cultural World Heritage needs to be read in transcultural ways. For regardless Coates, K. 1985. Canada's Colonies. A History of the Yukon of whether immigrant or indigenous, we can all learn to read the and Northwest Territories. Toronto, James Lorimer & Company. traces of time in space and cultural heritage, about the many layers of poly-vocal history that “coexist in space, forming a Isuma. 2007a. Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner). The Legend palimpsest which archaeologists can read and storytellers, Behind the Film. Igloolik, NU, Igloolik Isuma Productions. historians and writers of fiction may form into chronological http://www.atanarjuat.com/legend/ (Accessed 20 January narratives” (Lutz, 2007, p. 2). 2010.) ____. 2007b. Atanarjust (The Fast Runner). Filmmaking Inuit- Finally, in order to strengthen the visibility and representation of Style. Igloolik, NU, Igloolik Isuma Productions. people's movements through cultural World Heritage, selection http://www.atanarjuat.com/production/ (Accessed criteria need to be revised and adjusted with migrant cultures, 20 January 2010.) transcultural and transnational movements being acknowledged and protected, even though such cultures might only have limit- ____. 2007c. Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner). Bringing Ancient ed influence on developments in architecture, art or landscape Knowledges Home. Igloolik, NU, Igloolik Isuma Productions. design. We also need to critically analyse the extent to which http://www.atanarjuat.com/art/ (Accessed 20 January 2010.) instruments such as the United Nations Millennium Declaration and its 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Kahn, A. F. 2003. Jewish Life in the American West. are taken into account in practice when discussing migration Perspectives on Migration, Settlement, and Community. and cultural heritage. Taking these thoughts into consideration, Berkeley, Calif., Heyday Books. 57 Knopf, K. 2008. Atanarjuat – Fast Running and electronic Susemihl, G. 2004. “... and it became my home.” Die storytelling in the Arctic. In: F. Schulze-Engler and S. Helff, Assimilation und Integration der deutsch-jüdischen Hitler- Transcultural English Studies. Theories, Fictions, Realities. flüchtlinge in New York und Toronto. Münster, Germany, Amsterdam/New York, Rodopi, pp. 201– 20. LIT Verlag. ____. 2009. Decolonizing the Lens of Power. Indigenous Films Susser, I. and Patterson, T. C. (eds). 2001. Cultural Diversity in in North America. Amsterdam/New York, Rodopi. the United States. A Critical Reader. Oxford, UK, Blackwell. Kunuk, Z. (dir.). 2000. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Igloolik, UNESCO. 2004. The Klondike. World Heritage Tentative Lists. NU, Igloolik Isuma Productions. http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1941/ (Accessed 20 January 2010.) Lee, S. 1990. Disappearing Moon Café. Vancouver, BC, Douglas & McIntyre. ____. 2007. Migration and World Heritage Sites. http:// portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11374&URL_DO= Lutz, H. 2007. What is Your Place? Indigeneity and DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (Accessed 20 January Immigration in Canada. Augsburg, Germany, Wißner-Verlag. 2010.) Martens, T. and Daily, B. 1988. The Spirit Weeps. Wenger, J., Brown, T. The Han Athabascans. Digital Archives Edmonton, AB, Nechi Institute. Partnership, LitSite Alaska. http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm? section=digital-archives&page=People-of-the-North&cat=Native- Nichols, R. 2010. Indian residential schools in Canada and Peoples&viewpost=2&ContentId=2651 (Accessed 20 January the USA: coerced assimilation and international perspectives. 2010.) Unpublished conference paper, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. Qikiqtani Inuit Association. 2007. Igloolik: “Place of Iglus”. http://www.qia.ca/i18n/english/communities/igoolik.shtm SCES. 2000. Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Kamloops, BC, Secwepemc Cultural Education Society. Secwepemc Museum & Heritage Park. Preserving the Language, History & Culture of the Shuswap People. http://www.secwepemc.org/museum (Accessed 20 January 2010.) 58 Alice Halsdorfer1 occupational activities by the authorities. However, flight is often motivated by circumstances beyond the migrant's control (Hugo, Flight, Displacement, Exile and Migration: 2008, p. 15). Thus, scholars and policy-makers question the How to Represent Such Complex and distinction between voluntary and forced movement and empha- Multifaceted Phenomena at World size the dynamic interaction between individual decisions and Heritage Sites? the socio-economic context in which they are taken (UNDP, 2009, pp. 12 –13). Closely connected to border crossings are Introduction “smuggling” and “trafficking”, covered for example by the UN In view of current migration streams, flight, displacement, exile Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of and migration remain important issues on political agendas at the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1950), the UN national and international levels. Almost every state is affected Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and as a state of origin or destination or as a combination of both. the two protocols supplementing it: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress Despite the importance of migration, little attention has been and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and paid to the interactions between the history of migration, the per- Children; and Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by sonal experiences of migrants and the impact of migration on Land, Sea and Air. societies, on the one hand, and the nomination and presentation of World Heritage sites, on the other hand. For the promotion of “Exile” refers to the next stage in the migration cycle. After cultural diversity, it will be necessary to reflect on voluntary and arrival, some migrants are legally admitted to residence. Others involuntary cultural influences and exchanges in more detail. To live clandestinely on the margins of society. In cases of traffick- fully present various forms of migration as well as their impact ing, the exploitation continues. Many migrants are prevented on World Heritage seems impossible. Still, it is worth the chal- from full access to welfare, rights and citizenship (Pecoud and lenge to reflect on some selected aspects. Guchteneire, 2007, p. 20). Some migrants proceed on their journey, others return to their state of origin. International law Voluntary and forced migration as complex and tends to focus on two types of migrant: refugees and migrant multifaceted phenomena workers, as reflected the UN Convention Relating to the Status There are many different motives for people to leave their envi- of Refugees (1951) and its Protocol (1967), the UN Convention ronment, which often overlap, such as better economic and on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961), the ILO Conventions social opportunities, political instability and armed conflicts No. 97 (1949) and No. 143 (1975), the International Conven- including civil wars, persecution and violations of human rights, tion on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and natural and human-made disasters, development projects and Members of their Families (1990). economic changes (Wagschal, 2007, pp. 297– 98). Need for a global and local understanding of migration While “migration” is the generic term, “flight” refers to voluntary The principle of universality suggests that migration has to be movement and “displacement” to forced movement and understood as an issue of global importance and that all states 1 The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Senate Chancellery – Cultural Affairs, Berlin. 59 are together and equally responsible for the protection of years down the road I was to learn that ‘identity’ was a tempo- migrants and their human rights. rary awareness … . ‘The placing of I’, if it may be so described, would in fact be a process” (Breytenbach, 1996, p. 159). A global view on migration is of high priority because migration in its current form is deeply influenced by globalization and cru- Stuart Hall developed a theory of identity framed by the ambiva- cial for development and economic change (GMG, 2008, lence between “being” and “becoming”, “continuity” and p. 75). Even if the UN Millennium Declaration does not explicit- “différance”. The basis of his analysis was the African, Euro- ly formulate any goals relating to migration, there are links to the pean and American traces in Caribbean identities and his own eradication of extreme poverty, hunger and environmental sus- experiences: “My own sense of identity has always depended tainability (Usher, 2005, pp. 28 – 30; Skeldon, 2008, pp. 5 – 7). on the fact of being a migrant … Now that, in the postmodern In addition, the problems of migration are expected to increase age, you all feel so dispersed, I become centred: what I've with the global financial and economic crisis (IOM, 2009, p. 8). thought of as dispersed and fragmented comes, paradoxically, to be the representative modern experience … welcome to However, a global view on migration must not level out local fac- migranthood!” (Hall, 1988, p. 44). tors and specific power structures. Also, it is insufficient to focus on border crossings only. The situation of internally displaced persons Dynamic changes and ambivalent interactions is similar to those of migrants (Cohen and Deng, 2008, p. 4). created by migration In an ideal way, multi-ethnic patchwork societies are created Influences of migration on post-modern identities where cooperation and dialogue maximize the benefits of Whereas the impact of globalization on hybrid and fragmented migration. According to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on identities is widely discussed, the important role of migration in Cultural Diversity (2002), cultural diversity “is one of the roots of the context of identity formation needs to be emphasized: It is development, understood not simply in terms of economic the challenge of integration and reintegration that causes per- growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intel- sonal and emotional difficulties but offers at the same time new lectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence” (art. 3). States, perspectives. The importance of literature describing personal which have started to restrict migration in the light of the eco- experiences has recently been highlighted by the Swedish Aca- nomic crisis, should be aware that they may not only suffer long- demy, which described Nobel prizewinner Herta Müller as a term economic losses (IOM, 2009, p. 1) but also immediate loss- writer “who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness es of cultural diversity. of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed” (Rich and Kulish, 2009, p. C25). In reality, migration may result in an increasing loss of traditional and local cultures. There is a risk that global exchange produces Breyten Breytenbach has also reflected on his South Africa roots a homogeneous mainstream culture, criticized as McDonaldiza- in a literary way: “At the age of twenty I left behind me a coun- tion (Ritzer, 1993, p. 1) or Hollywood culture (Bruner, 2008, p. try, a continent, a youth, a language, an identity and perhaps 411). Also, migration may cause a lack of commonality. also a memory. What came after would have to be imagined. In “Ghettos” may be created as places of isolation and frustration, due time I realized that the past, too, would need to be invent- as the “crise de banlieues” in France and similar incidents have ed so as to give depth and coherence to the ongoing. Many shown. Flight and displacement often disrupt communities in the 60 states of origin and alter social relations in the states of destina- • Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (Chile) – the tion. Thus, it is very challenging to achieve a better safeguarding working place of thousands of pampinos from Chile, Peru of cultural diversity and improve social cohesion. and Bolivia who forged a distinctive culture and struggled for social justice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth Representation of migration at World Heritage sites centuries. UNESCO'S Sector for Social and Human Sciences has pub- lished a list of eight World Heritage sites selected because of However, this list should not be considered exclusive. It is quite their importance in the history of migration.2 These are: easy to identify further World Heritage sites that could be linked to flight, displacement, exile and migration. For example: • Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (United Kingdom)– a major port for the mass movement of people from slaves to • Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda European emigrants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; (Gabon) – one of the principle migration routes of Bantu • Statue of Liberty in New York (United States) – the famous and other peoples in the Neolithic and Iron Age; landmark at the entrance of the harbor welcoming millions • Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada (Spain) – of people from all over the world in the late nineteenth and a reminder of the decree by Queen Isabella and King early twentieth centuries; Ferdinand of Spain in 1492 ordering the expulsion of all • Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis (Mauritius) – the first depot for Jews and Muslims from the country; Indians used in sugar plantations or transferred to Reunion • Monastery of the Hieronymites and the Tower of Belém in Island, the Caribbean, Africa and Australia, symbol of the Lisbon (Portugal) – a commemoration of Vasco da Gama's modern indentured labour diaspora initiated by the British journey to India in 1497 and the royal family's exile in Government in 1834; Brazil after escaping the forces of Napoleon in 1807; • Island of Gorée (Senegal) – the largest Atlantic slave- • Wartburg Castle in Eisenach (Germany) – the place of trading centre on the African coast from the fifteenth to the Luther's exile where he was saved from religious persecution nineteenth centuries; a reminder of human exploitation; in 1521 and 1522 and translated the New Testament; • James Island and Related Sites (the Gambia) – a testimony of • Auschwitz-Birkenau, German Nazi Concentration and both the beginning and abolition of slavery and the African- Extermination Camp (Poland) – the largest concentration European trade from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries; camp standing for the systematic and cruel displacement • Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and and genocide of 1.5 million Jews and other people from Western Regions (Ghana) – important links in the routes 1940 to 1945; established by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and • Robben Island in Cape Town (South Africa) – a symbol for seventeenth centuries; the displacement caused by forced removals and political • Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos (Cuba) – an initial imprisonment during colonization and apartheid; settlement by French immigrants since 1819 and a • Historic Centre of Avignon (France) – a memorial of the exile subsequent trading place and eclectic townscape; of the popes between 1309 and 1377; 2 http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11374&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 61 • Historic Centre of Sighi¸soara (Romania) – a town influenced development of modern dock technology”, a site with “a by the culture of Saxon craftsmen and merchants in the great number of significant commercial, civil and public twelfth century currently facing de-population because of a buildings” (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150); process of re-emigration; • Lopé-Okanda “demonstrates an unusual interface between • Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia dense and well-conserved tropical rainforest and relict (Turkey) – an area with dwellings, troglodyte villages and savannah environments” together with “a remarkable underground towns used by the first Christians to escape collection of some 1,800 petroglyphs” from Roman persecution and by approximately 15,000 (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1147); people until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; • The Alhambra combines a fortress and residential areas with • Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) – the first slave “magnificent gardens” and provides “a rich repository of market in the New World from 1558 and melting pot of Moorish vernacular architecture, into which the traditional European, African, American and Indian cultures. Andalusian architecture blends harmoniously” (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/314); Despite the number of sites linked to flight, displacement, exile • The Monastery of the Hieronymites and the Tower of Belém and migration, certain issues and insufficiencies should be exemplify “Portuguese art at its best” discussed. (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/263); • Wartburg Castle “blends superbly into its forest surroundings Need for a global and local approach and is in many ways the ‘ideal castle’” The principle of universality has not only influenced the under- (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/897); standing of migration but also the concept of World Heritage. In • Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia the 1972 World Heritage Convention, “outstanding universal are described as a “spectacular landscape”, “entirely value” is a key term (Francioni, 2008a, p. 17). According to the sculpted by erosion” with “sanctuaries that provide unique Operational Guidelines (2008), this requires a degree of “cultur- evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period” al and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to tran- (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/357). scend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity” (para. 49). Generally, it seems difficult to encourage states to submit appli- cations openly addressing migration. On the one hand, states of The traditional Western focus on tangible monuments is one of origin are usually unwilling to address flight and displacement the reasons for the small number of sites connected to migration unless political changes have taken place. Thus, many of the and the large number of descriptions focusing on aesthetic World Heritage sites are linked to slavery and colonialism. On aspects (Bernecker, 2005, pp. 10 –11; Hoffmann-Axthelm, the other hand, states of exile tend to focus on cultural aspects 2002, p. 21). The political implications are often no more than considered to belong to their mainstream culture, in particular if a side aspect. Even some of the World Heritage sites mentioned migrants are expected to return to their states of origin. above are mainly listed for other reasons, for example: As a result, there are hardly any World Heritage sites connect- • Liverpool's Maritime Mercantile City is described as “one of ed to the large migration streams in the late twentieth and early the world's major trading centres”, “a pioneer in the twenty-first centuries. On the Tentative List there is one entry 62 worth mentioning: The Marshlands of Mesopotamia, Iraq – a migrant identities and personal experiences visible in World symbol of the diminution of the inhabitants of the Ma'dan tribes Heritage sites as such. who have fled to the Islamic Republic of Iran or been internally displaced from the 1950s to the present. Among the gaps Scholars have suggested that there is a “cultural dimension” to remaining, there are urban areas such as Chinatown in New heritage sites that transcends “form” and “material” and takes York, the Muslim cultures in Marseille or Berlin, the Sinti and into account “the aspect of cultural diversity” (Jokilehto, 1995, Roma settlements in Europe, points of arrival such as Lampedusa pp. 19 – 20). Beyond a cultural dimension, there could even be in Italy, refugee camps from the wars in Darfur. an “emotional dimension” taking into account the important role of personal experiences because “for some, built heritage is a Nevertheless, the international community has realized that a collection of documentary artefacts while for others, it constitutes global view on World Heritage must lead to a wider under- … something that evokes feelings and memories” (Bumbaru, standing of cultures and consider, for example, local aspects. 1995, p. 280). Chile's Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter New concepts question the traditional Western focus on tangi- Works explicitly aim at the preservation of the memory of the cul- ble monuments and instead advance concepts such as that of ture of the pampinos. Robben Island is presented “in a way that cultural landscapes (Dailoo and Pannekoek, 2008, p. 31). heals apartheid's wounds rather than being a reminder of it” Even more importantly, some places have been explicitly includ- (Forrest, 2005, p. 5). Such an emotional dimension could reflect ed on the list for their symbolic value and political implications, on the influences of migration on the processes of identity forma- e.g. Auschwitz-Birkenau or Robben Island (Prigge, 2002, p. tion and deepen the links to human rights. 62). There is an ongoing discussion that strongly suggests that aesthetic values may be replaced by historic meanings. In the Representation of dynamic changes and end, all World Heritage sites have a political value, as the trag- ambivalent interactions ic destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas has shown (Albert and The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2002) Gauer-Lietz, 2006, p. 32; Hladik, 2004, p. 215). Also, there stresses that “culture takes diverse forms across time and space” is always a specific local context influencing what is considered and that diversity “is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of worth preserving (Katana and Abungu, 1995, p. 159). the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind” (art. 1). As a consequence, the importance of World Heritage sites Migrant identities and personal experiences should be determined by the uniqueness and plurality of cultural at World Heritage sites expressions and the number of changes and interactions between Migrant identities are not represented properly at World Her- groups and societies that it shows. Historic town centres such as itage sites. Some documents relating to flight, displacement, Cienfuegos and Salvador de Bahia do not present a homoge- exile and migration are included in the Memory of the World neous culture from a single historical period. Instead, they reveal Register, such as the Human Rights Archive of Chile and the Col- manifold interactions by an eclectic mix of architectonical lection of Russian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian émigré periodi- structures and elements. As long as people live there, such sites cals 1918 –1945. Further submissions have recently been will undergo further modifications (Laenen, 1995, p. 351). Fur- included, such as the Archives of Terror in Paraguay, the Diaries thermore, our understanding of World Heritage sites is an ongo- of Anne Frank and the Registry of Slaves of the British ing process (Albert, 2002, pp. 32 – 34), comparable to Umberto Caribbean 1817–1834. However, it seems difficult to make Eco's concept of the opera aperta (Jokilehto, 1995, p. 30). 63 How to improve representation of migration in encourage internal proposals at national level (Braun, 2007, World Heritage sites in future? p. 183). It is also important to draw attention to contemporary Due to the insufficiencies identified above, it is very important to migration. find ways to improve the representation of flight, displacement, exile and migration at World Heritage sites. There are several The criteria for defining outstanding universal value should be possibilities: The formal application procedure could be expanded to better represent migrant and minority cultures. The changed – but this would certainly be difficult (Braun, 2007, limitations of the existing criteria became self-evident at an early p. 367). The criteria for defining “outstanding universal value” stage (Yusuf, 2008, p. 32). In connection with the Cultural Diver- could be modified – this is an option as the Operational Guide- sity Convention (2005), Rudolff has proposed adding one sen- lines (2008) are periodically revised (Yusuf, 2008, p. 31). New tence to the definition: “outstanding universal value is under- strategies in conservation, presentation and documentation stood as the entirety of human cultural expressions and reflected could be developed for World Heritage sites already nominated by the multiplicity of particular features and concepts construct- – some of these could immediately be put into practice (Laenen, ing human cultural diversity and heritage values”. She refrains 1995, p. 356) as the suggestions below indicate. These should from revising the criteria in more detail because “if one reads be understood as proposals that may serve as a starting point through the current 10 criteria while thinking of something par- for subsequent analysis and discussion. ticularly distinctive rather than something universal, they still make perfect sense” (Rudolff, 2006, p. 115). Some suggestions to facilitate a global and local approach Application rights for migrant groups could strengthen the repre- A definition referring to the concept of cultural diversity would sentation of flight, displacement, exile and migration at World definitely be a start. However, there remain doubts whether one Heritage sites. According to Francesco Francioni, the Convention sentence would be sufficient to strengthen the representation of on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expres- migrant cultures, particularly if such cultures have only a limited sions (2005) has “removed cultural heritage from the exclusive influence on certain aesthetic developments or demonstrate control of national sovereignty; it has empowered non-state actors close links to other cultural traditions. In the meantime, the … to claim international protection, if necessary, even against Operational Guidelines (2008) and the ten criteria have been their national state” (Francioni, 2004, p. 1228). Also, the Con- revised (para. 77). Still, they bear the risk that heritage sites vention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage related to migration are ignored for not being a masterpiece or (2003) requires “the widest possible participation of communities, an outstanding example or for not being sufficiently representa- groups and, where appropriate, individuals …” (art. 15). tive or universally important. However, proposals for all heritage lists can be made by states A few words added to the current criteria could improve the sit- only. With respect to the World Heritage Convention (1972), uation. For example, States Parties are encouraged to prepare Tentative Lists with the (i) represent a masterpiece of human creative genius or a participation of local communities, non-governmental organiza- strong expression of cultural diversity; tions and other interested parties (Scovazzi, 2008, p. 158; (ii) exhibit an important or specific interchange of human Saint Andre-von Arnim, 2007, p. 148). Even without a formal values, over a span of time or within or between (a) change in the application procedure, it seems possible to cultural area(s) of the world or between individuals or 64  groups of peoples, on developments in multicultural Some suggestions to show dynamic changes identities or societies, architecture or technology, and reflect on ambivalent interactions monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; There are only a few cases of several states entering conjoint (iii) bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to minority applications (Braun, 2007, p. 170) for World Heritage inscrip- and migrant cultures or any other cultural tradition or to a tion. Such applications however are perfect tools for internation- civilization which is living or which has disappeared; al collaboration (Schlünkes, 2006, p. 98). It would be appropri- or ate to promote them in future to make interactions between (iv) be directly or tangibly associated with events or living different places visible, especially the links between states of ori- traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and gin, transit and destination. Some sites are protected with their literary works of outstanding universal significance or local extensions, such as the route of Santiago de Compostela with the history of migration. or the Rideau Canal. However, the dynamic of migration and However, it must be kept in mind that the last criterion should the typical routes of migrants are not represented virtually as preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria. routes or official links between several places. It would be desir- able to create routes or even networks in future showing migra- Some suggestions to incorporate migrant identities tion streams and fruitful exchanges between cultures. and personal experiences A closer connection between World Heritage and related intan- Although cultural diversity needs to be protected, there is no gible heritage could be established (Hönes, 2009, p. 168; “original culture” and no “migrant culture” to be conserved as Carducci, 2008, p. 375). The intangible heritage list should such. The World Heritage Convention should not preserve mon- focus specifically on migrant culture to better complement World uments as static objects of contemplation. Instead dynamic man- Heritage sites in this respect. agement should reflect on changes and keep interventions visi- ble (Cameron, 1995, p. 285). Also, the dynamics between Emotional effect should be created at World Heritage sites. individual and sociological aspects must be reflected: productive There is a current trend in migration museums towards building components of cultural influences should be understood as a sup- awareness and empathy (IOM/UNESCO, 2006, p. 2). Similar- plement to but not a distraction from emotional disturbances and ly, World Heritage sites could preserve memories and show the personal difficulties suffered by migrants. different motives for migrants leaving their homes. There is an increasing awareness that the relationship between heritage and Outlook identity creates open and multilayered learning processes offer- It will be a challenge in the future to show the ambivalences ing a range of meaningful experiences (Epstein, 2006, p. 39). of flight, displacement, exile and migration and their relation- Emotional participation may encourage visitors to actively sup- ship with World Heritage sites as complex and multifaceted port human rights. Also, tours guided by migrants could be a phenomena. University education could increase political and means to communicate personal feelings and memories, similar emotional awareness and reveal the dynamics and variety of to tours offered by former prisoners in Robben Island. migrant culture as well as cultural interactions. This may productively influence World Heritage site applications and nominations. 65 References Cohen, R. and Deng, F. M. 2008. The genesis and the challenges. In: M. Couldrey and M. 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In: Francioni (ed.), op. cit., pp. 23 – 50. 68 Caroline Robertson-von Trotha, Robert Hauser copied an unlimited number of times without any decline in qual- ity. It is also quite difficult to distinguish the original from the UNESCO and Digitalized Heritage: copy (unless metadata such as the exact time and date the copy New Heritage – New Challenges was made is also saved). Digital cultural objects are frequently ephemeral and require purposeful production, maintenance and Introduction management in order to be retained. Using digital communica- With the computerization that has occurred in almost all areas tion technologies such as the internet, digital objects can be of modern industrial societies in the last decades, cultural prod- accessed from any place that provides internet access. As these ucts including various kinds of texts, drawings, music, pictures or properties lead to new possibilities of using and sharing such films are increasingly available only in digital form. This applies objects (e.g. manipulation, decrypting, etc.), they circumvent also to different kinds of information, such as raw scientific data, existing concepts of copyright, property law and ownership. statistics, engineering datasheets, the technical drawings of Moreover, digital objects are attached to certain formats (such architects, maps and geographical data. These are all created as pdf or doc formats) that (can) define significant properties of digitally (known as “digitally born”) or converted into digital these objects, in addition to their being "locked" into the hard- form from existing analogue resources. Moreover, computer- ware and software environments they depend on. Due to these based digital communication allows for new forms of creative characteristics the digital cultural objects that constitute both the innovation and cultural production including blogs, internet art, contemporary and future cultural heritage are also called the private websites and wikis, while at the same time providing “new heritage”. global access to all kinds of digital cultural goods. The internet fosters the global dissemination and sharing of cultural products The preservation of digital objects and with it the process of and promotes intercultural communication. transmitting the new heritage (into the future) is becoming more and more problematic, first of all due to technical development: Cultural heritage in the digital age – the rapid technical change leads to data mediums and data formats “new heritage” quickly becoming obsolete. Operating systems and their hard- Digitalization is now often the only way that documentary her- ware platforms change roughly every two years, with quite rad- itage can be effectively preserved. This is especially true for par- ical changes occurring every four years, which gives rise to ticularly old and valuable cultural objects, such as papyrus rolls major compatibility issues. In addition to these technical prob- or books which are, because of their age, very susceptible to lems, there are other more practical ones, such as the fact that damage and sensitive (especially with respect to their use). Con- archives and libraries lack objective and well-founded guide- version into digital objects also opens up possibilities of global lines and criteria for digital preservation. There are hardly any access to them via the internet or other forms of digital commu- practicably applicable guidelines or criteria available to help nication. Through this process they become available as infor- decide which information is worth preserving from among the mation and as knowledge resources independent of the time and flood of material and data - be it intellectual estates, raw scien- space of the person attempting to access the digital object. tific data, text documents, administrative documents, websites, items shown in museum exhibitions, photographs, films, images Digital cultural objects have some specific properties that distin- or multimedia objects. guish them from analogue objects. They can generally be 69 In the light of this situation, libraries, archives, museums, and scien- “Virtual cultural heritage – the preservation and interpretation of tific data-centres are fighting an unwinnable battle against the loss cultural and natural heritage through real-time, immersive, and of digital memory. Although there are some initiatives and projects interactive techniques” (Cameron and Kenderdine, 2007, rear dealing with these problems (e.g. InterPARES 1– 3,1 ATHENA2 or page flap). Europeana3) the long-term availability of digital information and “Virtual heritage … expresses itself in the formulation of virtual with it an essential part of the cultural heritage is at risk. environments in terms of their capacity to act as unproblematic ‘windows onto the past’” (Kenderdine et al., 2007, p. 280). The preservation of intellectual or documentary cultural heritage – an important resource for future generations – represents a Last but not least, there is a definition of “new heritage” by global social challenge, and the development of strategic meth- Yehuda Kalay et al. (2007), although, as will become apparent, ods to address this issue will be an important task for the future. we use this term in a slightly modified way by highlighting dif- ferences between the traditional cultural heritage and the new Definition of digital heritage heritage: “New Heritage: broadens the definition of virtual or As this paper deals with the digital heritage, an exact definition of digital heritage to address the complexity of cultural heritage the term should be provided. As the theoretical work on this topic such as the related social, political and economic issues is still quite limited – it is a rather recent addition to scientific dis- surrounding the sites, artefacts and aspects of cultural heritage” course – we have located only a few definitions. The one we found (Kalay et al., 2007, p. 11). most useful and which is cited quite often, is that of the 2003 UNESCO Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage: Although the first presented definition from the Charter is practi- cal enough for daily work, it is not sufficient for deeper concep- “The digital heritage consists of unique resources of human tional and theorizing on the topic. The very differences between knowledge and expression. It embraces cultural, educational, digitalized objects – which are in coexistence or in reference scientific and administrative resources, as well as technical, with a master object that is material and analogue – and born legal, medical and other kinds of information created digitally, digital objects which are only self-referential, are not reflected by or converted into digital form from existing analogue resources this definition. Furthermore, the aspects of authenticity and relia- …” (UNESCO, 2003b). bility of digital objects, which become more and more important as new forms and possibilities of generating digital content by Two further definitions by Cameron and Kenderdine (2007) and collecting and sharing cultural digital objects via online plat- Kenderdine et al. (2007) may also be useful, although their forms emerge, and by taking the manifold possibilities of alter- focus is slightly different in that they highlight the term “virtual” ing and manipulating digital objects into account, are not and therefore focus primarily on the forms of presentation and touched on at all yet. More aspects could be addressed here to perception: emphasize that a lot of theoretical work has to be done and further research is needed. 1 The International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronics Systems. 2 Access to cultural heritage networks across Europe. 3 European digital library network. Providing access to Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage through a cross-domain portal. 70 UNESCO Conventions and programmes relating to Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. digital heritage Despite the somewhat paradoxical and extremely far-reaching The 1972 World Heritage Convention was a major step implications of the certification of intangible cultural assets, these towards the protection and preservation of cultural World Her- agreements can be considered a great success (Meyer-Rath, itage, and has been ratified or at least accepted by 185 states. 2007), for they represent UNESCO's increased efforts with The main aspects of the Convention are, first of all, the regards to the world's cultural diversity. Here too, technology – expansion of the preservation activities of UNESCO; secondly, and digitalization in particular – plays an important role. making the distinction between material and intangible cultural Indeed, these agreements have found a way to at least partially assets explicit for the first time; and, thirdly, breaking open the preserve the intangible heritage for posterity via multimedia limiting concept of “cultural possession” in favour of that of technology. “cultural heritage”. This terminological change of direction – i.e. that of describing cultural goods as heritage instead of as Memory of the World Programme and Charter on possessions – should be emphasized (Weigelt, 2007). The the Preservation of the Digital Heritage concept of possession was bound to a Euro-American pers- Since 1995, when Memory of the World came to life, UNESCO pective that characterized cultural assets primarily as goods has made great efforts to preserve the documentary and intellec- that could be traded on economic markets. On the other hand, tual heritage worldwide. The aim of the programme is the the concept of cultural heritage emphasizes that a cultural asset preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings is more of a symbolic object with a specific independent and library collections worldwide (see www.unesco.org/web- identity than a mere commodity with monetary value. Protecting world/mow): “The vision of the Memory of the World Pro- the cultural and natural heritage consequently entails protecting gramme is that the world's documentary heritage belongs to all, the cultural asset in its tradition and preserving it in the context should be fully preserved and protected for all and, with due of a living culture. recognition of cultural mores and practicalities, should be per- manently accessible to all without hindrance”. The shift to an expanded concept of cultural heritage paved the way for greater consideration of intangible cultural assets that The Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage were excluded from a concept of possession. With its Memory (UNESCO, 2003b) presented a valuable basic framework in the of the World programme, set up in 1992 and implemented since new scientific field of the digital or new heritage. By defining 1995, UNESCO intensified efforts to preserve the “documentary key terms and highlighting the importance of the new heritage cultural heritage”. Memory of the World is a register of cultural- as well as the major problems involved in preserving it, the ly significant written documents, films and audio recordings, pre- Charter has become a guideline for people dealing with this served first of all in order to safeguard them and secondly to topic in both scholarship and practice. Two very important state- make them accessible. ments for the preservation of the new heritage should be men- tioned here. The Charter points out: Two further Conventions concerning the preservation of the cul- tural heritage were established at the beginning of the twenty- • that access to this heritage will offer broadened opportunities first century: the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the for creation, communication and sharing of knowledge Intangible Cultural Heritage and the 2005 Convention on the among all peoples, 71 • that this digital heritage is at risk of being lost and that its One major shortcoming is that there are no digital versions of the preservation for the benefit of present and future generations objects listed in the register. In most cases, there is neither a link is an urgent issue of worldwide concern (UNESCO, 2003b). to access the digital content nor any information as to whether a full digital version of that item actually exists. For people from The heart of Memory of the World is its corresponding portal, countries other than the ones the items belong to, finding digital the major component of which is the world register – in some copies is a difficult if not impossible task. Looking for example at ways the most publicly visible aspect of the programme. At the the Song of the Nibelungs, which is registered, it is difficult for time of writing, the register lists 193 documentary objects from people who do not speak German to find the digitalized version different nations that are representative of the memory of the of Codex C, for example, because a link to it does not exist.5 world. The objects receive their status in a similar but not anal- Furthermore, although the Song is hosted by the Baden Regional ogous procedure to World Heritage nominations. In their regu- Library and accessible online, there is no English-language ver- lar meetings, which occur every two years, States Parties can sion of the library website, making it almost impossible for for- make two proposals about which documentary items are to be eigners to find these copies in the flood of results via Google or included in the register. National nomination committees are any other search engine. Unfortunately, this is true for all eleven responsible for preparation of the proposals for the Internation- registered German objects, with the exception of the Children's al Advisory Committee which gives advice to the Director- and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen) by the Brothers General of UNESCO, who takes the final decision on which Grimm. Taking the vision of the Memory of the World into proposals are accepted. Through the nomination process, the account, which states that the heritage “with due recognition of country of origin is informed that great efforts should be taken both cultural mores and practicalities, should be permanently accessi- to preserve these objects and to make them globally accessible. ble to all without hindrance”, we can see that many obstacles – and above all else linguistic ones – have yet to be removed. Looking at the current register, it quickly becomes clear that there is still a long way to go in order to meet the targets and realize A second shortcoming we would like to mention is that of the the vision set out in the programme's Charter.4 The 193 items presentation of the items, especially in terms of context, which is currently registered at the Memory of the World portal represent almost completely lacking. There are only brief descriptions of only a small fraction of the documentary heritage from around the items. By not giving sufficient information about the cultural the world that is worthy of nomination. As the portal has already (historical, social, linguistic and institutional) contexts within been in existence for some fifteen years, it can be critically ques- which the items are to be “read”, Memory of the World presents tioned when it will have extended to a size of representation that itself as a programme of reinterpretation and reconstruction of authentically and convincingly lives up to the goal of “Memory cultural identity – and in the end of cultural national history as of the World” and if the nomination proceedings are adequate well. We elaborate this point in more detail below, using the to support this goal. example of Grimm's Household Tales. 4 In criticizing the portal we are fully aware of its lack of adequate funding and staff. Our critique is therefore directed at the importance of the portal’s task and the need for financial strength. 5 Those who do not read German might want access to this Codec to examine the unique illustrations that accompany the text, which are of interest to students of both art and history, as well as other related disciplines. 72 Some other shortcomings of the register should be mentioned. It Grimm's Children's and Household Tales was registered with consists only of an unstructured list of items, which raises the ques- the Memory of the World as an exceptional national-cultural tion of the list's actual use. Moreover, it is not possible to search the narrative that is exemplary of the German storytelling culture. register. The search engine at the top of the page is only Google. The justification for this entry notes that this anthology of fairy tales is “the most well-known and most widely distributed book While these points might seem to be somewhat critical, we hope worldwide of German cultural history” (Memory of the World, to initiate a discussion that will take on the question of how to 2005). This rationale is explicitly nationalistic in its evaluation make Memory of the World a more useful portal. and one-dimensional in its interpretation. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm – motivated by a spirit of romanticism and patriotism – Because UNESCO's financial and staffing resources are limited, compiled the fairy tales in two volumes in order to stylize them we suggest that States Parties should take on a greater amount as the original source of German narrative. For the Brothers of responsibility with regard to this programme. Towards this Grimm, the fairy tales were the remnants of quintessentially end, UNESCO needs to create more specific regulations for the German myths that had been submerged by history. Conse- presentation of the documentary heritage online. These regula- quently, the fairy tale anthology was from its very first hour tions should stipulate multilingual access to the available digital onwards a revaluation of a cultural asset – the revaluation of copies of material, as well as reliable, high-quality contextualiza- stories transmitted orally in local contexts into stories put down tions that would ideally also be multilingual, or at the very least in writing in an excessively nationalist context. It was precisely available in English. this notion of these fairy tales being “quintessentially German” that was so eagerly received and promulgated by the Grimm Internationalization of memory – dilemmas of Society during the German Empire, as well as by the National preservation and change Socialists (Hemme, 2007, pp. 2300ff.). Emphasizing the Since 5 November 2008, UNESCO has been officially register- national context of Grimm's fairy tales is therefore insufficient. ing intangible cultural assets in its Representative List of the Described as representatives of German culture, the fairy tales Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As early as 1992, it undergo a clear reinterpretation. has been managing the Memory of the World register. Entry into the list is tantamount to being certified as a particularly unique At the same time, the listing of a cultural asset in the Memory and authentic cultural asset. With their certification as documen- of the World implies an explicit internationalization of tary World Heritage through UNESCO – i.e. within the process memory. The Grimm Brothers' fairy tale anthology is thus of heritage production – cultural fragments are separated from consciously internationalized. Here, the fairy tales are reinter- their integrally habitual uses. At the same time, these certified preted a second time. From the space of authentic national fragments are given a second life as representatives of them- memory, the collective memory is transformed into something selves: a chosen cultural product is supposed to represent its global. These iconic fairy tales of a romantic and patriotic con- original cultural meaning and the original culture that belongs to text, then of a national context, then of a National Socialist it in an exemplary manner. context, and finally of the context of a federal republic, become the heritage fairy tales of a globalized world. The pro- This process, however, entails far-reaching problems that can gramme of preservation reveals itself to be a programme of be illustrated by Grimm's fairy tales, for example. In 2005, shifting contexts and revaluation. In many respects it therefore 73 leads to a changed perception and reception of the certified possible through knowledge and understanding. Access to cultur- cultural asset. al memory and specifically to the documentary heritage of other cultures opens up new perspectives and opportunities for inter- A further key problem is revealed by considering the precondi- cultural education. In its present form the Memory of the World tions of readings that are moulded by cultural socialization, i.e. portal is, however, very limited as a means of assistance and visu- readings in which cultures observe and assess themselves. The alization in schooling, vocational training and university educa- simultaneously different regional reinterpretations that can take tion. For it to be used for these purposes, certain prerequisites must place parallel to the internationalization of memory are empha- be met. In our opinion, the most important conditions for use in sized: thus, new individual perceptions can be produced, and intercultural education are, first, guaranteeing access to the full stereotypifications that are already present can be reinforced. contents of the objects (e.g. the digital content of a book and not only a picture of the cover). Having a multilingual access portal is Memory of the World and education an important part of this – in which it is possible to navigate with- UNESCO has made and still makes great efforts in research and in the objects (in order to be able to use the objects at all). A mul- education. Just to name one example, the programme of tilingual presentation of the contexts is also important – this pres- UNESCO Chairs was conceived as a way to advance research, entation should be revamped in order to be accessible to various training and programme development in higher education by user groups (children, laypersons, experts). Only through the pres- building university networks and encouraging interuniversity entation of context can intercultural users adequately work out the cooperation through the transfer of knowledge across borders. symbolic content of an object of cultural memory and thereby Since it was set up in 1992, the programme has aroused great understand its relevance for their respective cultures. The imple- interest among Member States. mentation of wikis would also be conceivable, and along with this the possibility of non-institutionalized participation in and structur- UNESCO is also aware of the digital heritage's great signifi- ing of the portal. Via the wiki, publications could undertake con- cance for intercultural education. As quoted already above the textualizations (as in Wikipedia). It would thus be conceivable that Preamble of the Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Her- relevant questions and problems would be referred to, and that itage highlights the importance of “access” to digital heritage. other objects with a direct or indirect connection to the object at Only if people are technically and cognitively (in terms of com- hand would be referred to as well; reference could also be made petence) able to access the heritage it will offer broadened to cultural artefacts and their significance for the understanding of opportunities for creation, communication and sharing of knowl- the object; to changing interpretations and understanding at local edge among all peoples. and international levels, and so on. A semantic network could thus arise, one that not only places individual objects of memory in Thus the significance of the digital heritage for intercultural educa- relation to one another, but also makes their symbolic meaning tion in particular will be addressed. Intercultural education can – and with it the cultural context – accessible by placing it in rela- only succeed in a meaningful way if sufficient knowledge about tion to the other objects. If the concept of “cultural turn”6 (Jeffrey, other cultures can be imparted. Grasping other cultures is only 1988) is taken seriously, then the symbolic meaning of an object 6 If unfamiliar with the term “cultural turn” see for first hints Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_turn). 74 is not to be gained through the object itself, but rather only through with a number of controversies, primarily over how these various its relationship with other objects. complex processes should be properly conducted. The variety of participants involved in these processes are likely to include per- In such a wiki, people from other cultures could also describe forming artists, indigenous filmmakers, visual anthropologists, their own relationship to the object of memory. This requires not media artists and television professionals, all of whom have dif- only an intensive engagement with the other culture, but also ferent opinions about – and use different approaches in – con- reflection on one's own cultural contexts. According to Krüger- structing narratives. Overlooking this crucial point by assuming Potratz (2005), the goal and significance of intercultural educa- that intangible heritage can be “documented” in a straightfor- tion is thereby taken into account: intercultural education (and ward manner will create major difficulties in the future. It will upbringing) does not, after Krüger-Potratz, necessarily mean the inevitably exclude voices, narrative strategies and points of view establishment of new or additional contents or methods, but that are already underprivileged. The technical, theoretical and rather the critical examination and alteration of attitudes towards epistemological problems involved in documenting and preserv- – as well as perceptual and thought models of – habits, profes- ing the intangible heritage (in digital form) are closely connect- sional routines, things generally taken for granted, etc. (ibid., ed to the problems of preserving the documentary or new her- p. 34). Thus, multilingual access and unrestricted possibilities of itage. It therefore makes sense to link research activities in both contextualization first make cultural memory accessible for inter- fields, and also possibly provide links to this research on the cultural education. UNESCO website and its online portals. Intangible heritage and digitalization Outlook – research on cultural heritage and the The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible dynamics of change Heritage was formulated at the 1997 UNESCO General Confer- Research in Germany is also increasingly devoting itself to the ence. Subsequent proclamations issued in 2001, 2003, 2005 domain of cultural heritage – and it is doing so by pursuing and 2009 have so far produced a list of over a hundred out- questions from within a range of very different disciplines. In standing cultural traditions. They include myths, epics and stories addition to specialized research within the various disciplines, that have been handed down in oral form. They also include the increasing need for interdisciplinary approaches is becom- performing arts such as music, dance, games and outstanding ing apparent. Thus a new focus was set up in 2007 with the field traditional crafts. of competence, Cultural Heritage and Dynamics of Change, within the area Technology, Culture and Society at the Karlsruhe The cultural forms that UNESCO has declared to be intangible Institute of Technology. The field of competence includes interdis- heritage do not exist as such, they need to be mediated to come ciplinary aspects such as architectural theory, art history and into being. Naturally, intangible heritage is mediated by people building history, as well as disciplinary research in renovation acting as mediums. Audiovisual means, however, allow cultural and redevelopment. With regard to the history of science and expressions to transcend space and time. technology, the focus is on researching ethical, professional and cultural developments, as well as dialectical processes of preser- However, the topic of audiovisual and multimedia representation vation and change. Within this framework, the new project as a precondition for the preservation of culture in general, and Cultural Transmission – the Digital, is concerned with both mate- that of the intangible cultural heritage in particular, is fraught rial and intangible aspects of the cultural heritage with regard to 75 its preservation and transference in the digital age. Here, the Multidisciplinary research projects keep the interplay among cul- research focuses on the many great social challenges – present tural heritage, cultural diversity, the formation of modern identi- and future – to which these processes give rise. Transmission ties (Robertson-von Trotha, 2009; Hauser, 2009), and concep- through documentation and archiving always implies the tions of social responsibility in their sights. Processes of change decoupling of individual objects from their context and hence thus take place within a complex relational network among con- recontextualization. straints, the need to adapt, and the need for renewal, i.e. between the readiness to take on the new and the responsibility The question of what changes the perception and interpretation to preserve “old” cultural assets. The dynamics of change com- of artefacts undergo through digitalization comes to the fore prise a complex texture of conscious and unconscious processes here. Documentation and archiving have, until now, always that are generally not controlled. An important task therefore existed in an identifiable context (that of the library, archive, consists in researching and anticipating both its intended and its museum, etc.) that authoritatively secured the cataloguing of the unintentional consequences. object. Data on the internet, however, make decentralized access and contextualization by non-experts possible. It can Conclusion therefore be seen how, via the amateur's decentralized access We have attempted to thematize several important points in the to technical means within the internet, non-institutionalized doc- context of the digitalized heritage and UNESCO's Memory of umentations can arise as new forms of knowledge and cultural the World programme. We considered it important to point out production. In this scenario, the ethical question of the criteria the special significance of the programme – and in particular the for determining and selecting the “cultural heritage” is raised. significance of the programme's portal – for the documentary On the one hand, the “digitalized world” opens up interactive and digital heritage. We began by presenting the background realms that can give rise to “deviant” evaluations. On the other of the topic of “digital heritage” for a better understanding of its hand, it opens up the technical vision of a powerful memory that social relevance and the urgency of its preservation and at first does not seem to require evaluative selection. However, transmission. We continued by taking up questions relating to this “memory” operates under the medial premises of digitaliza- terminological definitions. On the one hand we made reference tion and requires ever-new forms of (qualitatively oriented) data to the pioneering work of providing definitions that is contained filtering from the user's perspective, in light of the massive in the Charter, and its importance for the preservation of the dig- amount of data. Open access brings about not only a “demo- ital heritage. On the other hand we revealed that more research cratic” freedom of access, but also a loss of the authority of cen- is needed in the future. The main section examined the Memory tral institutions, insofar as it is possible to selectively access indi- of the World portal more closely, and in doing so contrasted the vidual data records and ignore the contextualizations present in Charter's actual achievements with its far-reaching claims. The order to produce new ones. Here, legal aspects of intangible goal here was to demonstrate that the current state of the portal property rights present further key problem areas. In addition to does not fully do justice to either the programme's goals or the the questions the humanities raise about the handling of informa- importance of this topic in general. Due to UNESCO's limited tion, the technical formulations of questions concerning digitali- financial resources, the Member States should, in our opinion, zation and its consequences – in particular the ageing of take on more responsibilities than they hitherto have. In this materials and formats, but also selection and filtering – are regard, the necessary requirements mainly entail multilingual quite relevant and particularly problematic. access to the digital objects (provided that they already exist) 76 and sufficient contextualization for better intercultural under- References standing. Here, it is important to consider the dilemmas of preservation and transformation – this is a crucial task of reflec- ATHENA. http://www.athenaeurope.org/index.php?en/1/ tion for both UNESCO and its Member States. Note that preserv- home (Accessed 1 April 2009.) ing the heritage also raises questions of contextualization and of how the material is to be presented. In addition, we also took up Bendix, R., Hemme, D. and Tauschek, M. (eds). 2007. the topic of the Memory of the World portal's potential for inter- Prädikat “HERITAGE”. Wertschöpfung aus kulturellen cultural education. Ressourcen. Berlin, LIT-Verlag. Our suggestion here, along with the above, was to significantly Cameron, F. and Kenderdine, S. 2007. Theorizing Digital expand the official list of nominated objects (by reforming the Cultural Heritage. A Critical Discourse. Cambridge, Mass., nomination procedure) as well as the descriptions of those MIT Press. objects through a wiki platform that both laypersons and experts (i.e. social communities) could contribute to. In our opinion, this Europeana. http://www.europeana.eu/portal/aboutus.html coupling would correspond to a concept of democratic partici- (Accessed 1 April 2009.) pation in the documentary heritage that would be very much in keeping with the times, and would lead to democratic participa- German Commission for UNESCO. 2009. Welterbe-Manual. tion in the documentary heritage's preservation (e.g. by allow- Handbuch zur Umsetzung der Welterbekonvention in ing users to make different connections to the cultural contexts). Deutschland, Luxemburg, Österreich und der Schweiz. Hrsg. However, UNESCO cannot perform all these functions by itself, von den UNESCO-Kommissionen Deutschlands, Luxemburgs, and it is therefore the task of the Member States to support Österreichs und der Schweiz. Bonn, Deutsche UNESCO- UNESCO both conceptually and practically. In many areas, a Kommission. considerable amount of research is still necessary. In the last sec- tion of the text, important research questions are therefore Hauser, R. 2009. Cultural identity in a globalised media raised, questions that the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is world? A theoretical approach towards the concept of cultural taking up in its new field of competence, Cultural Heritage and identity. In: G. Banse, M. Wieser and R. Winter (eds), Neue Dynamics of Change, as well as in the new project, Cultural Medien und kulturelle Vielfalt. Berlin, Trafo, pp. 327– 41. Transmission – the Digital. Hemme, D. 2007. “Weltmarke Grimm”. Anmerkungen zum Umgang mit der Ernennung der Grimmschen Kinder- und Hausmärchen zum “Memory of the World”. In: Bendix, Hemme and Tauschek (eds), op. cit., pp. 225 – 51. InterPARES. http://www.interpares.org (Accessed 1 April 2009.) 77 Jeffrey, C. A. 1988. The new theoretical movement. In: N. J. ____. 2001. Verfassung der Organisation der Vereinten Smelser (ed.), Handbook of Sociology. Beverly Hills, Calif., Nationen für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur. Sage Publications, pp. 77–101. http://www.unesco.de/verfassung.html?&L=0 (Accessed 13 March 2009.) Kalay, Y., Kvan, T. and Affleck, J. 2007. New Heritage. New Media and Cultural Heritage. New York, Routledge. ____. 2003a. Übereinkommen zur Bewahrung des immateriellen Kulturerbes. www.unesco.de/ike- Kenderdine, S., Shaw, J., Del Favero, D. and Brown, N. konvention.html?&L=0 (Accessed 13 March 2009.) 2007. Place-Hampi: stereoscopic panoramas of Vijayanagara, India. In: Kalay et al., op. cit. ____. 2003b. Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage. http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID= Krüger-Potratz, M. 2005. Interkulturelle Bildung. Eine 13367&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Einführung. Münster, Germany, Waxmann. (Accessed 5 March 2010.) Memory of the World. 2005. Kinder- und Hausmärchen Weigelt, F. A. 2007. Von “cultural property” zu “cultural (Children's and Household Tales). heritage”. Die UNESCO-Konzeption im Wandel der Zeit. http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23214& In: Bendix et al. (eds), op. cit., pp. 129 – 46. URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (Accessed 13 March 2009.) Meyer-Rath, A. 2007. Zeit-nah, Welt-fern? Paradoxien in der Prädikatisierung von immateriellem Kulturerbe. In: Bendix et al., (eds), op. cit., pp. 147– 76. Robertson-von Trotha, C. 2009. Die Dialektik der Global- isierung. Kulturelle Nivellierung bei gleichzeitiger Verstärkung kultureller Differenz. Karlsruhe, Germany, Universitätsverlag Karlsruhe. UNESCO. 1972. Übereinkommen zum Schutz des Kultur- und Naturerbes der Welt. http://www.unesco.de/ welterbekonvention.html?&L=0 (Accessed 13 March 2009.) 78 Barbara Engels (b) the same type of property, which is characteristic of the geographical zone; Serial Natural Heritage Sites: A Model to (c) the same geological, geomorphological formation, the same Enhance Diversity of World Heritage? biogeographic province, or the same ecosystem type and provided it is the series as a whole – and not necessarily the Introduction individual parts of it – which are of outstanding universal value” The concept of serial World Heritage properties has gained much (UNESCO, 2008). popularity during recent years. This is reflected in the increasing number of nominations and inscriptions of serial properties on the This implies that serial properties play an important role, espe- UNESCO World Heritage List. The fact that serial World Heritage cially in recognizing significant properties united within a single properties present a growing trend in the last decade's inscrip- theme to be of outstanding universal value, as opposed to the tions suggests that they offer benefits to the World Heritage Con- early focus of the Convention on “icons”. Since the inclusion of vention and its implementation. The contribution of serial proper- this definition in the Operational Guidelines (and even before) a ties to the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and broad variety of serial properties have been inscribed on the Credible World Heritage List, with its aim of ensuring that the List UNESCO World Heritage List. reflects the world's cultural and natural diversity of outstanding universal value, could be one of these benefits. What makes up the outstanding universal value of a serial property? In order to make best use of serial properties an in-depth Serial properties have the function of recognizing outstanding knowledge of the current status of serial World Heritage sites is universal value where the key values cannot be displayed in only needed. Given the high complexity in terms of concepts for a single property. The outstanding universal value of a property establishing the outstanding universal value, integrity and may be expressed through the metaphor of it “telling a story”. For authenticity as well as in terms of management systems, serial a serial property the component parts can be thought of as differ- World Heritage nominations are not only of great interest for ent chapters of that story. Serial properties can thus add value in future work in the Convention but also merit further analysis and relation to the option of nominating a single property when a discussion. This paper suggests that serial natural World Her- series of distinct component parts is needed to “tell the story” of itage properties are a tool to enhance the diversity of sites on the the values within a coherent region, feature or set of values. List and analyses the serial natural properties inscribed to prove this hypothesis. Various examples exist among the natural properties inscribed on the World Heritage List: Definition and role of serial World Heritage properties • Origin and development of geological phenomena The definition of a serial World Heritage property is given in the (e.g. volcanoes at Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, Operational Guidelines of the Convention. Para. 37 sets them as Republic of Korea, inscribed in 2007); follows: “Serial properties will include component parts related • Complete story of a geological time period (community of because they belong to: plants, animals and the environment of a complete time, (a) the same historical-cultural group; e.g. Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Canada; inscribed in 2008); 79 • Representing islands within an archipelago and displaying of the property. A clear justification for the inclusion of every functional integrity, complete variety of ecosystems component included in a serial World Heritage property is obvi- (e.g. Socotra Archipelago, Yemen, inscribed in 2008); ously needed. Note that, at present, the guiding documents of • Different variations of an ecosystem/vegetation type the Convention do not cover this important question. (e.g. Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, Slovakia/Ukraine, inscribed in 2007). Individual component parts may add to the outstanding univer- sal value of the series by: In practical terms, this means that the nomination of a serial property needs a comprehensive idea of the “story” the overall • Adding distinct features necessary for the property to fulfil property wants to tell, and what the individual contribution of the criteria for inscription; each component part is. This includes a careful comparative • Enhancing significantly the integrity of the property (through analysis not only on a global level to be able to prove the out- elements such as reinforcement, ecosystem functioning, standing universal value of the property but also on the national habitat linkages or ecological corridors). or – in the case of a transnational nomination – regional level to identify and select suitable component parts. The number of com- Nomination practice has shown that the choice and number of ponent parts which is needed to display the outstanding univer- component parts is sometimes impacted by the fact that scientif- sal value depends of course on the individual story. ic findings and conclusions may differ from political interests and that existing protected areas and their boundary design play an On the one hand, this number may in part vary in relation to the important role in the selection. relevant criteria. The number of component parts for properties under criteria (ix) and (x) may be influenced by the minimum crit- Status and trends of serial natural ical size of the individual area which is needed for protection and World Heritage sites the distance between isolated fragmented patches of ecosystems. The concept of serial World Heritage properties has gained For properties under criterion (x) the duplication of values/features much popularity during recent years, as reflected in the increas- might be accepted (redundancy), when adding to integrity (e.g. ing number of nominations and inscriptions of serial properties Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, South Africa) as the inclusion on the World Heritage List. of similar values can be necessary to ensure integrity/protection whereas properties under criterion (viii) might need component Among the 176 World Heritage properties inscribed for their parts which contribute to their representativeness. natural values, thirty-eight are serial properties (two of them being mixed sites). With twenty-nine States Parties having a seri- On the other hand, the number of component parts may be lim- al natural property inscribed, serial properties show a globally ited by the ability to effectively manage the property (as a coor- growing trend (Engels et al., 2009). dinated/integrated management is part of integrity). Whereas in the early years of the Convention natural properties This leads to the conclusion that the aim should be to include the were generally large national parks, this has changed in the past minimum number of component parts which are adequate to (a) two decades: The first serial natural property was inscribed in establish outstanding universal value and (b) ensure the integrity 1986 (Gondwana Rainforests of Australia); since 1993 almost 80 one serial natural property has been inscribed each year. In At present, five of the thirty-eight serial natural properties are 2005, a total of five serial natural sites had been inscribed and transnational (involving two States Parties). This is mostly a Euro- in 2009 both of the natural properties inscribed were serial (The pean phenomenon: all these properties are located in countries Dolomites, Italy; and The Wadden Sea, Germany/Netherlands). of the UNESCO-Europe region; one of them (Uvs Nuur Basin) in Figure 1 shows the overall trends in inscription of serial natural two UNESCO regions (Table1). World Heritage properties.1 None of these properties would have been inscribed if only one country alone had nominated them (an example is the inscription of the Slovak and Ukrainian beech forests which had only been submitted after the Slovak forests nomination had failed and the Advisory Body IUCN had suggested a broader approach to include other forest areas in neighbouring countries). This leads to the conclusion that the serial approach is a tool to enhance the diversity of the List. This is of special importance for Europe and other regions of the world where large ecosystems and natural phenomena are Fig. 1: Trends in inscription of serial natural World Heritage properties divided by political boundaries and where natural features at their best can be found in more than one country. The concept A first analysis of the Tentative Lists shows that seventy-five of of serial properties allows for nomination of natural properties 299 sites on these lists are of serial character, suggesting that where the outstanding universal value can only be met by com- this trend will be pursued. Note that the current format of Tenta- bining several component parts. Without the option for serial tive Lists does not ask for a clear indication of the serial charac- properties, the World Heritage List would be less regionally ter of a site listed, nor does the current format allow for details balanced for natural properties, fourteen European natural regarding future component parts. properties being serial (Table 2). States Parties UNESCO region Name of property Region Serial natural Total natural % High Coast / Kvarken Finland/Sweden EU/NA AF 4 33 12.1 Archipelago Caves of Aggtelek Karst LA/C 6 35 17.1 Hungary/Slovakia EU/NA and Slovak Karst AP 10 48 20.8 Mongolia/Russian Federation EU/NA/AP Uvs Nuur Basin Primeval Beech Forests of EU/NA 14 57 24.6 Slovakia/Ukraine EU/NA the Carpathians AR 1 4 25.0 Germany/Netherlands EU/NA The Wadden Sea Table 2: Regional distribution of serial natural properties (2009) Table 1: Overview of serial transnational natural World Heritage properties (2009) Note: AF: Africa; AP: Asia-Pacific; AR: Arab States; EU/NA: Europe/North Note: EU/NA: Europe/North America; AP: Asia-Pacific. America; LA/C: Latin America/Caribbean. 1 All figures and tables are based on Engels et al. (2009). The data have been updated with status of inscriptions as of July 2009. 81 In many regions of the world, habitat fragmentation and human How diverse are serial natural properties? pressure has shaped nature. The serial concept is an instrument Size and number of component parts to address this development and takes up the concepts of eco- The average size of a natural serial World Heritage site is logical connectivity networks and their role in preserving 767,286 ha. The size of serial natural World Heritage sites biodiversity on a global scale. This allows for a much greater varies from 2,550 ha (Dorset and East Devon Coast, United diversity on the World Heritage List. Kingdom) to 3,830,200 ha (Volcanoes of Kamchatka, Russian Federation). Serial natural properties add important large prop- A model for transnational cooperation? erties to the List. The size of the individual component parts The nomination and management of transnational serial proper- varies considerably. ties require intensive collaboration bearing both great opportu- nities and challenges. Serial transnational properties worldwide The number of components also varies considerably (Figure 2), have developed management models which can be applied to while seven properties are composed of two components only non-World Heritage sites. (e.g. Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, India) the inscribed properties cover up to twenty-three individual com- The classical model of one management authority (e.g. protect- ponents (Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, Hungary/ ed area administration) is being replaced by complex manage- Slovakia). The number of components has to be identified for ment systems involving cooperative approaches and newly cre- every serial property in relation to the character of the site, the ated management structures for the purpose of World Heritage. story it wants to tell and is ideally based on a well-founded An expert workshop in 2008 brought together for the first time comparative analysis to select the component parts. For example, various site managers and explored the various management ecological processes and in situ conservation may (sometimes) models in more detail (Engels et al., 2008). need several areas to guarantee integrity of a property. To achieve joint management, outstanding universal value has to be translated into a shared set of overall goals and subsequent- ly into tangible and measurable objectives for the component parts. A joint approach to define the objectives is advisable, but not all objectives need to be similar for all component parts that make up the serial site. This is of even more importance for transnational properties where legislative, cultural or linguistic differences influence the management approaches. The broad variety of management approaches also presents an aspect of bringing more diversity to the World Heritage List in terms offering management options and offer good models for transnational nature conservation management worldwide. Fig. 2: Number of component parts of serial natural World Heritage properties (2009) 82 World Heritage criteria Nomination as World Heritage may represent an important The analysis of the criteria under which serial natural properties incentive and motivation for States Parties to enhance their have been inscribed shows, that the four natural criteria – (vii) to protection of valuable ecosystems and the establishment of (x) – are almost evenly distributed with the combination of protected areas. This is of utmost importance for marine conser- criteria (ix), (x) and (vii), (ix), (x) prevailing (Figure 3).2 vation as the global network of protected areas is still to be com- pleted in terms of marine protected areas. Serial nominations provide important opportunities to fill global gaps in the World Heritage List: The IUCN Global Gap Analysis (IUCN, 2004) had identified gaps concerning ecosys- tems such as marine (noting for example the Gulf of California, Mexico), deserts (Socotra desert, Yemen) or grasslands (tundra ecosystems). Various nominations of later years corresponded to this gap analysis and it can be noted that many of the inscribed properties filling the identified gaps are serial (Gulf of Califor- nia; Socotra Archipelago; Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan). Fig. 3: Criteria (and their combination) under which serial natural World Heritage properties have been inscribed (2009) Ecosystem diversity With regard to ecosystems covered by serial natural World Her- itage properties, forest ecosystems as well as islands/marine sites dominate (Figure 4). None of the marine/islands serial properties would have made it to World Heritage status without the serial concept as only the combination of the various compo- nents (individual islands) allows for establishing the outstanding universal value. The forest ecosystems reach from temperate broadleaf forests such as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia/Ukraine) to the Tropical Rainforest Her- Fig. 4: Ecosystem types represented by serial natural World Heritage properties (2009) itage of Sumatra (Indonesia), islands and marine ecosystems inscribed as serial properties can be found in the tropics The future of serial properties (Lagoons of New Caledonia, France) as well as in temperate At present, serial World Heritage properties are intensively dis- zones (The Wadden Sea). cussed by the World Heritage Committee which is seeking for an 2 Criteria for inscription: see para. 77 of Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (2008). 83 enhanced understanding of the role and functioning of serial References properties. The Operational Guidelines now contain provisions relating to nominations and management of serial properties Engels, B. 2009. Serial Natural World Heritage Properties – (paras 114, 137 and 139) but current practice and experiences Challenges for Nomination and Management. Proceedings of with nominations and management have shown that these do a workshop organized by the German Federal Agency for not fully take into account the specific needs and challenges Nature Conservation in cooperation with the UNESCO World (e.g. in the nomination format, guidance for management, etc.). Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 7 –11 November 2009. Current processes under the Convention are seeking more guid- ance on serial properties and two expert meetings relating to Engels, B., Koch, P. and Badman, T. 2009. Serial Natural serial natural World Heritage, held at the International Nature World Heritage Properties – An Initial Analysis of the Serial Conservation Academy (Vilm, Germany) have pointed out vari- Natural Properties on the World Heritage List. Gland, ous needs (Engels, 2009; Engels et al., 2008). An initial analy- Switzerland, International Union for Conservation of Nature. sis on serial natural World Heritage properties is already avail- (IUCN World Heritage Studies No. 6.) able (Engels et al, 2009). Engels, B., Ohnesorge, B. and Burmester, A. 2008. Given the high complexity in terms of concepts for establishing Nominations and Management of Serial Natural World outstanding universal value, integrity and authenticity as well as Heritage Properties – Present Situation, Challenges and in terms of management systems, serial World Heritage nomina- Opportunities. Proceedings of a workshop organized by the tions are not only of great interest for future work within the Con- German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in vention but also merit further analysis and discussion. This cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and includes the relationship with other designations (RAMSAR, IUCN, 26 – 30 November 2008. Bonn, Bundesamt für UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, European Diploma, etc.) and the Naturschutz. (BfN-Skripten 248.) role of serial properties in the Global Network of Protected Areas and the function within the Programme of Work on Protect- IUCN. 2004. The World Heritage List: Future Priorities for a ed Areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Credible and Complete List of Natural and Mixed Sites. Strategy Paper prepared by IUCN, April 2004. Last but not least, serial World Heritage properties not only pres- WHC-04/28.COM/INF.13B. ent great opportunities for a more balanced World Heritage List but could also pose a threat to its credibility, as they might lead UNESCO. 2008. Operational Guidelines for the to the inflation of the list, increase the workload for the World Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Paris, Heritage Centre and its Advisory Bodies (in evaluation and mon- World Heritage Centre. itoring), and present challenges for management, presentation and interpretation. This leads to the conclusion that broader guidance will be needed in future to enable States Parties, World Heritage managers and other stakeholders to effectively use and implement the concept of serial World Heritage. 84 Susanne von der Heide external influences. The area of Mustang, formerly well known for its salt and grain trade through the Annapurna and Dhaula- Aspects of Transcultural Movements along giri Himalayas, is divided into a southern part where the Thakali the Ancient Trade Routes of the Himalayas people have mainly settled; and a northern part, also called the former kingdom of Lo Mustang, where the Lopa live. Since the Introduction tenth century a very important Buddhist cultural landscape has The impact of Hinduism on neighbouring Buddhist cultures, evolved in both parts of Mustang, thanks to its position along the partly due to trade or labour migration, and the process of accul- trade route, with influences from the Indian subcontinent and turation which often accompanies this, can lead to a transforma- from the northern Tibetan and partly even Chinese culture. In this tion of cultural identity of an entire society. This process is often way, over the passage of time, a close interaction between man named “Sanskritization”, “Brahmanization”, or “Hinduization” and nature has shaped the cultural landscape of the area, boast- (Srinivas, 1962, p. 42). It can be observed very well on differ- ing centuries-old monasteries, temples, stupas and recently redis- ent ancient trade and Buddhist pilgrimage routes throughout the covered historically significant inhabited caves and cave temple Himalayan areas connecting Tibet and India. sites. After the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1959 – 60, thou- In the last two centuries, an enormous cultural change has taken sands of Tibetan refugees had to organize their flight partly place in Mustang and the impact of the above-mentioned exter- along these ancient pilgrimage routes into neighbouring coun- nal factors, but especially the influence of Hinduism in southern tries that were offering them sanctuary. This created the last sur- Mustang, has left its traces on the Buddhist culture there. As a viving areas of their Buddhist culture, which makes these places result, even though the people of southern Mustang are now try- unique today. Some of the small Himalayan areas in India, ing to protect and re-establish their Buddhist heritage, this has Nepal and Bhutan are now the only surviving examples of the been proved to be very difficult, as too many monuments are impressive ancient Tibetan culture. already destroyed or disintegrating and intangible values have fallen into oblivion in this southern part of the district. Moreover, the modern advent of tourism has brought some West- ern values into these various Himalayan regions. Today's well- The impact of Hinduism has also had a certain influence on known trekking routes were developed along those old trade northern Mustang, but not to such an extent that the Buddhist cul- paths with fascinating cultural heritage sites. Along with these ture was neglected or that the Lopa people gave up their Bud- new influences, increasing labour migration to other countries dhist beliefs, as some of the Thakalis of southern Mustang did. can often be observed; this is another threat to the cultural her- The Lopa had difficulties in maintaining their heritage, as their itage and identity of the people living there. With regard to this, way of life and their culture was not supported by the Nepalese it may be noted that the continual diffusion of Western values Government, led by a Hindu king in those days. The introduction and lifestyles plus the general process of globalization that goes of a democratic system since 1990 in Nepal brought a lot of along with this has encouraged mobility, and so too migration. changes to Mustang with regard to safeguarding the Buddhist heritage, and also the opening of the restricted area of northern Mustang, a large district in north-western Nepal extending into Mustang to foreigners in 1992 helped the Lopa to re-establish the high Tibetan plateau, has experienced all these three their traditional Buddhist-oriented culture. The recent inscription 85 of the walled capital of the former kingdom, Lo Manthang, on Inclusion on the Tentative List followed a decade during which Nepal's Tentative List of World Heritage sites, is supporting the Buddhism had been re-established in the former kingdom of efforts of the Lopa people to protect their extraordinary heritage. Mustang, a process initiated after northern Mustang was opened to tourism in 1992 by the Nepalese Government. This paper focuses on the different religious, political and social Whereas southern Mustang was already open to tourism in the impacts that challenged the preservation of the Buddhist her- mid-1970s, the former kingdom had been a restricted area for itage in southern and northern Mustang in the past and the pres- decades because of its closeness to the Tibetan-Chinese border. ent. In this context the inscription/adoption of Lo Manthang as a When northern Mustang was opened up many of the ancient World Heritage site would be a milestone for safeguarding this Buddhist heritage sites were decaying, partly due to lack of sup- threatened Buddhist heritage place. port from the Nepalese Government, which was oriented towards Hinduism at the time and therefore not very interested World Heritage status of Lo Manthang in developing the Buddhist heritage of the country. After 1992 Two years ago Lo Manthang, with its medieval palace and interest increased in the former kingdom of Mustang, as many famous monasteries from the fifteenth century, was included on tourists knew about Tibetan culture and wanted to support the Nepal's Tentative List, thus officially recognizing the uniqueness survival of this ancient heritage. In this way tourism and foreign and general value of an ancient Buddhist heritage site. Northern interest brought financial support into northern Mustang, which Mustang has become one of the last witnesses to the preserva- helped Buddhist culture to be re-established. tion of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Besides this positive effect of tourism, a negative impact is that In this way it will be easier in future for the local inhabitants, the several Lopa have started to migrate to the south of Nepal and Lopa of northern Mustang, to protect their Buddhist heritage, as even abroad. It is hoped therefore that recognition as a World they are proud of their traditional way of life and belief and Heritage site and especially as a cultural landscape will make have a very strong sense of identity. With the envisaged recog- it easier not only to preserve the ancient heritage but also to nition as a World Heritage site they would not only receive more obtain worldwide support and create new job opportunities in financial support for the protection of their heritage sites but also Northern Mustang to help to counteract this movement. In this more worldwide interest in their culture. In this remote part of the way a new quality tourism, with an interest in culture and world, complete isolation for centuries had allowed them to safe- nature, together with trekking tourism in selected areas, which guard their religious heritage expressed in the distinct architec- is flourishing in Mustang at the moment, could be brought to ture of this area and the intangible cultural traditions linking the northern Mustang. Another challenge is the construction of a so- Lopa with their surrounding landscape. In fact, it should be there- called green road to link the remote areas of Mustang with the fore suggested not only to inscribe the walled city of Lo Man- south of Nepal. This will make it much easier to visit different thang, but to define a certain area of northern Mustang as a cul- sites and places on the one hand, but in due course it will also tural landscape where all these values can be taken into bring many new unforeseen influences from outside. It is hoped account. A proposal to inscribe northern Mustang with all its that the envisaged World Heritage status of Lo Manthang will major heritage sites as a cultural landscape on the World Her- help the Lopa people to keep a “healthy” balance between all itage List was formulated by the present author four years ago these challenges. (von der Heide, 2006). 86 Below I describe and analyse some of the circumstances that led distinct Thakali groups today is estimated at 12,000 (von der to the abandonment of Buddhist values among the people of Heide, 2001, pp. 73 –113). southern Mustang and a subsequent loss of their cultural her- itage and some degree of their identity. This also had a negative In the context of a well-defined ancestral cult among the local impact on northern Mustang. inhabitants, the influence of Tibet led the traditionally minded Thakalis of Thak Khola valley to a syncretism of pre-Buddhist In the last two centuries the south of Mustang has been trans- notions and the Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, in particular the formed culturally due to the gradual influence of Hinduism, the Nyingma tradition. Impressive Buddhist monasteries and tem- state religion of the then Nepalese Hindu Kingdom, propagated ples were constructed over the centuries along the ancient by local trading communities. Therefore today the ancient Bud- trade route, as the Thakalis were also wealthy traders who had dhist cultural heritage in the southern area is to a greater extent formerly invited Newari craftsmen and artists from Kathmandu deteriorating or has fallen into oblivion. Some of the ancient to design mural paintings and woodcarvings for their highly Buddhist temples there would have met the criteria for nomina- revered buildings. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, in tion as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but are now destroyed Thak Khola these religious influences were supplemented by or altered due to the influence of Hinduism – the traditional Hinduism, which henceforth began to expand much at the architecture has been changed, for example, or statues in tem- impetus of the then ruling Hindu Rana maharajas of Nepal ples replaced with Hindu idols or maintenance not carried out. (1846 –1951) and the Thakali Subbas working for them at that time as custom collectors in Mustang. In northern Mustang many important Buddhist sites were also in a very poor state due to lack of maintenance towards the end of Under Rana rule, a number of Thakalis – those who made the the twentieth century. When in 1989-90 a new political system “highest bid” – were granted the title of Subba and were there- with democratic values was introduced to Nepal it led eventual- by empowered to collect customs duties from passing trading ly to the restoration of Buddhism, at least in northern Mustang; caravans. A Subba was a senior official of the civil administra- which has slowly influenced the area of southern Mustang as tion, a customs-collecting magistrate, particularly during the time well. of the Rana rulers. Over the course of time one particular family and its descendants succeeded not only in making this title Southern Mustang and the Thakali traders hereditary, but also in coming into possession of nearly all The southern part of Mustang district, called Thak Khola valley, important social positions by virtue of their influence as middle- lies some 250 km north-west of Kathmandu, the capital of men in the salt, wool and grain trade, with the support of the Nepal. Situated between the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Rana maharajas. The Subba Thakalis and their family members, massif, Thak Khola extends for over 30 km along one of the old who had meanwhile become close to the Hindu Rana rulers, trading routes between India and Tibet. The Thakalis who live thereupon built a trading network in the western, southern and there today engage predominantly in farming and herding. central parts of Nepal, and many Thakalis who worked for them Since the mid-1970s many Thakali families have been catering thus migrated seasonally, later semi-permanently, then finally for trekking tourism. In the past, however, their significance residing permanently in the various trading centres in Nepal, arose from being a trading people dealing in salt, wool and mainly in the prosperous south of the country. grain between Tibet and India. The population of the three 87 Danger of cultural loss and reconstructing identity Only after the economic situation in southern Mustang improved After the Tibetan border closed in 1959, the traditional salt and significantly, due mainly to the growth and resulting impacts of grain trade between Tibet, Nepal and India came to a complete trekking tourism from the mid-1970s, during the rule of the Hindu halt, and thus this source of livelihood for the Thakalis in Thak king Birendra, did several Thakali families return to Mustang, Khola ended. Therefore, many of them also migrated to the becoming engaged in the tourism industry. They celebrated their southern, predominantly Hindu-influenced regions of Nepal traditional festivals less than in the past and were instead, for where many of their relatives were already working for the Sub- example, observing Dashain, one of the main Hindu festivals in bas. Several villages in southern Mustang had become almost honour of the goddess Durga. Likewise, the Buddhist monastic deserted since so many Thakalis had left them for better oppor- institutions of the Thakalis were increasingly neglected. tunities in the south. In tandem with the migration of the Subba families, an increasing assimilation in past decades into the Today, whereas most Subba families of the Thakalis and their “Hindu social order” of central and southern Nepal could be close relatives have not wished to identify themselves with a Bud- observed, for example the adoption of Hindu ceremonies and dhist and pre-Buddhist past aligned with ancestral beliefs, the festivals and no longer consuming yak meat. In some cases it new generation of Thakalis has taken the opposite view. The ref- reached the point where Thakalis abandoned their traditional ormation of the government and the introduction of a democrat- form of communal life, which is oriented to ancestral beliefs and ic political system with recognized parties at the beginning of to the Vajrayana Buddhism practised in Thak Khola. the 1990s, also brought changes for the Thakalis. As a conse- quence of the democracy movement, there was the banding The adaption to Hindu society had been rising since the end of together of various ethnic groups strongly oriented towards Bud- the nineteenth century – but more particularly since the mid- dhism, forming the Nepal Federation of Nationalities (janajati twentieth century, when the Subbas ordered people to do their maha sangh), an umbrella association in which they could now, utmost not to speak Thakali (which belongs to the Tibeto Burman united, stand up for their ethnic interests. The Central Association family of languages) outside Thak Khola in order to avoid the of the Thakalis was one of the founding associations of this impression of being an ethnic group of Tibetan origin. In Thak Janajati movement. This movement helped the Thakalis to Khola, their region of origin, every precaution was taken by the reconstruct their almost lost identity. Subbas to keep the thought from emerging that the Thakalis had perhaps originally emigrated from Tibet, and their written histo- New opinions on how to preserve their own culture and tradi- ries about their past were also partially changed in this respect. tional religious beliefs were aired and taken up by their Central Even their original names were altered in order to give an Association. For example it was concluded that they are not impression that the Thakalis were not an ethnic group but a caste Hindus. As a result, in Thak Khola along the old trading route in group belonging to the Hindu Chettris. Also, as a result of these southern Mustang, the idea is slowly growing stronger that the practices, their Buddhist priests and traditional ritual healers in cultural heritage should be preserved in their region. Ironically, Thak Khola, who were influenced by the pre-Buddhist Tibetan for unfortunately most of the old Buddhist temples are already in Bon tradition, were no longer supported; the monasteries and a very poor condition, the Thakalis have started constructing temples were slowly yet steadily disintegrating and no one pre- some new Buddhist temples there. served them. 88 Northern Mustang – former ancient kingdom A day's ride from the Tibeto-Nepali border, at 3,790 m, is the of Lo Mustang fortress-like Lo Manthang, a unique walled settlement, founded The inhabitants of the former small kingdom of northern Mus- in the fifteenth century by king Amepal under the guidance of the tang, the Lopa, were never engaged in trade to such an extent famous scholar Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (Jackson, 1979; as the Thakalis. In fact the trade in the former kingdom was con- Henss, 1993). The densely packed place is surrounded by an trolled mainly from the end of the nineteenth century up to the impressive 6 m rammed-earth wall, which originally had only mid twentieth century by the Thakali Subbas from southern Mus- one entrance although today there are several. Situated along tang. In this way the Lopa were also influenced by the Subbas, the main trade route to Tibet, the capital became a famous spir- as they were to a certain extent economically dependent. itual centre from the fifteenth until the mid-eighteenth centuries, when the whole Mustang area became part of the new Hindu Their former kingdom lies to the north of the mountain giants kingdom, the unified state of Nepal, founded by king Prithvi Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, on a high plateau near to neigh- Narayan Shah following his conquest of the Kathmandu valley bouring Tibet on Nepalese territory. Up to May 1992, the in 1769. Since that time the whole of Mustang has slowly had region was completely inaccessible. With few exceptions, to face up to declining support for its Buddhist heritage sites. foreigners were not permitted entry. Legends and myths swirl about this region, which is also known as the Kingdom of Lo. Lo Manthang boasts a massive five-storey medieval palace and significant Buddhist monasteries such as Jhampa Lhakang, hous- The Lopa are related ethnically and culturally to the Tibetan ing a collection of the finest Mandala paintings, and Thubchen sphere of influence; in fact, before the kingdom of Lo became Lhakang, with its remarkable architectural structures as well as independent in the fifteenth century, the area used to belong to intricate mural paintings, all built in the fifteenth century. Tibet. This finds expression in their way of life, their script and their festivals and in particular in their religious belief which is There are also the remains of old Bon traditions as well as related to Vajrayana Buddhism of the Sakya school. recently rediscovered ancient cave monasteries and temples along the ancient trade route, dating from the eleventh century The Sakya tradition is very well known in Tibet for its patronage onwards, with marvellously rendered wall paintings and numer- of art as well as for philosophical learning. Fortunately being ous scriptures, underlining the importance of this cultural land- outside of Tibetan territory, only the monasteries in the area of scape as a spiritual centre even before the fifteenth century, with northern Mustang have survived until today. Many of them were continuing religious and cultural development demonstrating the authentically consecrated by the founder of the Sakya-Ngor close ties with the Tibetan kingdom. Especially between the tradition, a sub-school of the Sakya order, the great master eleventh and thirteenth centuries, famous Buddhist scholars and Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382 –1456), of the mother- saints such as Atisha (982 –1054), Marpa (1012 –1097) and monastery of this tradition in southern Tibet, which was com- Milarepa (1040 –1123) passed through Lo Mustang, the south- pletely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Today, the ernmost border district of the area of Western Tibet rule, on their impressive Namgyal Monastery, built in the fifteenth century next way to the kingdom of Purang-Guge, as the late Dzongsar Ngari to the capital of the former kingdom, Lo Manthang, is the oldest Thingo Rinpoche and the present author were able to prove remaining building to have been founded by this great master. (Thingo and von der Heide, 1998a; 1998b; von der Heide, 2006). They often remained in Mustang for a long time and 89 under their influence new temple sites arose and monastic com- were active in northern Mustang, and also became interested in plexes were built, containing partly impressive ornated cult the Janajati movement and its umbrella organization, the Nepal rooms. Artists came from far afield to do commissioned work Federation of Nationalities, an association in which their neigh- there, and local workshops also seem to have come up. Hardly bours, the Thakalis of southern Mustang, were active founding anything is known, however, about these early masters in Mus- members. Some influential Lopa personalities had meetings with tang. But we can better understand now, in any case, how a the Thakali leaders involved in this movement and obtained spiritual and cultural centre of Buddhism was able to develop so more information about it, even though they did not become quickly following the founding of the kingdom of Mustang by members themselves. The author was present during several of king Amepal in the fifteenth century, inasmuch as the required these meetings with different prominent Thakali leaders who basis for it had been laid long before. tried to convince the Lopa to join the Janajati movement. Since this former rather isolated kingdom was opened up to The stated aim of the Janajati movement is the elimination of tourism, the population of Mustang, approximately 5,600 disadvantages suffered by minorities (particularly in the eco- Lopas, became aware that their cultural heritage was under nomic and social arena) and the preservation and promotion of threat from the rapid changes. One attempt to preserve this her- the groups' cultural heritage. At the same time, the plan is to itage was to build up an infrastructure in order to keep the newly ensure that minorities become more actively engaged in devel- open region from being “swamped” by foreign tourists (Bista opments affecting them. The population groups that are count- et al., 1997; von der Heide, 2000). Despite all the negative ed as janajatis (“nationalities”) are those that speak their own aspects of tourism, it is still a very important source of revenue language, foster their own culture, belong to a particular reli- in this part of the world. Besides, the admiration that tourists gion or live in a particular region of the country, and do not fall show for the former kingdom of Mustang as one of the remain- under the traditional Hindu varna system. This alliance repre- ing areas of Tibetan culture helps the Lopa people to appreciate sents an attempt to preserve old traditions – for example, songs, their own heritage even more. Since the opening of this former dances, local languages and certain ceremonies – that are now restricted area in 1992 only 1,000 tourists per year have been on the verge of disappearing from memory within the new land- allowed to enter Mustang. Whoever wants to visit is required to scape. During protests, the janajatis have always drawn atten- pay a high entrance fee per person per day to the government, tion to the fact that they are not against Brahmins or Chettris, in addition to the costs of the trekking agency. With the envis- but are fighting only against Brahminism, which discriminates aged recognition as a World Heritage site it is also hoped that on the basis of class or caste differences, regarding some a more qualified tourism interested more in Buddhist culture and ethnic groups above others. nature will visit northern Mustang. The association of the Thakalis with the Janajati movement led to Impacts of the democracy movement in southern the strengthening of their Buddhist culture, which had been neg- and northern Mustang lected in the 1990s under the previous Hindu-oriented govern- The political reformation of the government in 1989 – 90 and the ment, with the king as head of state. Buddhist monasteries and attempt to develop a democratic political system in Nepal also monastic schools in southern Mustang, for decades fallen into brought immense changes to the people living in northern Mus- decay, were reintroduced in those years and were restored, tang. The Lopa began to associate with the political parties that partly with the help of foreign institutions. This revival of 90 Buddhism in Mustang also had an impact on the Lopa people, organization were founded under the aegis of the Gyalchung for the influence of Hinduization was also prevalent among (king's son) of Mustang. The aim of these organizations is to them, albeit not to such an extent as among the Thakali. After protect the culture and tradition of the ancestors (Bista et al., 1997). 1963, for example, when the Nepalese Government had set up schools in northern Mustang, the Hindu teachers of these schools In this way significant projects have been developed, such as the gave their Lopa pupils Nepali names (most of them still use their restoration of the Jhampa Lhakhang and the Thubchen Lhakhang Nepali names instead of their given Tibetan names) which was in Lo Manthang, supported by the American Himalayan Founda- government policy at the time. The family and relatives of the Lo tion; or the conservation project at the oldest cave temple in Gyalpo (king) of Mustang received the family name “Bista” in Mustang, the Mentsun Lhakhang, carried out by HimalAsia and this way, as a result of this practice, indicating that they the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, Germany (von der Heide, 2009). belonged to the Hindu warrior caste, the Thakuri Chettris. Moreover, the establishment of new monastic schools, for exam- ple at the Choede Monastery in Lo Manthang, the monks schools Now democracy in Nepal has given minority groups a voice, at Namgyal Monastery, at Nyiphu or in Kagbeni and the new which they have raised in order to draw attention to their con- nunnery school in Tsarang village have all helped to restore cerns. In previous years the numerous ethnic groups would not Buddhism in northern Mustang. have dared to express their needs. The opening up of northern Mustang, and the closer contact with Tourists, who have been allowed to visit northern Mustang foreign institutions and tourists, has on the other hand encour- since 1992, have also had a positive impact in this respect as aged more out-migration of the Lopa, not only into central and they have supported the Lopa people's efforts to protect their southern Nepal but also abroad, for example – the most recent unique cultural and religious heritage. Many reports and films trend – to the United States (Tulachan, 2001, pp. 43 – 72). have been published about this “former forbidden kingdom”, strengthening the idea of the need to preserve their traditional Conclusion culture. In future it will be important to find a healthy balance between these different developments, which is a difficult task bearing in Thus the political movement in Nepal starting in the 1990s, mind the out-migration of the Thakali, discussed above, who par- combined with the encouragement of foreign institutions and tially lost their cultural identity in this way. Trading communities tourists, has helped the Lopa to implement new ways of preserv- such as the Thakali are much more susceptible to cultural ing their culture and traditional religious beliefs. That the major- change, whereas the Lopa, having been engaged mainly in ity of the Thakali in southern Mustang now say that they are agriculture and cattle breeding, were less affected by the Buddhists and not Hindus has an effect in terms of reinvigorat- impacts of cultural change. ing traditional Buddhist culture and generating open support for it in northern Mustang. Cultural associations and foundations The main factor that is likely to affect Mustang more than migra- have been established by individual Lopa or together with tion will be the green road currently under construction. It is foreign organizations to safeguard the unique heritage of the difficult to forecast what kind of changes will influence the Mus- former kingdom in Mustang. The Mustang Cultural Con- tang area. But in this major transition period it definitely will be servation Association, for example, and the Tashi Gephel a threat for the preservation of the Buddhist culture of northern 91 Mustang, which was has been protected to the largest possible conservation measures, management and documentation tech- extent and is one of the last remaining areas where traditional niques, in order to be able to manage their cultural landscape Tibetan culture is still prevalent. properly and even help to develop an integrated conservation programme and guidelines for the management of the site. The inclusion of Lo Manthang on Nepal's Tentative List was there- fore one of the safeguarding measures required to protect the At the moment only Kathmandu University is offering these edu- heritage of northern Mustang in future, as it gives that area spe- cation facilities in Nepal. Scholarships should therefore be cial recognition worldwide. Moreover, changes at buildings and developed and supported to send interested students from Mus- temples can no longer be easily undertaken without consulting tang to study conservation and management at heritage sites at the responsible authorities. In this context it is important for Lo this university. In future this programme could be even linked, for Manthang that measures have to be considered to exactly define example, with the curricula of the UNESCO Chair in Heritage the protected heritage zone of the ancient walled settlement, in Studies at BTU Cottbus, to share expertise and international order to ensure its future integrity while acknowledging change, experience which will be helpful in managing the heritage site brought in by the new road. or cultural landscape. Besides the built heritage of this area, it is the intangible, invisi- ble heritage of northern Mustang that encompasses the know- ledge of the people living here, their spirituality and religious beliefs, which made the region so special and shaped this extraordinary landscape. A further required measure would thus References be to extend the envisaged World Heritage inscription and define a certain area as a cultural landscape that will encom- Bista, J. S. P., Gyalchung of Mustang and von der Heide, S. pass all the major heritage sites and value the intangible her- 1997. An account on cultural heritage and nature conservation itage of northern Mustang. The inscription as a cultural land- in Mustang, Nepal. In: A. Geiger and A. Eggebrecht (eds), scape would help in fact much more to protect the Buddhist World Cultural Heritage – A Global Challenge. Documentation heritage of northern Mustang, as a larger conservation area of the International Symposium for EXPO 2000 in collaboration would need to be managed, with the involvement of local peo- with UNESCO. Hildesheim, Germany, Olms, pp. 186 – 89. ple trained specially for this purpose. They should manage their cultural landscape and link it to the relevant government author- Essen, G.-W. and Thingo, T. T. (Dzongsar Ngari Thingo ities. As major political changes are expected in the country, the Rinpoche). 1989. Die Götter des Himalaya. Systematischer involvement of local people in site management would ensure Bestandskatalog, 2 vols. Munich, Prestel. that their cultural landscape would be kept more intact and that decision-making would not be pursued solely from outside as Francke, A. H. 1999. A History of Western Tibet, reprint. Delhi, has often been the practice so far. This has sometimes led to con- Pilgrims Book PVT.LTD. flict with local communities, who did not adopt the changes pro- posed by the Nepalese Government. Therefore interested local Gutschow, N. 1993. Chörten in Mustang. Ancient Nepal, youth and other stakeholders should be trained in heritage No. 130 – 33, pp. 59 – 62. 92 ____. 1994. The Chörten of the cave at Luri. Ancient Nepal, ____. 1998b. Bericht an die Gerda Henkel Stiftung über eine No. 136, pp. 137– 45. kunsthistorische Forschung und Dokumentation im Distrikt Mus- tang, Nepal, Phase II. Düsseldorf, Germany, Gerda Henkel Henss, M. 1993. Mustang – Tibetisches Königreich im hohen Stiftung. Norden Nepals. Ulm, Fabri. Tulachan, P. 2001. Seasonal migration and trade: a strategy Jackson, D. P. 1976. The early history of Lo (Mustang) and for survival by the Lobas of Lo Monthang. In: S. von der Heide Ngari. Contributions to Nepalese Studies, Vol. 4. Kathmandu, and T. Hoffmann, T. (eds), Aspects of Migration and Mobility in pp. 39 – 56. Nepal. Kathmandu, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, pp. 43 – 72. ____. 1978. Notes on the history of Se-rib and nearby places Vitali, R. 1996. The Kingdom of Gu.ge Pu.hrang. Dharamsala, in the Upper Kali Gandaki Valley. Kailash. A Journal of Tho.ling gtsug.lag.khang. Himalayan Studies, Vol. 6, No. 3, Kathmandu, pp. 195 – 227. von der Heide, S. 2000. Changes and developments in Upper ____. 1979. A genealogy of the kings of Lo (Mustang). Mustang, Nepal: decision making at the local level. Tibet In: M. Aris (ed.), Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Journal, Vol. XXV, No. 2, pp. 80 – 87. Richardson. Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, pp. 133 – 37. ____. 2001. Some aspects of migration and mobility among Shepherd Slusser, M. and Bishop, L. 1999. Another Luri: a the Thakalis. In: S. von der Heide and T. Hoffmann (eds), newly discovered cave Chörten in Mustang, Nepal. Orienta- Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal. Kathmandu, tions, February, pp. 18 – 27. Ratna Pustak Bhandar, pp. 73 –113. Snellgrove, D. L. 1979. Places of pilgrimage in Thag ____. 2006. Buddhistische Klosterlandschaft in Mustang, (Thakkhola). Kailash. A Journal of Himalayan Studies, Vol. 7, Nepal. In: H. Gaese and T. Böhler (eds), Denken in Räumen. No. 2, Kathmandu, pp. 75 – 170. Tagungsband zum Symposium, 03 – 05. November 2004 in Osnabrück, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU). Veranstaltet Srinivas, M. N. 1962. Caste in Modern India and Other vom Institut fuer Tropentechnologie (ITT), FH Köln und DBU in Essays. Bombay. Zusammenarbeit mit der Deutschen UNESCO-Kommission. Cologne, pp. 127– 72. Thingo, T. T. (Dzongsar Ngari Thingo Rinpoche) and von der Heide, S. 1998a. Bericht an die Gerda Henkel Stiftung über ____. 2009. Restoration of wall paintings and roof repair of eine kunsthistorische Forschung und Dokumentation im Distrikt an ancient cave temple in Mustang. In: S. Punja and J. Reeve Mustang, Nepal, Phase I. Düsseldorf, Germany, Gerda Henkel (eds), Sharing Good Practice – Heritage Education in Asia. Stiftung. New Delhi, INTACH, pp. 53 – 55. 93 Jacek Purchla local government reform, decentralization, privatization, changes to the taxation system, and European integration. At the Towards a Heritage Preservation System: same time, in most countries of this region undergoing the diffi- The Dilemmas of Poland's Transformation cult processes of transformation, culture was perceived above all as ballast, a traditional burden on the budget, not a catalyst for Introduction change. Any interest in culture on the part of the new political The year 2009 – the twentieth anniversary of the fall of com- class in many countries of the New Europe was largely restrict- munism in Central Europe – is an ideal time to reflect more ed to successive attempts to instrumentalize culture, for example broadly on the nature of our transformation, and on the place of in the service of a new state ideology. For right-wing parties, culture in the light of the rapid, far-reaching changes that we especially in many post-communist European countries, culture is have experienced since 1989. Today there can be no doubt that a convenient tool for playing on national emotions. This essen- culture since communism has succumbed to the classic syndrome tially achieves little more than the petrification of the old model of the transition period. This is particularly clear in Poland. The of state patronage that is the legacy of the previous age. 1980s – the time of the upsurge of Solidarity and martial law – are still prominent in our memory. That was a unique time, when Yet transformation in culture, especially in the context of global- culture played a very special role in the nation's life. It was cul- ization and integration, is a vastly complex, many-layered phe- ture that tipped the balance in the Poles' great political dispute, nomenon. It also affects the modernization processes that are and culture that provided a reflection of our identity and our cre- long overdue in our part of Europe, the realm of social con- ativity. With the fall of communism and the beginning of the sciousness, and the rapid changes in the cultural context, transformation process, culture gradually became politically changes in the model of consumption and rapid commercializa- sidelined. A characteristic feature of this was the weakening tion, and the information revolution. position of successive ministers of culture within the government, and the lack of a cohesive strategy in state cultural policy (over Does all this mean that there has also been a change in Polish the period 1990 – 2009 the ministry has had eighteen constitu- thinking on heritage and heritage protection? After all, Poland tional bosses!). This has aggravated the lack of symmetry and Central Europe have a unique experience, which is derived between the transformation of the state and its decentralization, not only from the nature of our road to independence and on the one hand, and the increasingly anachronistic model of modernity in the nineteenth century, the tragedy of Central national culture in Poland, on the other - all the more so in that Europe in the twentieth century, and the lesson of communism, the existing, old model and scope of state patronage of culture but also from the fact of the sudden change that occurred after is less and less suited to the civilizational change through which 1989, the speed and complexity of which is now usually we are living today. expressed in the fashionable word “transformation”. Transformation in culture Central Europe since 1989 is seeking an identity somewhere It is very telling that the cultural changes wrought in Poland since between national renaissance and globalism. The restoration of 1989 have not been the result of the internal evolution of the sec- memory is often accompanied by the conscious creation of new tor but above all a function of external reforms – including signs and symbols representing the longed-for sovereignty. Is it changes as fundamental as the democratization of the state, not characteristic that in the heart of Vilnius the silhouette of the 94 Palace of the Grand Princes of Lithuania took shape, even privatization and commercialization of public space requires though the ruins of what was known as the Lower Castle were fundamental changes in the way heritage potential is managed. erased from the city's cultural landscape and its residents' collec- tive memory two hundred years ago? Is this the belated end of The issues of heritage protection and the new areas of conflict the historicist mode of thinking on heritage, or another wave of and danger that emerged with the transformation cannot be modernism, which commonly emerges from negation of the bal- taken in isolation from the serious crisis in the institutional culture last of the past? Until very recently, especially in the Polish polit- sector in Poland. In Poland's case, the tension between politics, ical reality, the canon of our national heritage appeared to be economics and culture described by Daniel Bell in his now untouched, and its protection signified first and foremost the duty classic book The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1994) to defend our own identity. To what extent has transformation has above all weakened the position of culture, and caused its altered our attitude to heritage and its place among the priori- political marginalization and rapid commercialization. ties of the life of our society? The marked asymmetry between politics and economics on the It is still too early to expect exhaustive answers to these questions, one hand, and the increasingly diminished position of culture on partly because this far-reaching change is still under way. Trans- the other, is leading to inevitable conflict in the field of heritage. formation is a complex process. “Emerging from real socialism” At the same time, state policy on culture and cultural heritage is and building the structures of a sovereign, democratic state are not keeping pace with the rate of economic transformation, and changes that in turn spark off processes affecting society. The this is compounding the crisis in culture in Poland and weaken- rapidity, depth and many dimensions of Poland's transformation ing the potential of our heritage in both the material and non- are intertwined with globalization and European integration. material dimensions. Managing heritage potential On the basis of Poland's experience we can already formulate So what is the nature of the relationship between heritage and the following basic conclusions: Poland's transformation? In recent years opposing tendencies have collided head on in terms of this issue. On the one hand • Politics is of fundamental importance in balancing relations the “area” of heritage has expanded significantly, and the between culture and heritage. potential for its protection has also increased exponentially. On • The passivity of the state leads not only to waste of heritage the other, the marginalization and instrumentalization of cultural potential but also to its degeneration. heritage, and in particular the crisis in the system for its protec- • Heritage, which is an asset that is common property, is tion, are becoming increasingly obvious. Transformation has today falling victim to private interests; the state is demon- presented heritage in Poland with new challenges and new strating surprising weakness in its function of guardian of the threats. These are especially evident in the centres of our major common good (Cracow, for example, the symbol of Polish cities. The rapid changes in their cultural landscapes, often their piety towards heritage, is today a city without a plan, its her- degeneration, are the result of the triumph of market mechanisms itage is being subjected to virtually uncontrolled commercial- combined with the weakness of the “soft state”. Progress from ization, and its “beauty” to officially sanctioned defacement). the passive, static way of thinking of heritage as a sacrum to its • The inevitable process of the marketing and commoditization protection amid the reality of the elemental processes of the of heritage is a new and significant challenge for the state. 95  The key to balancing relations between heritage and culture hand, and the inadequacy and incoherence of the current state and economic growth lies with politics (here the role of local policy in this area on the other. It is now painfully clear that the government is vital!). The creation and implementation of an present system is failing to protect a very large part of our her- integrated national and regional strategy on heritage itage stock, chiefly because it lacks mechanisms enabling it to requires the syndrome of “ministerial Poland” to be over- adapt to the changing conditions. come. Heritage is more than just culture and education; it is also spatial planning, regional development and tourism. The existing legal and financial tools were designed to work • The twenty-first century will be a century of communication within a static system operating in conditions of a centrally man- through culture. Intercultural dialogue will also mean inter- aged command and control economy, and they formed a system cultural rivalry. In this context, too, it is time to perceive the of monument preservation. Today we face the urgent need to European dimension of our national culture. establish in Poland an effective system of heritage preservation, • To be able to conduct effective international dialogue in a system that will earn the support and trust of local communi- culture, Poland needs to release its institutional culture from ties, for they, as well as the owners and users of monuments, are state hands into the public domain. fundamental links in the heritage protection chain. The essential difference and difficulty here lies in the fact that while a monu- The experience of Polish transformation in the field of heritage ment belongs to the past, heritage serves contemporary pur- and its preservation to date has created the urgent need for a poses. Another major obstacle is the ignorance of the political new opening. Cultural heritage is not ballast but opportunity classes regarding this issue. None of the changes in outlook or – but on condition that we look at it from a multidimensional politics that have taken place in Poland to date have yet brought angle, and without restrictive preliminary assumptions. Our pri- about a breakthrough in approaches to preservation of heritage ority must be to overcome the “besieged fortress” syndrome that through its management. monument preservation in Poland has become in our time. On the basis of observation of mature democracies, in which What is still ballast, however, is the Marxist dogma of the non- concern for heritage seems to come almost naturally, born out of productivity of culture. This is reinforced today by the stereotype tradition, it might be possible to risk the statement that Polish of the budget “gang” constantly begging for pennies from the society is only just embarking on a phase of public debate on the public purse. Our opportunity lies in disseminating a new way real role of historic monuments in contemporary life. Ideally, this of thinking about heritage - as a factor in development. We are discussion should lead to a valorization of local heritage by the helped in this by Poland's membership of the European Union, community, and this should find reflection in formulation of plans EU funds, and the strengthening of local government as a for monument preservation and development of the social econ- “guardian of the common good”. omy, as well as other legal instruments by the local authorities. Local government and civil society are vital to the creation of a It is also vital to remember that heritage as a resource has some modern system of cultural heritage preservation in Poland. unique attributes. As such, heritage management needs to be based on social economy, not on over-exploitation. The systemic Among the most vital and urgent tasks facing those responsible root cause of the conflicts in cultural heritage preservation today for monument care and preservation at national level today are is a result of the increasing unpredictability of change on the one the following: 96 • Recentralization (“disaggregation”) and reintegration of the Reference monument conservation services; • Restoration of autonomous status to (depoliticization of) the Bell, D. 1994. Kulturowe sprzeczno´sci kapitalizmu [The Cultural office of General Conservator of Monuments, and improved Contradictions of Capitalism]. Warsaw, Wydawnictwo staffing of the conservation services; Naukowe PWN. • Creation of alternative, non-budget mechanisms for financing preservation, analogous to the environmental protection system that already exists in Poland; • Basing the cultural heritage resource management system above all on the social economy and not on commercial- ization of monuments; • Overcoming the syndrome of “a Poland of uncooperative ministries” – especially in the area of spatial planning; • Better use of existing legal instruments, such as the cultural park (assigning such status should be within the remit of the voivodship conservator of monuments), for effective protection of the cultural landscape; • Revision of the policy on inscription on the register (even at the price of returning to categorization of monuments) by employing Historical Monument status as a form of protection eligible for particular state support; • Launch of work on the creation of a comprehensive heritage education system, consisting above all in fostering respect for tradition and for the value of its legacy, and in teaching about effective heritage resource management; • State support for active civil society participation in monument care and preservation, in particular optimal use of the potential of non-governmental organizations; • Ratification of international Conventions on cultural heritage preservation and strict observation by Poland of both the spirit and the letter of such documents. 97  Part 3 Tangible and Intangible Expressions of Heritage Konstantin Wenzel listing of expressions of intangible cultural heritage has been a disappointment, as it was not capable of producing a less Euro- Preface centric notion of global heritage. She also raises the important and justified question of whether a balanced representation of The rich and diverse cultural heritage of mankind is manifold and World Heritage can ever be achieved through the UNESCO Lists consists of tangible as well as intangible dimensions. Heritage and whether a mutual agreement on how to equally represent all preservation and communication strategies become increasingly regions of the world is attainable. However, she also maintains fascinating and challenging at the juxtaposition of tangible and that alternative nomination models detached from regional intangible. Likewise, heritage experts should be increasingly groups and national boundaries should be encouraged and that aware and thoroughly consider and recognize their inseparable students from diverse backgrounds that are enrolled in contem- interrelation. The papers and case studies in this section deal with porary heritage studies programmes can help to develop new examples that illustrate the vital interdependency of material and and innovative approaches to solve the current dilemma. immaterial dimensions of heritage and thereby show how intan- gible cultural expressions and traditions contribute to the impor- In “World Heritage Sites of Conscience and Memory”, Christina tance and authenticity of heritage sites. Another emphasis is on Cameron deals with the important role of intangible values for the importance of religion in the context of heritage and identity the significance of heritage sites of conscience and memory. As and shows its contribution as well as its challenge to intercultural sites of conscience very often possess only weak to non-existent dialogue. The papers deal with the conditions and difficulties of physical evidence, the intangible dimensions contribute to their dialogue and the promotion of cultural diversity in multicultural significance. This makes it difficult to determine their outstanding societies and the role that religion plays in this context, thereby universal value within the context of the UNESCO World Her- examining the potential that intangible cultural expressions hold itage Convention, which deals more comfortably with physical for the enhancement of intercultural exchange and mutual under- manifestations. The question is how to define the authenticity of standing and what kind of attitude towards the other is required such heritage sites and whether authentic material evidence to live cultural diversity successfully. alone is enough to evaluate their significance. The reconstruction of lost physical fabric is often part of a process of reconciliation Human cultural diversity is represented through intangible and and restoration, as the Historic Centre of Warsaw in Poland or tangible heritage expressions. In this context, Britta Rudolff in the Old Bridge of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzogovina clearly “Local Identity on the Global Stage: The Challenges of Repre- show. The paper reveals how the World Heritage Committee senting Diversity” deals with the question of how global diversi- became aware of the important intangible aspects of such ty is represented through the UNESCO heritage Conventions. places and has consequently moved towards a greater accept- She concludes that the current representation is still not balanced ance of the role of intangible heritage values for the definition of because the majority of nominations originate from developed the authenticity of heritage sites. Even though sites of conscience countries of the Northern Hemisphere and heritage assets of the and memory still represent only a minuscule number on the “South” are not adequately represented. Rudolff points out that World Heritage list, they are of global importance due to their UNESCO originally launched the Intangible Cultural Heritage ability to keep important memories of war, human rights abuses programme with the aim of arriving at a more balanced or other injustices alive and therefore contribute through their representation of global cultural diversity, but that the first official symbolic power to the enhancement of peace and dialogue. 100 In “Religious and Cultural Diversity and World Heritage in Mod- immaterial expressions of our common heritage represent vital ern Constitutional States”, Jagdish Gundara deals with issues of assets of such a dialogue and allow us to understand ourselves intercultural dialogue and thereby specifically touches on the ten- in relation to the other, whom we learn to appreciate for her or sion between secularism and religion in modern constitutional his distinctness. Respect as a shared common value paves the states. He emphasizes a conception of the role of the state as an way for the recognition of the equality of cultural expressions as assurance for the protection and cooperation of believers and the ground on which a diverse and creative society is based. non-believers alike. After a historical outline of the development of the relationship between the sacred and society, he also Following these papers that elaborate on the role of intangible tackles the conflict between the universality of human rights and cultural heritage and the challenge of diversity for dialogue in the particularity of certain religious values and traditions in multi- multicultural societies, this section turns to case studies that illus- faith and secular societies, which necessitates the intensification trate the theoretical issues dealt with. In his case study “Indian of interfaith and intercultural activities. He furthermore examines Classical Dance in the Secular Context of a Multi-Ethnic Society the role that education can play in enhancing such efforts that in Singapore”, Huang Ziming provides an example of an aim at the application of universal principles for constitutional expression of intangible cultural heritage that has potential sig- citizenship, while simultaneously guaranteeing the freedom and nificance for contributing to dialogue in a multicultural society protection of diverse faith systems and groups in society. through the enhancement of mutual respect and better recogni- Gundara stresses the point that mutual respect is a major value tion of the other. The tradition that he deals with is called in the teachings of all religions and therefore not in conflict with Bharatanatyam, a form of classical Indian dance that has come the values of secular citizenship. He argues that respect is a pre- to represent the identity of the South Indian population in Singa- requisite for cultural diversity and a multicultural society and that pore. Ziming argues that this form of dance can function as a dialogue can help to discover shared values and principles and valuable contribution to intercultural exchange in the multi-ethnic lead to the appreciation of differences. island nation. However, this can only happen if an intercultural communication strategy is developed that acknowledges the reli- In “Tolerance and Diversity”, Judith Herrmann poses the funda- gious significance, which is inevitably an inherent and historic mental question of what kind of attitude is required to create the element of this tradition. atmosphere within a multicultural society whereby cultural diver- sity can be lived. She asserts in accordance with Jagdish Ulrich Schaaf's case study also provides ideas and insights on Gundara that respect for the other, rather than tolerance, pro- the complex issues of heritage protection and preservation that duces the conditions that we need for diversity. She argues that consider the material, as well as immaterial, elements of cultural an aspect of tolerance, which is derived from the Latin tolerare, heritage. The values associated with sites, especially with those which means “to bear, endure, suffer”, inevitably involves a that bear testimony to conflict, or sites that once hosted great cul- notion of judgement and disapproval of the other. Therefore, tural diversity, can easily be misconceived by modern society. In respect is a more adequate expression for reflecting a positive “The Silesian Lutheran Churches of Peace in Jawor and attitude to other people in the context of diversity because it ´ Swidnica: Symbol of the Struggle for Religious Freedom or involves the willingness not only to tolerate, but also to learn and Witnesses of Religious Tolerance?”, Schaaf discusses how the benefit from one another. It is therefore respect that creates the historic value of this Polish site that was acknowledged by condition for intercultural dialogue. The various material and UNESCO when it was inscribed in 2001, can be conceived 101 very differently depending on the perspective of investigation. Monuments such as the Churches of Peace have not always been seen as monuments of artistic value, because their testimo- ny is directly linked to a political dimension. Schaaf's research on the development of the appreciation of the artistic values of the churches affirms that perception has changed over time. He thereby asserts that UNESCO's view of the churches as “witnesses of the extraordinary act of tolerance” could also be interpreted as “a symbol of the struggle for religious freedom”. His case study thereby provides a good example of the fact that it is not only the artistic value of the material assets that determine the appreciation of a heritage site, but also the intangible aspects that play a considerable role. In conclusion it can be asserted that the aim of this section is to familiarize the reader with the view that heritage sites also obtain their significance through the intangible values that local communities and visitors associate with them and not only through their material dimensions. We can enjoy and appreci- ate a place for its architectural beauty, value its building style from an artistic or historical point of view and most certainly we should do everything that is possible to preserve its physical structure from decay, but in order to fully grasp and understand the meaning of a historic site, we have to see it in its cultural con- text: why was it build and what was its original purpose? What does it mean for the people who live in its proximity? 102 Standard References Britta Rudolff purpose, cultural diversity is conceptualized in predominantly one of its range of characteristics, as the driving force and Local Identity on the Global Stage: The expression of a “common heritage of humanity … [that] should Challenges of Representing Diversity be cherished and preserved for the benefit of all” (UNESCO, 2005, Preamble). Cultural diversity is produced by and Struggle towards diversity expressed through heritage diversity and vice versa. Emphasizing intangible and tangible expressions of heritage in a publication on World Heritage and Cultural Diversity presents Diversity of heritage, or better the attempt to represent the cultur- the opportunity to discuss a variety of current and potential future al diversity of the globe through UNESCO heritage Conventions, challenges. These can be either epistemological concepts that is a fascinating and currently passionately debated endeavour. promise potential for scientific investigation and reconstruction, Coined by the UN standard concept of equitable geographical professional challenges in the application of models and guide- balance or representation (Thakur, 1999), this endeavour has lines, or educational needs for the heritage community, and its been translated into a desire for representative and balanced academic development in the early twenty-first century. The diffi- heritage appreciation; an ambition that has become the stum- cult and often contested role of intangible heritage expressions bling block of UNESCO's heritage listing Conventions. This is in the context of World Heritage Sites is one of the aspects trig- not only evident in the long-lasting struggle of the World Her- gering ongoing discussion. Equally, the section heading invites itage Committee to establish measures towards better represen- an exploration of the interrelation of the two relevant UNESCO tation of all cultural regions, which is best known under the name instruments, the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of Global Strategy (UNESCO, 1998a; UNESCO, 1994), but has the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Con- also already entered the discourses of the Intangible Heritage vention) (UNESCO, 1972) and the 2003 Convention for the Committee, which has merely started its listing procedures. Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Intangible Her- itage Convention) (UNESCO, 2003). Such explorations could The 4th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safe- be aimed at evaluating their early attempts at cooperation and guarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Intangible Heritage their potentials for mutual enforcement. However, these aspects Committee) recently convened in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emi- seem to have been discussed previously at a number of interna- rates). Surprising to all representatives was the atmosphere of tional university seminars, such as the University of Montreal disappointment that surrounded the first official listing of expres- round table – “Tangible and intangible heritage: two UNESCO sions of intangible cultural heritage. The event, which according Conventions” (Cameron and Boucher, 2007), or the Cambridge to the expectations of most delegates should have given oppor- Heritage Seminar – “Tangible-intangible cultural heritage: a sus- tunity for celebration, was perceived as a demonstration of fail- tainable dichotomy?” (Baillie and Chippindale, 2007). Yet ure to respond to the one central, not to say core, objective of another focus could be on cultural diversity and the processes the 2003 Convention. Since its very inception, the 2003 Con- which link the representation of intangible and tangible heritage vention was aimed at counterbalancing the perceived Eurocen- expressions to the promotion of cultural diversity under the aus- tric representation of the 1972 Convention and function as “a pices of UNESCO. It is this aspect which this paper seeks to corrective to the World Heritage List … [which] generally exclud- explore in analysing and deconstructing the status quo of diver- ed the cultures of many states, particularly those in the Southern sity representation in UNESCO's heritage Conventions. For this Hemisphere” (Kurin, 2004, p. 69). To promote especially the 104 cultural expressions of the Southern Hemisphere, the then the authors intended nor expected, and left some of them rather Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, advocated stunned. Given the spirit of “catastrophe” that surrounded the this new Convention which would reduce the North-South imbal- unexpected imbalance, most discourses of the Abu Dhabi ance of UNESCO heritage listing activities, a phenomenon meeting centred on attempts to explain what had happened, which he himself vocalized: and exploration of potential ways and methods to redirect this early tendency. The key speakers, spearheaded by the Director- “When I myself chaired the World Heritage Committee, just General of UNESCO, straightforwardly declared the failure of before being appointed to head the Organization, I was never- the 2003 Convention, at least with regard to its central aim of theless very conscious of an imbalance. This had to do with the representing global cultural diversity. The first listing, intended geographical distribution of sites on the World Heritage List, to transport the message of rebalance, gave the wrong signal, which was more broadly representative of the ‘North’. That as “this imbalance gives the impression that some regions have imbalance in fact reflected a weakness in our system, which, more intangible heritage than others, and you will all agree that being exclusively concerned with protecting the tangible her- this is not the message that you wish to transmit” (Rivière, itage, overlooked the intangible heritage and thus left out a 2009, p. 3). great many cultural features that are nevertheless fundamental in a map of cultural diversity, often belonging to cultures of the Their concerns are quite valid, as the geographical representa- ‘South’. There was no way UNESCO could really do its job of tion of the first listing cycle indeed gives rise to severe doubts preserving cultural diversity without giving equal attention to its regarding the capacity of the instrument to address the existing two basic ingredients, namely the tangible and the intangible bias. Submissions for the following cycle which have already heritage” (Matsuura, 2001, p. 1). been received do not promise improvement – rather the con- trary. “Looked at objectively”, noted the Director-General, “this Taste of failure crucial, so-called representative list is hardly ‘representative’ Less than a decade later, the new convention is operational fol- from a global perspective” (Matsuura, 2009, p. 4). lowing a record number of ratifications in just a few years. The criteria for inscriptions on two separate lists, the List of Intangi- Statistical analysis of representation of UNESCO regional ble Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (Urgent groups underlines the above reactions.1 For the purpose of sim- Safeguarding List) and the Representative List of the Intangible plification, a few groups of countries are focused on here, as Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Representative List), are defined they have been named by World Heritage List critics, as creat- in the Operational Directives (UNESCO, 2008b, paras 1 – 2) ing the most obvious impression of disproportionate distribution. and first candidatures were received in 2008/09, with the first Following the analyses in the context of the World Heritage new entries proclaimed in late 2009. After only one single Global Strategy and the ICOMOS Gaps report, regional imbal- listing cycle following its new set of criteria, the so-called ance on the World Heritage List is expressed first and foremost Representative List already showed a dominant majority of in a small number of cultural sites in Africa, the Pacific and the “Northern” expressions. Apparently this trend is neither what Caribbean and a rather obvious over-representation of cultural 1 UNESCO’s 193 Member States are organized into six regional groups – (I) Europe (West), (II) Europe (East), (III) Latin America and the Caribbean, (IV) Asia and Australia-Pacific, (Va) Africa and (Vb) Arab States. 105 sites in Europe and East Asia (ICOMOS, 2004). The 2003 single region – Group IV. The rest are distributed as follows: Convention established a slightly different discourse, that of 16.9 per cent are from Group II; 13.3 per cent from Group III; North-South representation. 10.8 per cent from Group I; 10.2 per cent from Group V(a) and only 4.2 per cent from Group V(b)” (Matsuura, 2009). Considering groups and balanced numbers, there is on the one hand Europe and North America, a group of fifty-one UNESCO Note that these statistics are still embellished by the inclusion of Member States of which thirty-four had ratified the 2003 Conven- the Masterpiece incorporations (included in 2008 from the pre- tion at the time of the Abu Dhabi meeting. To this group could also vious proclamations of Masterpieces), without which they would be added what may Eurocentrically be called the “Far East”, with be even more alarming. For the 2009 cycle alone, 57.8 per sixteen states of which eleven are parties to the 2003 Convention. cent of all incorporations are from Group IV, 22.4 per cent from This group is perhaps most representative of what is referred to as Group II, 7.9 per cent each from Groups I and III and only 4 per the “North” in the 2003 Convention discourses and as the well cent from both Groups V. represented in the World Heritage framework. On the other hand, the so-called under-represented regions of the World Heritage List, Representations on the Urgent Safeguarding List draw a similar or a sample of the “South”, consisting of the Caribbean Region of picture, with ten overall Northern expressions, of which three twenty-five states of which sixteen joined the 2003 Convention; are located in Europe and seven in East Asia, which represent the Pacific Islands, fourteen states of which only one had acced- the North. In contrast to these ten, only two registered expres- ed to the instrument; and sub-Saharan Africa with forty-five states sions in Africa count for the South. During the second cycle of which twenty-four ratified at the time of the first listing. anticipated for November 2010, the situation cannot be expected to improve on either list, and the Director-General has Simple ratio calculation of merely these ratification numbers illus- already warned that “the marked geographical imbalance of trates that apparently the convention written for the South has these first nominations is likely to deteriorate in the future. Of the attracted a higher rate of ratifications in the North. It should 147 nomination files received for inscription in 2010, 98 come as no surprise that this will consequently lead to a higher elements – or 66 per cent – are from Asia” (Matsuura, 2009), Northern representation of activities in the Convention's lists and almost exclusively from those East Asian states previously consid- programmes. However, the imbalance of the first listing cycle ered as representative of the North. It actually seems that China, expressed in numbers is really surprising. Following the division Japan and the Republic of Korea, who share forty of seventy-six introduced, the North listed sixty-five out of seventy-six items on entries in the Representative List during the first nomination cycle the Representative List (divided into twenty-three from Europe in 2009 – that is 53 per cent of all expressions – are competing and forty-two from East Asia) while what was defined as the for the highest number of entries, a tendency which is not very “South” listed only five intangible heritage expressions, two in likely to stop soon. the Caribbean and three in Africa. The Director-General of UNESCO arrived at similar concerns in his presentation of ratios Ambitions and stigmas on the basis of UNESCO regional groups: How did the policies of the 2003 Convention fail to address the potential of imbalance and why is its reality after only one imple- “Of the 76 inscriptions made this week and the 90 elements mentation cycle so far removed from its envisaged objectives? incorporated into the List last year, 44 per cent are from one First, we must acknowledge that the experts who drafted the 106 Operational Directives to the Convention clearly misjudged the The proposals for the forthcoming cycles seem to confirm ambitions of the Member States. While trying to maintain a dis- Matsuura's fear: 111 nominations in 2009 and 147 in 2010 (a tance from the World Heritage Convention in order not to repeat total of 258) have been presented for the “less important” Rep- its mistakes, they may have done better to observe it as closely resentative List and only fifteen proposals in 2009 and five in as possible in order to learn from its experiences. The experts for 2010 (a total of twenty) to the Urgent Safeguarding List, the key example reiterated on several occasions, with the support of the list of the Convention (Khaznadar, 2009). Part of this phenome- UNESCO Secretariat and a number of Member States, that the non has been manufactured in the text of the Convention by Urgent Safeguarding List should be the centre of interest as it accepting the incorporation of Masterpieces, then demanded by provides the basis for international funding, support and coop- many States Parties. With the incorporation ceremony in Istanbul eration, while the Representative List should be treated as mere- (UNESCO, 2008a), the Representative List, intended by experts ly a register, with a simplified listing process to create visibility to be merely a register, reflecting global diversity rather than a for the diversity of heritage expressions. This interpretation does distinction, started off with the wrong signal. By including the not seem to be shared by many States Parties, who are perhaps expressions listed as Masterpieces of the oral and intangible her- too familiar with the World Heritage Convention, where the itage of humanity recognized in the earlier UNESCO pro- World Heritage in Danger List – equally intended as a tool to gramme (UNESCO, 2001), expressions that had previously facilitate funding and international cooperation - has throughout received honour and distinction were transferred to a new list the years been perceived more and more as an instrument of which was consequently perceived in a similar way. sanction and stigmatization. Why should states volunteer or even make efforts to have their heritage placed on such a list? The consequences are rather alarming. We have on the one hand the Representative List, which is perceived as prestigious The Director-General expressed surprise about this phenomenon, but has almost no entrance barrier and is already completely in particular as it contradicted all previous debates in the organs overwhelmed with nominations, and on the other hand the List of the 2003 Convention. of Urgent Safeguarding – inclusion into which is a far more dif- ficult process but is yet awaiting increased attention. This situa- “I want to be frank and express my dismay about the marked tion is aggravated, according to the Convention's Secretariat, imbalance between the Urgent Safeguarding List and the Repre- because the Subsidiary Bodies evaluating the candidatures and sentative List. This is particularly surprising because during the the Secretariat team are so overwhelmed with work caused by elaboration of the Convention and in adopting the Operational the sheer numbers of submissions to the Representative List, that Directives in June 2008, many countries repeatedly emphasized no human and financial resources remain available for the most that the primary aim was to safeguard living heritage facing important tasks, especially support and capacity-building for the threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction. … Yet, target states in the Southern Hemisphere (Khaznadar, 2009). for the first accelerated cycle of the Urgent Safeguarding List, UNESCO received only fifteen nomination files, while for the Rep- The balance of heritage diversity resentative List, we received 111 files. … Does it mean that we in Following this statistically coloured report on further UNESCO fact are more concerned about the Representative List than the lists of growing imbalance, it seems worth the effort of returning Urgent Safeguarding List? I hope not” (Matsuura, 2009, p. 3). to the key question of representing heritage diversity within UNESCO cultural heritage Conventions. How can diversity of all 107 heritage expressions be reflected in an international register? represented regions and themes (UNESCO, 1988a), and the Policies and strategies may need to be developed towards solu- 1988, 12th Committee session in Brasilia during which, after ten tions, but where to find such solutions? In strategic management years of operational listing activity, the World Heritage Commit- it is often recommended to define a vision before outlining the tee was approximately at the same point that the Intangible Her- particular policies and strategies required to reach the itage Committee reached in its first year of full operation envisaged results. However, in this case defining a vision seems (UNESCO, 1988b). In the light of the heavy workload caused by no means easy. What would a perfectly balanced list look by the number of nominations and the unsatisfactory representa- like? Would it be a list with the same number of expressions from tion of several regions and themes, the Committee decided to each UNESCO Member State? Or with the same number of conduct a “Global Study” described as “a retrospective and expressions from each geocultural region? Do we have to calcu- prospective global reflection on the Convention” (UNESCO, late a quota based on number of residents, geographical size 1988b, p. 4). In addition – it was decided, after no clear con- and other aspects to serve the needs of very large and diverse sensus for future strategies could be reached – an informal work- countries such as China? However, such a quota would imply ing group should further explore opportunities to address the that a Pacific island state with more than 200 languages and cul- issues at hand (ibid.). The debates in Brasilia appear to parallel tural communities could only have very few expressions listed the recent Session of the Intangible Heritage Committee in Abu because of the limited number of residents and the small size of Dhabi. After establishment of a working group and lengthy dis- its territory. What does the ideal heritage list look like that we cussions during which some key individuals – including the Pres- are all striving to achieve and which could constitute our vision? ident of the General Assembly of States Parties – called for immediate draconian measures including a revision of the Oper- Drawing on the example of the World Heritage List, which is ational Directives adopted only in 2008 to be considered dur- generally agreed to be neither representative nor balanced, it ing an extraordinary Committee meeting and General Assembly may be extremely difficult if not impossible to reach mutual as soon as possible (Khaznadar, 2009, p. 3), the Committee in agreement on how balance could be achieved. The World Her- a lack of consensus reached the decision to establish a working itage Committee has spent fifteen years (since 1994) promoting group (UNESCO, 2009, Dec. 4COM.19). a Global Strategy for a more credible, balanced and represen- tative list, and has yet to define how such a desired product After the initial establishment of a working group by the World would look. Without a clear vision, it is equally difficult to define Heritage Committee in 1988, it took six more years with five performance indicators or monitoring mechanisms. Accordingly, expert meetings and workshops until the adoption of the first regular reports by the World Heritage Centre describing the Global Strategy at the 18th session of the Committee in Phuket slow but constant success of the Global Strategy, in their lack of in 1994 (UNESCO, 1995). The objectives for the implementa- indicators or established evaluation procedures, are not very tion of the Global Strategy were more precisely defined another convincing. four years (and five expert meetings and workshops) later, dur- ing an expert meeting in Amsterdam in 1998 (UNESCO, The Global Strategy was initiated sometime between the 11th 1998a), which proposed four medium-term objectives, one of Committee session in 1987 in Paris, during which the Commit- which was “a more balanced and diversified World Heritage tee for the first time reflected on the challenges caused by the List” (UNESCO, 1998b, p. 16). This objective has remained as high number of nominations and the under-represented or non- the key ambition of the Global Strategy, and is still included in 108 its full title: Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and so much in need of new ideas and innovative thinking. It seems Credible World Heritage List. Central measures of the Global that contemporary university programmes focused on heritage Strategy have been thematic studies on under-represented studies have a strong potential to provide new solutions to the themes and capacity-building initiatives to increase the avail- dilemma. Several such programmes seem to have taken consid- ability of the Tentative List. These should be judged successful as erable steps forward to change and abandon the very notion of indicated by the increasing number of Tentative Lists made avail- quantifiable representation, or already are implementing alter- able by Member States. In addition the number of nominations native approaches in their policies and student selection. About was limited to two per State Party and the number of overall a decade ago, Lee remarked that heritage professionals consist- examination of files per year restricted to forty-five. It cannot be ed predominantly of middle-aged “European-American type proved at this point that these measures increased the represen- academics” (Lee, 1999, p. 47) that would hardly allow any con- tation of under- or non-represented regions and themes, but ceptual diversification to happen. While his impression is still apparently, they managed to slow down the increasing somewhat predominant in international professional conven- North/South divide. tions, a visit to the university programme in heritage studies promises a new trend. Students from a variety of cultural contexts Conclusions and geographical regions share their experiences and together What can be learned from this particular experience? Is it that explore new potentials for the decades to come. In conse- we have to accept that both lists will never be really representa- quence, the ongoing diversification of heritage professionals is tive and all efforts to redirect the process are in vain? There does probably one of the most noteworthy contributions to a better not seem to be a clear positive or negative response to this ques- representation of cultural diversity in UNESCO heritage Conven- tion. Probably no list will ever be really representative, but that tions and a structural reconfiguration of the heritage discipline. does not mean all efforts are free of commendable achieve- ments. On the other hand, efforts are indeed short of meaning Until these young professionals gain voices in the international and purpose as long as they lack a definition of aim, that is, at debates of UNESCO we may still face a transitional period of least a basic idea what a well-represented list would be. In the restrictive approaches. The World Heritage Convention will hold process of trying to define the ideal of balanced representation, on to its policy of limited nominations per year and per State it may be worth being courageous and asking whether a numer- Party, which will probably be gradually expanded in response ical “equitable geographical balance” of sites or expressions on to political pressures. The Intangible Heritage Convention will these lists is indeed a realistic or at least desirable vision. introduce a similar system, as was already called for by the Assistant Director-General for Culture, “I have particularly in In light of the continuing lack of numerical equitability, it is worth mind the suggestion that the number of nominations per state reconsidering if diversity and representation can indeed be and per annum for the Representative List be limited to three” reflected on numerical scales. The exploration of alternative (Rivière, 2009, p. 3). Whether by limitation of candidatures or models detached from regional groups and national boundaries other measures, a revision of the listing procedures in the should be encouraged. However, this would require in-depth Operational Directives can be expected in the medium term. brainstorming or rather a “diversity think-tank” within UNESCO Most measures already proposed may help to slow down the or UNESCO-focused university heritage programmes. Students increasing imbalance, predominantly because they would give should be motivated to contribute to this rather unexplored field the Secretariat more time to support nominations from 109 under-represented regions. But they will not, as in the case of the Kurin, R. 2004. Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage World Heritage List, be far-reaching enough to revise the in the 2003 UNESCO Convention: a critical appraisal. general trend. A few experts such as Khaznadar call for Museum International, No. 56, pp. 66 – 77. draconian measures that turn the steering wheel around and redirect the course of the 2003 Convention, “the situation is Lee, A. J. 1999. Diversifying the cultural resources profession. serious and band-aid solutions, half-measures that amount to Cultural Resource Management CRM 1999, pp. 47– 48. naught, the continuation of old habits and attempts to reproduce the World Heritage model are all out of the question” Matsuura, K. 2001. Address on the occasion of the ceremony (Khaznadar, 2009, p. 4). However, these calls have not for the proclamation of masterpieces of the oral and intangible produced specific proposals for implementation and there heritage of humanity. Paris, UNESCO. remains much scope for academic researchers and creative student theses to help the UNESCO heritage listing Conventions ____. 2009. Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director- out of this cultural diversity impasse. General of UNESCO, to the 4th session of the Intergovern- mental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paris, UNESCO. References Rivière, F. 2009. Address by Ms Françoise Rivière, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, on the occasion of the Baillie, B. and Chippindale, C. 2007. Tangible-intangible opening of the 4th session of the Intergovernmental Committee cultural heritage: A sustainable dichotomy? The 7th Annual for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Abu Cambridge Heritage Seminar, 13 May 2006. Conservation Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Paris, UNESCO. and Management of Archaeological Sites, Vol. 8, pp. 174 – 76. Thakur, R. (ed.). 1999. What is Equitable Geographic Cameron, C. and Boucher, C. (eds). 2007. Representation in the Twenty-first Century: Report of a seminar Le patrimoine matériel et immatériel: deux conventions de held by the International Peace Academy and the United l'UNESCO / Tangible and Intangible Heritage: Two UNESCO Nations University, 26 March 1999, New York, US., New Conventions. Montreal, University of Montreal. York, United Nations University. ICOMOS. 2004. The World Heritage List: Filling the Gaps – UNESCO. 1972. Convention concerning the Protection of the an Action Plan for the Future. Paris, ICOMOS. World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Paris, UNESCO. Khaznadar, C. 2009. Address by Cherif Khaznadar, ____. 1988a. Report of the World Heritage Committtee: Chairperson of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Eleventh session, Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural 7 –11 December 1987. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Heritage. Paris, UNESCO. 110 ____. 1988b. Report of the World Heritage Committtee: Istanbul, Turkey, 4 to 8 November 2008. Paris, UNESCO. Twelfth session, Brazil, Brasilia, 5 – 9 December 1988. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. ____. 2008b. Operational Directives for the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural ____. 1994. Expert Meeting on the “Global Strategy” and Heritage. Paris, UNESCO. thematic studies for a representative World Heritage List, 20 – 22 June 1994. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. ____. 2009. Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, fourth ____. 1995. Decisions, World Heritage Committee, eighteenth session, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 28 September to session, Phuket, Thailand. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage 2 October 2009. Paris, UNESCO. Centre. ____. 1998a. Report of the World Heritage Global Strategy Natural and Cultural Heritage Expert Meeting. 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Decisions, Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, third session, 111 Christina Cameron World Heritage Sites of Conscience and Memory Introduction Sites of conscience bring to mind a well-known proverb: “You Fig. 1: Castle Mountain, can't judge a book by its cover”. By their very nature, sites of Banff National Park, Alberta (photo by Kmf164, conscience are characterized by strong intangible values and 7 June 2003) weak to non-existent physical evidence. These are places that bear witness to human rights abuses including genocide, slavery The second example, a site near Lemon Creek, British Columbia, and other violations of freedom. Often the tangible remains of stands for a group of Second World War Japanese internment these horrific events have disappeared. camps. Near this tranquil mountain stream in the heart of the Rockies once stood such a camp (Figure 2). In 1941, the Japan- Canadian sites of conscience ese air force attacked the American base at Pearl Harbor in the Three well-known examples from Canada illustrate clearly these Pacific, causing the Canadian government to relocate over characteristics. The first example is Castle Mountain in Banff 20,000 ethnic Japanese away from the coast to internment National Park (Figure 1), a majestic and distinct landmark that camps set up in the interior of British Columbia and further afield has been portrayed countless times in travel literature and visit- in the prairies. Despite the fact that 75 per cent of this group of ed by millions of tourists over the years. At first glance, its rocky ethnic Japanese held Canadian citizenship, it was feared, peaks tower above the silent pine forest, a sentinel in the Rocky though never proven, that they might chart the British Columbia Mountains landscape. Yet this seemingly empty place once coastline in support of an enemy attack from the Japanese navy. bustled with the activity of hundreds of internees detained during Although the allegations of espionage were never substantiated, the First World War. The Castle Mountain facility was one of the Canadian government nonetheless confiscated and sold their twenty-four internment camps in Canada from 1914 to 1920 property, including homes, boats, businesses and personal that housed some 70,000 internees, mostly young men who had effects, and forced these innocent people – mainly men between emigrated from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although ages 18 and 45 – to work as farm labourers in the fields and some internees were classed as “enemy aliens” – prisoners of orchards of British Columbia (NAJC, 2010). war because they had belonged to enemy reserves – the major- ity were civilians, settlers and farmers who were in fact of Ukrainian ethnic origin from Galicia and Bukovina, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The internees were put to work building roads, bridges, recreational facilities and other works in and around the national parks (Luciuk, 1988). Time has Fig. 2: Japanese internment erased the physical traces of the camp and its barbed-wire camp, Lemon Creek, British enclosure although this sad episode remains alive in the Columbia (K. Suga / Japan- ese Canadian Cultural memory of the descendants. Centre Archives) 112 The third group of sites of conscience can be found in the resi- been nominated as sites of conscience. In general, discussions dential schools dotted across Canada in the nineteenth and about this kind of site at the World Heritage Committee are twentieth centuries. While they might look like ordinary school awkward, emotional and sometimes accusatory. They reveal the buildings, their innocent appearance belies their more sinister disputed nature of historical narrative. past as manifestations of a deliberate government program aimed at assimilating Canada's Aboriginal citizens. The extent Within the context of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, of the operation was massive. Over 150,000 Aboriginal, Métis which deals more comfortably with the physical manifestations and Inuit children were removed from their homes and placed in of heritage places, sites of conscience present a challenge to about 130 residential schools funded by government and oper- determine the threshold of outstanding universal value for their ated by various religious groups. In line with the government's intangible dimensions. Among the ten criteria used to determine assumption that Aboriginal cultures could not adapt to modern- outstanding universal value, (vi) is the most relevant in these ization, the purpose of the policy of “aggressive assimilation”, cases. It requires that a property “be directly or tangibly associ- as the government called it, was to prepare Aboriginal people ated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, to live in mainstream society. The boarding schools focused on with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal signifi- teaching about Canadian and Christian customs and forbade cance” (UNESCO, 2008, para. 77). In the face of regional and the use of Aboriginal languages or traditions (Figure 3). For the cultural diversity, the particular challenge of applying this criteri- most part, the residential school system failed in its initial pur- on lies in the subjectivity of determining the exceptional global pose. In addition, students were often mistreated and forced to significance of events, traditions, ideas and beliefs as well as endure physical, emotional and sexual abuse (Milloy, 1999). artistic and literary works. One of the few places that led to an easy consensus for using criterion (vi) was L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site at the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada. The archaeological vestiges convinced the World Her- itage Committee in 1978 that this was the site of an eleventh- century Viking settlement, the first European presence in North America, deemed to be an event of outstanding importance. Fig. 3: Thomas Moore at the Regina Indian Residential In addition to the challenge of determining exceptional signifi- School, Saskatchewan, in 1874 (Library and Archives cance, sites of conscience often present complex issues related Canada, NL-022474) to their authenticity, one of the qualities a cultural property must have in order to become a World Heritage site. The early World Heritage sites of conscience definition of authenticity in the World Heritage system defines These three Canadian examples demonstrate the challenging the concept in strongly physical terms as “authenticity in design, nature of sites of conscience. Traditional research techniques materials, workmanship and setting” (UNESCO, 1977, para. and physical examination of such places do not necessarily 9). Sufficient physical fabric survives in some sites of con- reveal their significant intangible value. The same situation pre- science to meet the test of authenticity. Early examples include vails for World Heritage properties. Only a minuscule number of the Island of Gorée, off the coast of Senegal, the largest slave- the 890 sites currently inscribed on the World Heritage List have trading centre on the African coast from the fifteenth to the 113 nineteenth centuries. Inscribed as a World Heritage site in patriotic feeling of the Polish people – is evident from the 1978 under criterion (vi) alone, the site retains the slave quar- changes that were made at the same time to its rules: “There can ters and the houses of the slave traders. Another example is be no question of inscribing in the future other cultural properties Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermi- that have been reconstructed” (Cameron, 2008, pp. 20 – 21). nation Camp (1940 –1945) in Poland. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979 under criterion (vi) alone, this place still As implementation of the World Heritage Convention advanced, bears the cruel evidence of the holocaust, including barbed other sites of conscience raised different issues. In an early wired walls, barracks, gas chambers and cremation ovens. analysis of potential cultural nominations, French delegate and ICOMOS member Michel Parent warned the World Heritage But not all sites of conscience have surviving physical evidence. Committee of the negative precedent set by the inscription of As the Canadian examples cited above demonstrate, some Auschwitz-Birkenau and recommended that “it should stand reveal little of their past. Others have been reconstructed wholly alone among cultural properties as bearing witness to the depth or partly, often within a process of reconciliation and reaffirma- of horror and of suffering … and that all other sites of the same tion. In these cases, the early definition of authenticity led to par- nature be symbolized through it” (Parent, 1979, p. 21). Parent's ticular difficulties for World Heritage listing. The test case on recommendation went unheeded. In 1996 Japan presented the reconstructed sites is the Historic Centre of Warsaw proposed by Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) for inscription Poland in 1978. Reconstructed after the Second World War, the (Figure 5). On a technical level, the ruined structure that survived historic centre was deferred by the World Heritage Committee the atomic blast on 6 August 1945 met the test of authenticity. because it did not appear to meet the Committee's test for The ICOMOS evaluation found that the building had no archi- authenticity (Figure 4). The case continued to be discussed for tectural significance per se; rather, it recommended inscription of two more years before it was inscribed under criterion (vi) alone the Hiroshima Peace Memorial for its associative values. The on the grounds that Warsaw was “a symbol of the exceptional- Committee listed the property “exceptionally” on the basis of ly successful and identical reconstruction of a cultural property criterion (vi) alone, as a stark and powerful symbol of the most which is associated with events of considerable historical destructive force ever created by mankind and as a symbol of significance”. The degree of discomfort that the Committee felt hope for worldwide peace (UNESCO, 1997, p. 69). in dealing with this reconstructed historic centre and relying on criterion (vi) in its intangible dimension – a symbol of the Fig. 4: Reconstruction of Historic Centre of Warsaw, Poland, following the Fig. 5: Hiroshima Peace Second World War (Murat Memorial and Genbaku Ayranci photographer, Dome, Japan (UNESCO, courtesy of SuperStock) Giovanni Boccardi, 2006) 114 The listing process was controversial and divisive. Journalists years after the Hiroshima listing. For the nomination of Robben from the world's media networks thronged the corridors of the Island, the maximum security prison that had incarcerated Nelson conference hall in Mérida (Mexico), hassling Committee mem- Mandela for twenty-seven years, South Africa proposed criteria bers as they came and went from the closed-door session. Inside, (iii) and (vi). The technical advisor ICOMOS initially recommend- some countries felt compelled to table official statements of dis- ed that the property should be listed under criterion (vi) alone, on agreement. China expressed its reservations on the nomination: the grounds that its exceptional value derived from the fact that Robben Island symbolized the triumph of the human spirit, free- “During the Second World War, it was the other Asian countries dom, and democracy over oppression (ICOMOS, 1999, and peoples who suffered the greatest loss in life and property. p. 153). While this assessment correctly reflected the deep spiri- But today there are still few people trying to deny this fact of his- tual significance of the site as a worldwide icon of hope and the tory. As such being the case, if Hiroshima nomination is universality of human rights, the ICOMOS recommendation approved to be included on the World Heritage List, even brought into focus the issue of using criterion (vi) alone. though on an exceptional basis, it may be utilized for harmful purpose by these few people. This will, of course, not be con- In corridor discussions during the July 1999 Bureau session, ducive to the safeguarding of world peace and security” South African officials expressed their concern that Robben Island (UNESCO, 1997, Annex V). would be rejected, given the Committee's new-found determina- tion to apply strictly the full import of criterion (vi). As a result of For its part, the United States dissociated itself from the decision. last-minute negotiations, the second criterion was resurrected. The In its statement, the country expressed its concern about the lack Bureau proceeded to support inscription because the buildings of historical perspective in the nomination: bear eloquent witness to its sombre history (iii) and the island and its prison buildings symbolize the triumph of the human spirit, “The events antecedent to the United States' use of atomic freedom and democracy over oppression (vi) (UNESCO, 1999, weapons to end World War II are key to understanding the p. 45). If Bureau members noted this procedural manoeuvre, they tragedy of Hiroshima. Any examination of the period leading up were ready to overlook it in their enthusiasm and admiration for to 1945 should be placed in the appropriate historical context. the vision of Nelson Mandela. At the Committee session, the del- The United States believes the inscription of war sites outside the egate of Thailand acknowledged that the significance of the site scope of the Convention. We urge the Committee to address the lay in its associative values and proposed that criterion (vi) be question of the suitability of war sites for the World Heritage List” amended during the session so that inscription would be possible (UNESCO, 1997, Annex V). only under this criterion. This suggestion was not adopted. The final report notes that many members expressed their pleasure After this divisive episode, members of the World Heritage Com- and emotion, congratulating South Africa for having proposed mittee resolved to rigorously and literally apply criterion (vi), in this site which symbolizes the fight against oppression and the particular its proviso that “the Committee considers that this process of national reconciliation (UNESCO, 1999, p. 17). criterion should justify inclusion in the List only in exceptional cir- cumstances and in conjunction with other criteria” (UNESCO, Sites affected by military conflict during the dissolution of 1998, para. 24). This is the context for the odd circumstances sur- Yugoslavia presented new challenges to the World Heritage rounding the inscription of another site of conscience just three Committee. At the 15th session of the Committee, held in 115 Carthage (Tunisia) in December 1991, the representative of the But the question was less about fabric and more about associa- Director-General of UNESCO expressed grave concern for the tive value. The Old Bridge Area of Mostar belongs to the cate- devastation inflicted on World Heritage sites in the country, par- gory of sites of conscience where human rights abuses and other ticularly the Old City of Dubrovnik. He appealed to the interna- violations have occurred. Indeed, the nomination file focuses on tional community to take measures to restore the historic city to the intangible values of the site, characterizing it as a place of its former glory. Over the objections of the Yugoslav observer memory, a symbol of reconciliation and coexistence among who claimed the right to represent his country, the World Her- diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities. In 2005 a itage Committee took the unprecedented decision to inscribe revised proposal was considered in the highly charged atmos- Dubrovnik on the World Heritage List in Danger, because of “the phere of recent painful memories of the Yugoslav conflict. ICO- state of exceptional emergency caused by the armed conflict” MOS tried to offer balanced advice. On the one hand, it noted (UNESCO, 1991, p. 31). the high proportion of reconstruction and new material which raised concerns about authenticity; on the other hand, it pointed to changes in the definition of authenticity in the revised 2005 Operational Guidelines which could justify an overall authen- ticity, a “kind of truthfulness” with strong intangible dimensions. In the end, ICOMOS made a distinction between “reconstruction of fabric and restoration of the intangible dimensions of this property, which are certainly the main issue concerning the out- Fig. 6: Old Bridge Area standing universal value of this site”. The debate ended with list- of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNESCO, ing of the site under criterion (vi) alone. The outcome shows how Sinisa Sesum) much the Committee's philosophical and policy stance had The Committee was further challenged by another site from the evolved over twenty-five years towards a greater acceptance of former Yugoslavia. The Old Bridge Area of the Old City of intangible heritage values (Cameron, 2008, pp. 22 – 23). Mostar (Figure 6), proposed for World Heritage listing by the new State Party of Bosnia and Herzogovina, had been heavily Two recent examples of World Heritage sites of conscience from damaged by the war. Its buildings from pre-Ottoman, Ottoman Mauritius still evoked powerful emotions and spirited debate at and European cultures were devastated and its famous medieval the Committee. In 2006, Aapravasi Ghat was inscribed under bridge was destroyed. Because the boundaries and criteria criterion (vi) alone as the first site chosen by the British were unclear and the bridge itself was undergoing reconstruc- tion, the site was deferred twice by the World Heritage Commit- tee in 2000 and 2003. The thorny issue of authenticity was once again before the Committee in 2005. Its policy discouraging the listing of reconstructions was still in place, having been in the Operational Guidelines since 1980 (UNESCO, 1980a, para. 18), following the inscription of the reconstructed historic centre of Warsaw, when the Committee decided that would be no ques- Fig. 7: Le Morne Cultural Landscape, Mauritius tion of inscribing any more reconstructed cultural properties. (UNESCO, Jasmina Sopova) 116 Government in 1834 for the “great experiment” in the use of ment of northern Europe which admirably illustrates the faith, indentured, rather than slave labour. It retains strong memories tenacity and enterprise of late medieval religious communities. of almost half a million indentured labourers who moved from What is not recognized by UNESCO is its subsequent role as India to Mauritius to work on sugar cane plantations or to be part of the Soviet system of forced-labour camps beginning in trans-shipped to Australia, Africa or the Caribbean. In 2008, Le 1923. Stalin later reorganized it into the one of the severest Morne Cultural Landscape (Figure 7) was listed under criteria Gulags in his empire. The prison was closed in 1939. Within the (iii) and (vi) because its steep mountain still bears evidence of World Heritage site there is now a museum that presents life dur- maroonage or small settlements of runaway slaves dating from ing the Gulag period. There is a strong probability that other the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Criterion (vi) captured unrecognized sites of conscience can be found on the World the site's intangible values: “The dramatic form of the mountain, Heritage List. the heroic nature of the resistance it sheltered, and the longevity of the oral traditions associated with the maroons, has made Le Morne a symbol of slaves' fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance beyond its geograph- ical location, to the countries from which the slaves came – in particular the African mainland, Madagascar and India and South-east Asia” (UNESCO, 2009, pp. 160 – 61). Why so few? With a World Heritage List containing 890 properties and a global history of conflict and injustice, why have so few sites of Fig. 8: Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands, Russian conscience been listed? To understand this situation, it is useful Federation (Wikimedia Commons, Mihail Vasiliev photographer, 07.2004) to recall the fact that States Parties alone have the responsibility for nominating sites within their sovereign territory. It raises the Why are sites of conscience important? question of how States Parties perceive the nature of the World Sites of conscience are poignant reminders of past injustices and Heritage List. Is it celebratory with only positive stories and powerful catalysts for making the world a better place. They achievements? Or is it commemorative where important sites have the power to involve ordinary citizens. At the Hiroshima with both positive and negative connotations can find their legit- Peace Memorial, for example, the city holds a huge annual imate place? In the final analysis, it is individual countries who ceremony to mourn those who perished in the bombing as well decide which sites to choose and how they want them to be con- as to pray for the realization of everlasting world peace. The sidered. There are arguably a number of unrecognized sites of Mayor of Hiroshima reads the Peace Declaration during the cer- conscience on the World Heritage List. As an example, in 1992 emony, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Such sites the Russian Federation nominated the Cultural and Historic also provide opportunities for apology, healing and reconcilia- Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands (Figure 8) for consideration tion. The Canadian Government has taken important steps to as an important monastic site dating back to the fifteenth address the human rights abuses associated with the Canadian century. It has achieved World Heritage status as an outstanding sites mentioned in this paper. In 1988, Japanese Canadians example of a monastic settlement in the inhospitable environ- received an apology and redress settlement from the 117 government, following their campaign for democracy and equal References rights. For victims of the residential school system, the govern- ment formalized in 2007 a C$1.9 billion compensation pack- Cameron, C. 2008. From Warsaw to Mostar: the World age and in 2008 the prime minister delivered an official apolo- Heritage Committee and authenticity. Bulletin of the Association gy in Parliament. In addition, following the South African model, for Preservation Technology, Vol. 39, No. 2 – 3, pp. 19 – 24. a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to exam- ine the legacy of the residential schools. Sites of conscience can ICOMOS. 1999. Evaluation of Cultural Properties for the 23rd also provide space for dialogue about human rights issues and Bureau of the World Heritage Committee. Paris, 5 –10 July. their contemporary implications. Such educational programmes WHC-99/CONF.204/INF.7. http://whc.unesco.org/en/docu- exist at sites such as the Island of Gorée and Robben Island. This ments/204 (Accessed March 2010.) is the avowed purpose of the New York based International Coalition of Sites of Conscience that links together seventeen Luciuk, L. 1988. A Time for Atonement: Canada's First sites. The organization offers programmes and funds to stimulate National Internment Operations and the Ukrainian Canadians dialogue and promote humanitarian values, including civic 1914 –1920. Kingston, Ont., Limestone Press. engagement activities and learning exchanges. Milloy, J. S. 1999. A National Crime: The Canadian Conclusion Government and the Residential School System. Winnipeg, Sites of conscience, often lacking in physical material evidence, Man., University of Manitoba Press. invariably have powerful intangible values that recall human rights abuses and other injustices. Reconstruction of lost physical NAJC. 2010. World War II Experience. Winnipeg, Man., fabric is often part of the process of coming to terms with the National Association of Japanese Canadians. past. In the context of World Heritage, such reconstructions http://www.najc.ca/thenandnow/experience.php (Accessed make it especially difficult to assess the authenticity of cultural March 2010.) sites. Beyond the well-known World Heritage sites of conscience, there may be others camouflaged within the existing World Her- Parent, M. 1979. Comparative Study of Nominations and itage List. These places can contribute to sustaining memories Criteria for World Cultural Heritage. Third session of the World and understanding the roots of conflict. Their positive capacity Heritage Committee in Cairo and Luxor, 22 – 26 October to foster a broad-based contemporary dialogue about human 1979, Paris, 11 October. CC-79/CONF.003/11 Annex 21. rights underscores their global importance. UNESCO. 1977. Operational Guidelines for the Implementa- tion of the World Heritage Convention. Report of the first session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Paris, 20 October. CC-77/CONF.001/8 Rev. http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide08-en.pdf (Accessed March 2010.) 118 ____. 1980a. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation ____. 2000. Report of the Rapporteur on the twenty-third of the World Heritage Convention. Paris, UNESCO World session of the World Heritage Committee in Marrakesh, 29 Heritage Centre, October. WHC/2 Rev. November – 4 December 1999, Paris, 2 March 2000. http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide80.pdf (Accessed WHC-99/CONF.209/22. http://whc.unesco.org/en/ March 2010.) documents/256 (Accessed March 2010.) ____. 1980b. Report of the Rapporteur on the fourth session of ____. 2008. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in Paris, 19 – 22 of the World Heritage Convention. Paris, UNESCO World May 1980, Paris, 28 May, 1980. CC-80/CONF.017/4. Heritage Centre. http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide08- http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/367 (Accessed March en.pdf (Accessed March 2010.) 2010.) ____. 2009. Decisions adopted at the 32nd session of the ____. 1991. Report of the Rapporteur on the fifteenth World Heritage Committee at Quebec, 2 –10 July, 2008, session of the World Heritage Committee in Carthage, Paris, 31 March 2009. WHC-08/32.COM/24Rev. 9 –13 December 1991, Paris, 12 December 1991. http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/100946 SC-91/CONF.002/15. http://whc.unesco.org/en/ (Accessed March 2010.) documents/616 (Accessed March 2010.) ____. 1997. Report of the Rapporteur on the twentieth session of the World Heritage Committee in Mérida, 2 – 7 December 1996, Paris, 10 March 1997. WHC-96/CONF.201/21. http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/884 (Accessed March 2010.) ____. 1998. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. WHC-99/2. http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide99.pdf (Accessed March 2010.) ____. 1999. Report of the Rapporteur on the twenty-third ses- sion of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in Paris, 5 –10 July 1999. Paris, 16 September 1999. WHC- 99/CONF.204/15. http://whc.unesco.org/en/docu- ments/238 (Accessed March 2010.) 119 Jagdish S. Gundara 1995). Their strength also has the weaknesses of an Achilles' heel in achieving values in the twenty-first century. Hans Küng Religious and Cultural Diversity and World (1991), for example, outlines his major project for encouraging Heritage in Modern Constitutional States an ethical quest: “No survival without a world ethic. No world peace without peace between the religions. No peace between Introduction the religions without dialogue between the religions” (Küng, Modern constitutional and democratic states have an important 1991, p. xv). task in protecting the rights of all citizens as well as providing them with the protection of the law. These rights include the pro- The conclusion of Küng's book returns to this thought: “Therefore tection of religious institutions and the right of citizens to believe the programme which guides us and which comes together as or not to believe in the sacred. This chapter does not use the term one may be summed up once again in three basic statements: “secular” in its common meaning of the separation of church and state. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, • No human life together without a world ethic for the nations; provided an Indian version of the European concept of the term • No peace among the nations without peace among the secularism which meant that while religion was completely free, religions; the state gave protection and opportunity to all (religions and • No peace among the religions without dialogue among the cultures) to create conditions for tolerance and cooperation. The religions” (p. 38). role of a secular constitutional state is therefore not in conflict with the sacred or the religious but provides protection to those Küng has come face to face with the absence of a value system with no beliefs as well as those of different belief systems. as a modus for the present world. According to him, religious institutions (and by inference other self-selective bodies) need to This chapter analyses the Janus-faced nature of the sacred and learn a process of dialogue. Dialogue without an educational, of the nation-state and its implications for interfaith understand- public and social policy spin-off dies a natural death. These spin- ing or conflict. This is partly the case because the German soci- offs also need to be institutionalized. Küng is moving towards one ologist Ferdinand Tönnies' assumption of a historical movement basic ethic. Although not wishing a unitary religion or ideology, from Gemeinschaft (rural community) towards Gesellschaft he claims that we require some “norm, values, deals and goals (urban society) has not taken place. Tönnies had formulated an to bring it together and to be binding on it” (p. XVI). A potential understanding that in industrial societies, because of their asso- educational and public policy framework exists through the vari- ciation with modernity, the ethnic and kinship status of social dif- ous international human rights instruments, all of which subscribe ferentiation would be replaced by social class as a driving force to a high common value. Such initiatives necessitate a policy mix in social organization. Durkheim, Weber and Marx had argued between the universalistic definitions of citizenship and the “poli- this case and, while social class analyses are still valid, issues of tics of recognition” of the specificities of ethnicity and the sacred. ethnicity and the sacred have reasserted themselves. Scholars in higher education institutions need to develop ideas Religions are both transnational and multicultural. This raises the of a non-centric basis of knowledge. This presents curriculum complex issue of multicultural citizenship as articulated by Kym- developers with the obvious dilemmas of the rootedness of lica, which is less associated with legal citizenship (Kymlica, cultures and civilizations as well as their interconnectedness. 120 Civilizational knowledge can be pooled to draw the “best” from tolerance. However, despite the fact that the nation was not an each phase of human history, and a more syncretic understand- affirmation of the particular but of the universal, such universal- ing from across civilizations and periods of time could inform the ist objectives have not been achieved. During the American Rev- teaching and learning process differently. This would help to olution, in a nation largely based on immigration, the right to be improve intergroup and interfaith relations in the context of “different” was recognized. Nevertheless, there has been little secular, democratic and the constitutional state. defence of the right to be “similar” within a constitutional state, especially of the descendants of slaves and indigenous Ameri- Civilizational basis of sacred and secular knowledge cans. Hence, inclusive social and political frameworks for all In the first phase, between the fifth century BC and seventh cen- peoples in diverse states across the world have not been optimal- tury AD, universalist concepts of humanity were established by ly developed. great religions such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam and the Confucian and Hellenistic philosophies (Amin, Fourth, the rise of socialism in the nineteenth century further con- 1997, p. 80). This focus on a particular faith by each of the trib- tributed to notions of radical transformation, especially through utary religions is indicative of the need for the secular state to Soviet Bolshevism. The price paid by socialism in respecting dif- attempt to develop better interfaith relations and understanding, ference and not building inclusive rights to be “similar” has been especially within the public domain and societal contexts. This is very evident in the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Soviet however not an easy task for educators because interfaith as Union. These states did not develop inclusive citizenships with well as intrafaith legacies are not only about cooperating to common and shared values and the colonized nations did not develop a legacy of common and shared culture. It is a legacy have substantive options to develop the public policies to liber- of crusades and jihads which are sometimes too complex for ate the colonized from class inequalities, minority status, gender educators to teach. inequalities or narrow nationalism and racism. The second phase of the development of knowledge, especially Fifth, the post-colonial states likewise faced great challenges of in the Mediterranean region during the eleventh and twelfth cen- maintaining unity, with divisiveness being foisted on them by the turies, was the collaboration of progressive Catholic, Muslim colonizers and their own national elites. Most of them have tried and Jewish faiths working on Greek scientific and other texts to maintain notions of nominal national unity despite tendencies which led to translation of these Greek works from Arabic to towards fragmentation. The Bandung Principles (1955) of non- Latin and contributed to the Renaissance. Hence, what underpins alignment that avoid polarities need to be revisited to develop interfaith dialogue is not the rhetoric of dialogue but an actual the notions of secular, inclusive, equal and democratic polities in project involving faith communities. the Commonwealth. The post-colonial nations were largely based on constitutions, which embody powerful features of the The third phase during the modern period has made a contribu- modern state. However, the reversals of these very important tion to universalism through the philosophy of the Enlightenment. principles need to be challenged to strengthen more equal, inclu- This vision of society was based on the notion of a social con- sive and socially cohesive societal frameworks. text and the French Revolution sought a nation based not on ideas of blood and ancestors but of free citizens. The abolition The educational and political challenge for democratic ideas is of slavery and ideas of secularism went beyond mere religious to hold notions of respecting difference but at the same time 121 ensuring the right to be similar. Such an approach could begin The situation is more complex because during the Renaissance to break the polarizations between particularism and universal- the rise of Christian Humanism points in a totally different direc- ism. The establishment of a common set of resemblances among tion and further change in the relationship of the sacred with the citizens of many states can largely be activated in the political society. and education systems. Role of imperialism and colonialism The sacred and racism in the Middle Ages The rise of imperialism and colonialism in the nineteenth-century Europe is not immune from the need to reconceptualize the British Empire further complicates the issues of sacred and secu- validity of Indian and Nehru's ideas of protective secularism. lar. In the twenty-first century one aspect of this legacy, inherited The history of religions and racism in the Middle Ages provides from the nineteenth century, is that while some intellectuals have a sanguine backdrop for this reconsideration. remained progressive others have turned to religious belief, while most of the masses remain devout. This is true not just in These early interactions between different groups cannot be Europe and the Americas but in Asia, Middle East and Africa. ignored in discussing the sacred and diverse identities in Hence, there is no simple equation between low levels of educa- Europe. The Greeks and Romans distinguished between the civ- tion and high levels of devoutness because many people from ilized and the barbarous, but these categories were not regard- the educated elites have now become devout. ed as hereditary. While there was colonization and there were slaves, there was no concept of race and racism although ethnic As imperialism and colonialism spread in the nineteenth-century prejudice did exist in antiquity. empires of Europe, intellectuals from the European-dominated coastal cities in Asia and the Middle East also challenged the Anti-Judaism was endemic to Christianity from the beginning. Writ- older forms of religious institutions and philosophic elements in ers such as US historian George Fredrickson state that anti-semi- their religious inheritance. Hence the strengthening of the nation- tism became racism when the belief took hold that Jews were intrin- state, and its spread through colonization, led to religions also sically and organically evil rather merely having wrong beliefs and strengthening and modernizing themselves. This dialectical inter- wrong dispositions. “Ghettoisation and racial discrimination relationship between sacred and state cannot be ignored in marked the later centuries of the Middle Ages” (Bartlett, 1993). enhancing contemporary understanding of this intricate and problematic relationship between the sacred, the secular and the In the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, the Iberian penin- state. sula saw the rise of anti-black racism; the beginning of identify- ing blacks with servitude, as sub-Sahara Africans were seen as Religion, culture and World Heritage descendants of Ham (James, 1997). A few issues concerning public and religious institutions and artefacts are briefly referred to: (i) the destruction of heritage However, Islam itself and especially the Moriscos and the Jewish sites by other faiths; (ii) attempts to renovate which lead to Conversos suffered a terrible fate in Spain especially after the negating heritage site status: and (iii) the claim of heritage arte- Reconquista in 1492. In the period 1609 –14 the entire Morisco facts by the countries of origin currently stored in the so-called population of one-third of a million was driven out of Spain by “encyclopedic” museums. the powerful religious champions of the True Church. 122 At present, when religions and other belief systems speak of are examples of social action projects where the smoothest reli- heritage, frequently they can only make utterances from behind gious discourse on citizenship issues has taken place, and the barriers of privileged positions, protected under domestic where leadership in non-governmental organizations has been law. In most cases they are protected by secular states and by both positive and dynamic. Such ecumenical dialogues are secular constitutions, which many of these groups try to accompanied by institutional measures and social action to denounce. The destruction of the Ajodhya Mosque in India by strengthen interfaith links; they do not serve better intercultural Hindu fundamentalists is one recent example of this issue and relations in secular constitutional and democratic states. more recently, the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhist monuments in Afghanistan, which UNESCO is currently trying Inclusionary initiatives and measures to reconstruct. Exclusion of groups on religious or social groups' ethnic or racial grounds poses major challenges for all involved in teaching and Second, the attempts by some states to make over monuments to pedagogical planning. Similarly, fundamentalist beliefs about cash in on tourism is illustrated by the facelift given by Bolivian the economy or the market can have similar exclusive effects, archaeologists to Akapanka pyramid, a vestige of the Tiwanaku and can give rise to other fundamentalisms. For example, one of civilization which existed from 1500 BC to AD 1200. The stone the strengths of Islamic knowledge is that it has drawn on a pyramid was built AD 300 – 700 but as it was plastered during wealth of cultures, including Semitic, Hellenistic, Iranian and renovation the World Heritage Committee is considering Indian. The Hellenistic role of Aristotelian philosophy has been whether to withdraw World Heritage status (The Guardian, profound. This syncretic influence needs to be maintained by 2009). dialogue not only with the faithful but those who are not of the faith. The power of the concept of knowledge is recognized by Third, debates are now taking place in public institutions about the Islamic notion that “kings are rulers of people but scholars the way in which European and American museums that refer to are rulers of kings”. In the contemporary context, however, themselves as “encyclopedic” are facing demands for return of kings, scholars and the rest of humanity increasingly need to artifacts from different artistic heritage by the countries of origin. ascribe to democratic engagements and values. These include demands by Greece and Nigeria for the Parthenon and Benin sculptures at the British Museum; the The rise of strong belief systems in modern secular states may Pergamon altars now in Berlin having been moved from Turkey, be a reflection of how these states have failed to provide a safe as well as the Egyptian artefacts at the Paris Louvre. What are inclusive and secure framework for different faith communities. the best ways of resolving these fairly serious inter-state and It also may be partly attributed to strong assertions of the rights intercultural conflicts within public institutions for artefacts of of citizens, which are not accompanied by effective measures human heritage? to ensure their implementation, at both political and social lev- els. The division that took place at the 1993 international In the case of religions, many major religious bodies are seen to human rights conference in Vienna between the Western and be caught up in reactionary movements that do not respect the Asian countries on individual and group rights is another case heritage artefacts and sites which pertain to those of other faith in point. This distinction was not shared by the Asian non- groups. In multifaith and secular societies this necessitates the governmental organizations or by the Dalai Lama. Speaking to intensification of interfaith and intercultural activities and there that conference on 15 June, he stated that he did not see any 123 contradiction between economic development and the kind of history being taught. Is it a history of conflict, of mili- adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by tarism, triumphalism or is it a history of building friendships? Is people in the developing world. it a history that leads to ethnic cleansing, or is it a history that is disarmed and helps intercultural understanding? The real chal- The application of principles for constitutional citizenship within lenge is how the democratic processes in society and experien- the major world religions will go a long way towards the tial democratic education can guarantee social integration in enhancing of human dignity – in concert with interfaith and inter- highly differentiated contexts. Yet there are already positive cultural education in nation-states. These concentric interests examples among many British young people. The following are have forced the religious factor to be cognizant of secular value examples from the British context and people of immigrant ori- standards. Except at the margins, the creative edge of growth in gin. Das, of the Asian Dub Foundation, describes himself as a humanistic/secular values has had a positive effect on the “Hindi British Asian, English, Bengali European”. Pandit G. scholastic and popular presentation of religious formulations describes himself as a “half-Irish, Asian, Scot” (The Times, and identities. 1999). These modern multiple identities are of great significance in modern democratic states because they embody fewer Research and curricular issues in “hidden hatreds”. Paradoxically, at the level of historical diversi- higher education systems ties, another set of issues comes into play with devolution of In dealing with such complexities teachers, students and institu- power. For example, it may be easier in the United Kingdom to tions would need an enormous amount of support to acquire rel- enhance cordial relations especially between England, Wales evant skills, knowledge and understandings. These virtues can and Scotland. However, in devolved Northern Ireland, it may be be developed through enabling the participation of students and more difficult to make links and solidarities across religious and lecturers in situations that embody greater levels of equality. nationality divides. Here the notion of the Kulturnation on the basis of the ethnic and sacred is more powerful than the Staat- The ways to a good life at community and educational levels do nation based on constitutions and citizenship. not depend on singular conceptions but on a mutual realization. The evolution of cosmopolitan unity lies in recognizing the val- There are also difficult lessons to be learnt from ethnic cleansing ues of civilizational and cultural diversity as mentioned above, in the former Yugoslavia. Can the same Kosovo fields be under- which as American educator Alain Locke suggested can draw stood by both the Albanians and the Serbians to build shared on the principles of cultural reciprocity. Hence, both within infor- meanings and not triumphalism and imagined histories and imag- mal lifelong learning and formal university education as well as ined pasts, which exacerbate intercultural conflicts? Can the sym- the cultural aspects of the arts, music and drama have been used bols of the battles in the Kosovo fields or the Battle of the Boyne to enhance interfaith understandings as well as giving specific in Northern Ireland be used to develop shared heritage sites? faith groups an opportunity to speak for themselves at an educa- tional level, without being misrepresented. Hence the role of history in secular, multicultural and multifaith societies is to build shared and common values and In this sense the role of those in education is to engender an resemblances among individuals and groups and to be used to interest in students to become active citizens, based on public develop active democratic citizens who can work for greater lev- policies which are inclusive. Here, it is important to examine the els of equality. Greater levels of equality can also help to reduce 124 binary oppositions such as winners/losers, devout/atheist, tional systems, rights have changed from the eighteenth century, us/them, and belongers/non-belongers. when the first generation of rights were largely civil in nature, to the nineteenth century when political rights became a reality, to As constitutional citizenship legally bestows equality, which is the third generation of social rights in the twentieth century, neither gradable nor divisible, racial justice and equity can be which also include human rights. Given the various levels of actualized only if institutional racism is absent. These issues inequalities, the state also tries, as the British sociologist the late become more critical as the rise of xenophobia, chauvinism and T. H. Marshall indicated, to initiate a “tendency towards racism can have consequences for even the dominant nationali- equality” by creating basic conditions that lead towards social ties, within many countries. However, for those who are not citi- equality. This is a dynamic and active concept, not a passive zens, indigenous peoples or even immigrants, their rights are one. However, political devolution, regionalism and centrali- more tenuous, especially groups such as refugees and asylum- zation within many countries introduce a new set of issues. They seekers. create a new political logic, because not only are there issues of interrelationships between the devolved and regionalized poli- The simmering of religious discrimination also takes on exclu- ties, but also between the contemporary and historically diverse sionary significance at public institutional levels and Islamopho- groups within them. These devolutions in turn need to be recon- bia has resonance for other faiths. In other words, if in states that ciled to the harmonization and centralization processes discriminate against Muslims another faith does not take any especially at the level of nation-states and an international action, then their faith may be next. Hence, interfaith dialogues organization such as UNESCO. and initiatives need to include measures against the victimiza- tion of any one faith group. The challenge is to build social and cultural cohesion and inclu- sive polities, which can accommodate notions of difference but Intercultural education within higher education systems ought to also create conditions for the belongingness and equity of diverse recognize the possibility of the rise of reactive identities in many groups. From a higher education and research perspective this European countries. Among minority communities a “siege men- presents a “creative moment”, as notions of intercultural and inter- tality”, largely sustained by language or religion, can develop. faith education as well as secular values can be utilized to devel- Among dominant groups this may be based on racism, xenopho- op integrative mentalities based on differences and multiple iden- bia and territorial ownership to the exclusion of those seen as tities. Such academic work cannot just be based on well-meaning the “other”. Intercultural conflicts based on a combination of rhetoric but on sound social science and humanities research. In these differences have already taken place. Ethnic cleansing this respect, for those who work in higher education systems some returned to south-east Europe fifty years after the defeat of aspects of cultural diversity may need to be challenged. fascism. The challenge for political and modern constitutional systems is to turn single notions of identity to multiple notions of There is already a legacy of the exclusive and negative phenom- identity. ena of racism, xenophobia, chauvinism and sexism. However, constitutional citizenship and human rights is a recent concept as Changing nature of human rights part of the modern nation-state because in ancient and medieval In historical terms, not only societies but also the nature and type societies, (where monarchies, empires and chiefdoms existed) of human rights change. For example, within modern constitu- people's rights were more circumscribed. 125 Tolerance fundamental freedoms. There cannot be a full appreciation of Ethnic and religious tolerance continues to be a delicate issue in values until there is an understanding of the religious factor. our times. At the international level, there is a growing sensitivi- ty to changing patterns of acceptable behaviours and continued Theoretically, respect and tolerance constitute major values escalation of threats about the “clash of civilizations”. The topic taught by and through religions. The role of religions in human is central to any contemporary considerations of societal conflict values can be paramount through identification with values of – and its prevention and resolution. Religious tolerance is among citizenship. More precisely, most societies or sovereign states the most basic universal rights, but does not extend to practices have become linked to international instruments through their that conflict with other basic democratic rights. Frequently, lack constitutions and as signatories to treaties. Are there ways the of respect for each others' human dignity and the cause of religions and religious communities can subject themselves to conflict occur when cultural distinctions are exacerbated by and the same scrutiny, which they often demand of the other? Are through religious differences and identifications. In other religious bodies prepared to face the intensity of their obliga- contexts political and economic exclusions and marginalization tions as citizens thinking in an even more radical manner? The can also exacerbate conflicts. remarkably rapid international and national expansion of citi- zenship rights could be a subject for analysis, but one thing is Religion can contribute to human liberation as well as to human clear, citizenship can be the interfacing edge of religion and oppression: culture in any society, in the search for an articulation of social values. “Certainly religions can be authoritarian, tyrannical and reac- tionary and all too often were so in the past: they can produce Religions are not strangers to the field of citizenship rights, and anxiety, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, injustice, frustration continue to occupy a significant position in the struggle to ensure and social isolation; they can legitimate and inspire immorality, implementation of citizenship rights and the “conscientization” social abuses and wars in a people or between peoples. But reli- internationally and domestically – most active at the internation- gions can also have liberating effects, oriented on the future and al and broader national levels, but locally as well. Religion is a beneficial to human beings, and indeed often have had. They significant factor in global analysis – as long as it participates can disseminate trust in life, generosity, tolerance, solidarity, and does not pontificate. The dilemma is clear, that if the major creativity and social commitment, and can encourage spiritual religions projected their innate ecumenical sense of universality, renewal, social reforms and world peace” (Küng, 1991, p. 6). that is, if they could communicate a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and unity, then distinctiveness would become a creative moment There is a common understanding that it is the duty of a consti- in present-day culture. Hence, distinctive identities may not be tutional secular state to protect diverse sacred and faith systems. exclusive of the notions of multiple citizenship and personal and It therefore follows that the faith and belief systems have public identities. reciprocal obligations to protect the state and its institutions, which guarantee their safety, security and freedom. Issues of acceptance, inclusion and human rights Following the havoc wrought by the Second World War, the A contemporary addressing of the increased problem of intoler- nations of the world accepted a set of standards or goals that ance and lack of respect penetrates the heart of citizenship and have penetrated every society from that day to this. The opening 126 phrase of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes Conclusion the inherent dignity of all members of the human family. The now Potential conflicts which have implications for heritage sites have widespread use of the elastically defined concept “human digni- recently arisen between socially diverse groups. This is especial- ty” serves as the cornerstone for the most broadly accepted doc- ly true of societies in the process of democratization, which need ument in human history. The other parts of the complete document to move towards specific recognition of identities on the one – the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural hand, but grounded in generally accepted constitutional princi- Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ples. Thus, dialogue-based research and teaching at higher edu- – flesh out and add to the principles of the Declaration. Being cation institutions within democratic frameworks can lead to the Conventions they do have the status of law since entering into discovery of shared values or, at least, to an appreciation of dif- force in 1976. The Universal Declaration and the two Conven- ferences and diversities out of a shared societal base. tions (with an Optional Protocol) constitute the finest achievement of standard setting for and by the human community to date; the As educators and others attempt to overcome potential conflict International Bill of Human Rights. More than sixty additional through sustaining a democratic union of diversities, this chapter human rights instruments adopted by the United Nations cover has suggested that education for constitutional citizenship and most aspects of behaviour in order to protect, enhance and devel- human rights offers an approach to values in which communities op human dignity. One of the instruments commanding attention can have a dialogue about that which is sacred. As common is the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intoler- basic values centre on relationships which in many societies are ance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief (see influenced by the religious factor, it is worth enquiring whether Walkate, 1989, for the Declaration's history). or not world religions can contribute to enhancing interfaith values education within intercultural encounters by sharing a The younger generation is also orientated towards vandalism, commitment to citizenship and human rights precepts and violence and crime, and some of it may be the result of experi- standards. Can they also accept the legitimacy of modern encing injustice, marginalization or the lack of a voice. Such democratic and secular constitutional principles and help to behaviour may result from an attempt to resist the denial of citi- protect the sacred pillars of public institutions such as the zenship values and the continued stereotyping of victims as the independent judiciary, legislature and democratically cause of social problems. The lack of a voice for certain groups functioning governments? of university students may be one practical manifestation of this, and lecturers and higher education institutions can deal with this issue by developing inclusive institutional policies, practices and curricula. Higher education systems may need to consider whether Greek ideas of paidea and German notions of Bildung should be interculturalized to build a broadly based framework of values among diverse bodies of university students. 127 References Amin, S. 1997. Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation. London, Zed Press. Art, D. 1990. The application of international human rights law in Islamic states. Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 12, pp. 202 – 30. Bartlett, R. 1993. The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonisation and Cultural Change. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, pp. 95 – 130. Fredrickson, G. 2002. Racism: A Short History. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press. James, H. 1997. The Iberian roots of American racist thought. William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 54, pp. 143 – 66. Küng, H. 1991. Global Responsibility: In Search of a New World Ethic. London, SCM Press. Kymlica, W. 1995. A Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford, UK, Clarendon Press. The Guardian. 2009. London, 21 October. The Times. 1999. London, 2 July. Walkate, J. 1989. Conscience and liberty. International Journal of Religious Freedom, Winter, pp. 21 – 35. 128 Judith Herrmann conflicts of values – aspects that come along with human creativ- ity – are often bound up with intercultural tensions (see Kutukdjian Tolerance and Diversity and Corbett, 2009, p. 9). In order to find strategies for tackling differences certain behaviour towards the other is needed. Introduction “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men In this context, the terms “tolerance” and “intercultural dialogue” that the defences of peace must be constructed” (UNESCO, are often used as catchwords to promote diversity and ultimate- 1945). These opening lines of the Preamble to UNESCO's Con- ly integration in multicultural societies. In most cases, however, stitution, which are engraved in ten languages on a stone wall they remain abstract categories and ends in themselves, based at the Organization's headquarters in Paris, express the core of on a moral obligation we have towards the other. So, how to its mission. Peace and democracy are supposed to be founded behave and act properly – how to live diversity – if we do not on “the intellectual and moral solidarity of humankind” (ibid.). share a common understanding of these terms? The fulfilment of peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding begins in the way people think about each other and depends In the following, a conceptual analysis aims at drawing a way on what kind of attitude shapes people's behaviour towards towards understanding the concept of tolerance in relation to otherness. The practice of tolerance in the face of cultural diversity in the context of UNESCO's instruments. Thereby the diversity is commonly understood to represent one of the most question is raised whether the existing definition of tolerance is important requirements and means in order to fulfil this goal. adequate to actually practise diversity in an active way, which resembles UNESCO's strive for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. Definition of diversity Fig. 1: A stone wall on which the opening lines of Before analysing the term tolerance, “diversity” is defined in UNESCO's Constitution are engraved in ten languages order to understand how social reality is conceived. As early as was designed by the Israeli 1945, in UNESCO's Constitution, the “fruitful diversity of … cul- artist Dani Karavan and is a reminder of the meaning tures” was acknowledged (UNESCO, 1945, art. 1.2). Today the of tolerance (UNESCO, meaning of the term has changed from “recognizing the diver- Square of Tolerance © Judith Herrmann) sity between cultures, to affirming that they are of equal dignity, then to recognizing cultural diversity in itself and, finally, the In this sense not only World Heritage sites but also the immaterial diversity of cultural expressions” (Stenou, 2005, p. 49). cultural heritage promote tolerance and mutual understanding, the right behaviour towards otherness in the face of diversity. By pre- The most recent development concerning the definition of diver- serving cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, through sity is characterized by a democratic response, emphasizing the internationally adopted instruments, the international community need for peaceful coexistence within multicultural societies. It acknowledges the importance of these expressions and recog- concerns the reconciliation of the right to be different with soci- nizes their diverse appearance and meanings. At the same time, etal cohesion and rests on shared values and norms. The multiple meanings, competing interpretations of past events, and UNESCO World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and 129 Intercultural Dialogue, which was launched in October 2009, cultures” (UNESCO 2002, p. 2). Diversity refers to differing and summarizes this approach by introducing the expression “diver- evolving identities making up humanity. This conception points sity in unity” (Kutukdjian and Corbett, 2009, p. 27). Instead of the way towards the understanding of the diversity of cultural describing cultural difference as hierarchical conflict, common expressions within the 2005 Convention. UNESCO Member cultural traits and universal values are emphasized. This percep- States intended to reinforce the idea included in the 2001 Dec- tion of diversity is based on the conception of culture promoted laration of Cultural Diversity being “the driving force of develop- in the 1950s in the context of UNESCO. Claude Lévi-Strauss, ment, of international solidarity, and of mutual comprehension” French ethnologist and structuralist, spoke in favour of the equal- (UNESCO, 2007a, p. 47). Article 4 of the Convention defines ity of cultures and interpreted diversity as being the result of dif- diversity to refer to different cultural expressions of social groups ferent “geographical, historical, and sociological circum- (UNESCO, 2005). These expressions carry cultural content that stances” (Lévi-Strauss, 1976, p. 324). Thus, the equal dignity of is meaning and values, which originate from or express identi- human beings and their expressions was acknowledged to rep- ties, and depend on the context they evolve in. resent an essential prerequisite for peaceful living together. The 2001 Declaration and 2005 Convention are complemen- Both the UNESCO instruments that directly address diversity tary: while the first document focuses on people and their iden- reflect this approach. The 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultur- tities, the latter introduces the concept of cultural expressions and al Diversity (hereafter 2001 Declaration) and the 2005 Conven- their meanings. These expressions, yet, also originate from or tion on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural express identities and are hence linked to people and human Expressions (hereafter 2005 Convention) focus on the freedom creativity. Human creativity represents a constitutive element of to practise one's own culture. By promoting alternative ways of the world and is the source of diversity. The 2005 Convention living, cultural freedom, which constitutes a cultural right, encour- goes a step further by emphasizing the dynamic character of ages creativity and diversity. The right to culture implies the right diversity and hence the multilayered nature of these expressions to be different (Stavenhagen, 1998, p. 8). Crucial for the idea as sources for understanding oneself as well as the other of universal rights, thereby, is not the dominance of one system (UNESCO, 2005, art. 4.1). of values, but rather a common basis of human needs. At the same time, the violation of these basic human needs is the limit- There are two important aspects to this: ing factor for their application. • Cultural diversity is expressed by differing meanings and In 2001, cultural diversity was defined for the first time by identities, which are created and recreated in intra- as well UNESCO. The 2001 Declaration gives an idea of the term's as intercultural processes, so their appearance depends on understanding: “Culture takes diverse forms across time and the respective historic, which means social, cultural, political space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality and economic context. of the identities of the groups and societies making up • It is via actively engaging with other identities and cultural humankind” (UNESCO, 2001, art. 1). expressions, their multiple meanings, that an understanding of oneself as well as of the other is created (see Hall, 1996, These cultural identities can evolve and adapt “drawing on pp. 4f.). multiple allegiances and enriched through contact with other 130 This dynamic conception of diversity, which focuses on interac- UNESCO's concept of tolerance tion, found its full coverage not only in the 2005 Convention, but Tolerance is a catchword that is often used in intercultural and also in the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ideological-political debates. It has however found little construc- Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereafter 2003 Convention). The tive reflection in international instruments. intangible cultural heritage, “transmitted from generation to gen- eration, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in Since the UNESCO Constitution was drawn up in 1945 the term response to their environment, their interaction with nature and tolerance has been in use, although only in 1995 did it became their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and the subject of a declaration. Following an initiative by UNESCO, continuity” (UNESCO, 2003, art. 2.1). It concerns a set of that year was proclaimed the International Year for Tolerance. In contemporary manifestations and evolving representations, such more than fifty national, regional and international meetings as oral traditions, performing arts, rituals and traditional crafts- tolerance, multiculturalism, diversity, religious and cultural dia- manship. Cultural heritage is understood as the construction of logue were among the topics debated throughout the year. The meanings and identities, as representations of specific contexts. efforts culminated in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance (hereafter 1995 Declaration), which was adopted and signed in According to this perception the diversity of cultural expres- Paris by UNESCO's Member States on 16 November 1995, the sions, such as the intangible cultural heritage, represents a day of the Organization's fiftieth anniversary. Tolerance was source for mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. acknowledged to be so important that even a day, 16 Novem- Based on shared norms, which acknowledge the equality of cul- ber, was declared International Day for Tolerance. Based on uni- tural expressions and the right to be different, intercultural dia- versal human rights and fundamental freedoms, the practice of logue means actively engaging with the respective other and tolerance was agreed to represent the moral duty and virtue to recognizing cultural sharing as well as differences. It includes secure peace. “consideration of the ways in which cultures relate to one another, awareness of cultural commonalities and shared goals, Article 1.1 of the 1995 Declaration defines tolerance as and identification of the challenges to be met in reconciling cul- “respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of tural differences” (Kutukdjian and Corbett, 2009, p. 9). In this our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being sense “diversity is less a function of the isolation of groups”, as human” (UNESCO, 1995). Used in this way, it means that toler- explains Lévi-Strauss, “than of the relationships which unite ance functions as an integrative or umbrella term, which tries to them” (Lévi-Strauss cited in Arizpe et al., 2000, p. 27). Intercul- explain the concept via three other terms. This, however, con- tural dialogue becomes a means to manage cultural diversity. veys a misleading conception as each of these terms has a spe- cific conceptual connotation and gives a different indication on Living diversity demands a certain attitude towards otherness to the nature of human behaviour towards otherness (see van live peacefully together. Several questions arise: which attitude Quaquebeke et al., 2007). is needed to live peacefully together? Could tolerance be the right attitude? In order to answer this question, the concept itself Another attempt to define the term is being made in Article 1.4. has to be understood. So, what does tolerance actually mean? It states that tolerance “means that one is free to adhere to one's own convictions and accepts that others adhere to theirs” (UNESCO, 1995). Tolerance is understood as accepting the fact 131 that human beings and their expressions are naturally diverse. arises whether tolerance is actually enough when it comes to Tolerance in this sense entails a positive concept: the freedom to intercultural exchange and actively living together. believe in whatever one claims to be truthful. This is an impor- tant approach. At the same time, however, each difference is Tolerance and diversity attributed a positive value per se. As we have seen so far, tolerance and diversity are mutually dependent. Diversity, as a constitutive element of our social An aspect of tolerance, which is not included in the 1995 Dec- reality, requires tolerance in order to persist. And tolerance laration, but which can be identified when reverting to a theoret- represents an essential means to secure the survival of ic-philosophical perception, is disapproval. Deriving from the differences. If we look at the definition of tolerance in relation to Latin word tolerare, which means “to bear, endure, suffer”, tol- the perception of diversity, though, we can detect that being erance predominately refers to “the deliberate decision to tolerant may not be enough to actually live diversity. refrain from prohibiting, hindering or otherwise coercively inter- fering with conduct of which one disapproves” (Horton, 1998, Tolerance, which – from a philosophical perspective – is defined pp. 429 – 30). Otherness in this sense relates to a cultural char- via disapproval, implies an evaluation of otherness and ultim- acteristic of the respective other – whether it be a person or ately ranking of identities and cultural expressions. It concerns a material or immaterial expression –, which not only deviates rather basic and passive approach towards recognizing equal- from what one knows or is used to, but at the same time is to be ity. It promotes living side by side for the sake of peace. Accord- disapproved. The practice of tolerance thus requires the act of ingly, the practice of tolerance seems to be more suitable in dissociating oneself from others by evaluating the respective times of conflict and imminent danger. If we aim at making our other. The 1995 Declaration does not reflect this concept. It does creative diversity capable of living, however, more than just tol- not provide guidelines when it actually comes to differing and erance is needed. Living together in multicultural societies disapproving. requires not only accepting the presence of differences, but also the influence we have on each other. The acknowledgment and Altogether, UNESCO's definition focuses on tolerance as a appreciation of the respective other as being equal and within means, in the name of human rights, to establish peace in a his or her uniqueness requires active engagement. The willing- world which is constituted by differences. It provides a basic ness to learn from the other and about each other requires open- approach for dealing with diversity: tolerating otherness aims at ness and active listening. In this sense it concerns the acknowl- living peacefully side by side. For the sake of peace and sur- edgement of a more reciprocal equality. Living diversity means vival, mutual tolerance is the best of all possible alternatives. to be open-minded and ready to relinquish one's own stand- Peaceful coexistence is preferred to conflict and it is agreed to a point, and ultimately leads towards development. reciprocal compromise, to a certain modus vivendi. The defini- tion itself, however, is rather vague and unsubstantial, as it per- This approach is being conveyed by the most recent perception ceives tolerance as an umbrella concept. It does not provide of cultural diversity. In order to understand the many meanings clear guidelines on when we have to be tolerant or with which that cultural heritage may have, active engagement is required. expression, on how to behave, particularly when it comes to dis- Constructing and deconstructing heritage means comprehending approving otherness. Accordingly, UNESCO's concept of toler- the diversity of cultures. In terms of strategies followed by ance remains a rather abstract category. Moreover, the question UNESCO it particularly concerns the strengthening and 132 involvement of local communities and the growing importance of tolerance can never be enough when it comes to actually living the diverse meanings people attach to cultural heritage. In diversity in an active way. 2007, for example, the World Heritage Committee acknowl- edged local communities to be paramount for the survival of her- An adequate implementation of attitudes – the prioritization of itage (UNESCO, 2007b). As meaning holders they create and common, goal-oriented and effective action and the develop- recreate the values and immaterial expressions associated with ment of guidelines for living together, not only side by side – World Heritage properties in intergenerational processes. The demands a clear and shared understanding of terms while rec- 2003 Convention even directly addresses living traditions and ognizing the legitimacy of the meanings and interpretations of cultural expressions of minorities and indigenous people. It aims all stakeholders. This is even more important as concepts differ at safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage by securing their according to time and space, as well as in the face of a global- continued practice. ized, which means interconnected, world. The process of com- bining shared values with cultural-specific meanings and a Considering the diversity of opinions in conservation as well as diverse interpretation to develop common guidelines resembles communication strategies as regards heritage sites, and recog- not only the acceptance of cultural diversity, but, more important- nizing the diverse values, meanings and identities associated ly, respecting and even appreciating it. It is the task of therewith, means actively acknowledging cultural diversity and UNESCO, the only international organization with an explicit respecting, not simply tolerating others. Within this process of mandate for culture, its intergovernmental committees and the intercultural dialogue a shared conservation ethos and mutual entire UNESCO network, to strive for its implementation within understanding is being created and transmitted. The various her- their everyday work. Constantly reflecting about and revising ter- itage expressions become means for communicating and minology, becoming aware of meanings, helps to avoid mis- demonstrating diversity. Learning about cultural heritage means understandings and to find ways to deal properly with otherness understanding oneself in relation to the other, our common lega- and diversity. At the same time it makes concepts more global cies and varieties, and hence, respecting the other within their and diverse, thereby returning to the spirit of UNESCO's Consti- distinctness. Indeed, the term “respect” represents a more ade- tution and its focus on the linkage between universal values, the quate expression for reflecting a positive attitude to other people right to maintain diversity, the enhancement of intercultural and rejoicing in diversity (see Pérez de Cuéllar, 1996, p. 15). dialogue and understanding, and the realization of peace. Conclusion Tolerance, respect and appreciation, concepts that form the As UNESCO aims at more than survival and living side by side basis for UNESCO's common action, have to develop in peo- – it aims at actively engaging with differences and understand- ple's minds in order establish peaceful coexistence. Consequent- ing diversity – tolerance may not be the best expression to apply ly, “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of in this context. Tolerance is neither the universal attitude to prac- men that the defences of peace must be constructed”. tice peaceful coexistence, nor does it refer to an umbrella con- cept that includes respect and appreciation. Accordingly, the existing definition of tolerance in the context of UNESCO needs to be critically questioned and outlined against related terms. No matter which expression we use and how we behave, 133 References UNESCO. 1945. Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Paris, Arizpe, L., Jelin, E., Rao, J. M. and Treeten, P. 2000. Cultural UNESCO. diversity, conflict and pluralism. World Culture Report: Cultural Diversity, Conflict and Pluralism. Paris, UNESCO, pp. 24 – 42. ____. 1995. Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. Paris, UNESCO. Hall, S. 1996. Introduction: Who needs “identity”? In: S. Hall and P. Du Gay (eds), Questions of Cultural Identity. London, ____. 1995 – 2009. Promoting Tolerance. Paris, UNESCO. Sage, pp. 1–17. http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php- URL_ID=6551&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Horton, J. 1998. Toleration. In: E. Craig (ed.), Routledge (Accessed 9 February 2010.) Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. IX. London, Routledge, pp. 429 – 33. ____. 2001. Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Kutukdjian, G. and Corbett, J. (eds). 2009. UNESCO World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue ____. 2002. Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director- (Executive Summary). Paris, UNESCO. General of UNESCO, on the International Symposium “Diversity of Cultures and Languages in the context of Lévi-Strauss, C. 1976. Race and history. Structural Globalization”, Minsk, 9 July 2002. (DG/2002/72.) Anthropology, Vol. II. Chicago, Ill., University of Chicago Press, pp. 323 – 62. ____. 2003. Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Pérez de Cuéllar, J. (ed.). 1996. Our Creative Diversity: (MISC/2003/CLT/CH/14.) Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, 2nd edn. Paris, UNESCO. ____. 2005. Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Paris, UNESCO World Stavenhagen, R. 1998. Cultural rights: a social science Heritage Centre. (CLT-2005/CONVENTION DIVERSITE-CULT perspective. Cultural Rights and Wrongs: A collection of REV.) essays in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Paris, UNESCO, ____. 2007a. World Heritage: Challenges for the Millennium. pp. 1 – 20. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Stenou, K. 2005. Cultural diversity can neither be decreed nor impoverished. The New Courier: UNESCO at 60. Paris, UNESCO, pp. 49 – 50. 134 ____. 2007b. Evaluation of the results of the implementation of the Committee's Strategic Objective: Proposal for a Fifth “C” to be Added to the Strategic Objectives. Item 13 of the Provisional Agenda of the thirty-first session of the World Heritage Committee, Christchurch, New Zealand, 23 June to 2 July 2007. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (WHC-07/31.COM/13B.) van Quaquebeke, N., Henrich, D. C. and Eckloff, T. 2007. “It's not tolerance I'm asking for, it's respect!” A conceptual framework to differentiate between tolerance, acceptance and (two types of) respect. Gruppendynamik und Organisations- beratung, Vol. 38, No. 2, VS Verlag, pp. 185 – 200. 135 Case Studies Huang Ziming dasi attam, but these were felt to carry too much negative connotations from the devadasi tradition (temple dancers who Indian Classical Dance in the Secular were supposedly “married” to a Hindu deity and hence never Context of a Multi-Ethnic Society in bound in marriage to any man), which was stigmatized during Singapore colonial rule as some kind of immoral practice under male patronage. Dance as a form of cultural heritage has an immediacy that is potentially even greater than buildings and monuments, for it is In Singapore, Bharatanatyam has been flourishing among the located in the body itself. Given a ritualistic nature that may be Indian community since the 1950s. Apart from Hindu festivals at felt beyond its visual appeal, dance can easily be emblematic of temples, it is regularly performed in public auditoriums and a cultural identity. The showcasing of different ethnic dances at theatres today under two main categories, one being solo dance national occasions has unsurprisingly become standard practice debuts known as Arangetram, which marks a dancer's gradua- for the representation of ethnicities that matter in a country, in a tion after several years of regular classes in Bharatanatyam, typ- politically correct manner. But of course, just as a cultural her- ically at a relatively young age before marriage. Parents tend to itage site may amount to mere scenic backdrops for glamour spend lavishly on this special occasion, which is attended by shots of casual tourists, with scant attention paid to its deeper families and relatives, friends and parents' business associates. cultural and historical significance, ethnic dance to the casual But the very description of these as dance debuts may be mis- audience may amount to little more than part of a grand specta- leading, for more often than not the performance is not the cle like a beauty pageant, with no regard for such content as launch of a professional career, but rather marks the fulfilment inner beauty. And when religious significance is involved, its use and end of an amateur dancer's foray into what is considered a to promote intercultural understanding may be tentative at best. religious or spiritual art. This phenomenon is also observed in other countries of the Indian diaspora, for the Arangetram is The dance form Bharatanatyam represents the identity of the something that “symbolizes cultural continuity” of a South Asian South Indian population in Singapore, especially speakers of community outside India and “confirms a young woman's Tamil, one of the four official languages in the island nation belonging” to the community just like a rite of passage (O'Shea, along with English, Chinese and Malay. It is one of eight Indian 2007, pp. 154 – 55). classical dance forms that are recognized by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for the arts, the most recent The other most significant type of performance would be dance addition being Sattriya of Assam in 2002. Bharatanatyam is drama or creative productions staged by dance groups with fund- generally considered to be the regional dance style that is most ing from the National Arts Council and various foundations, faithful to aesthetic principles laid down in the Natya Shastra, a though filling a theatre is usually not easy, given the sheer avail- Sanskrit treatise on dance, drama and music written about ability of choice for arts lovers and the small niche market for clas- 2,000 years ago; but the term Bharatanatyam itself was first sical Indian dance. According to the Renaissance City Plan III coined in the 1930s, during a movement to revive and reinvent Report (2008) published by the Ministry of Information, Commu- the dance form that coincided with nationalist activism. Original- nication and the Arts, audiences in Singapore had some 27,000 ly a form of solo dance performed by temple and court dancers, arts activities, or seventy-three per day, to choose from in 2007, it had previously been known by other terms such as sadir or four times as many activities as ten years earlier. Publicity for such 138 productions happens to be limited by different factors. Tamil Singapore, but its heyday was some decades ago. Incidentally, Murasu, the only Tamil newspaper in Singapore, has a while troupes of traditional Chinese dance and acrobatics are readership hovering around just 10,000 although there are more brought in from China as part of Chinese New Year celebrations than 300,000 Indians in Singapore with over half being Tamil in at shopping malls, the notable celebration of the Chinese “ghost origin, whereas the English newspapers with much larger circu- month” consists of a getai style of pop songs in dialects as lation figures generally do not feature Indian dance productions favoured by the working class, whereby typically scantily unless they have interesting contemporary and secular themes dressed singers perform among feasting and drinking. instead of the traditional mythological stories about Hindu deities. Here it is argued that the challenge for Indian classical dance in Classical Indian dancers used to be featured in performance Singapore is not so much preservation and carrying on of the regularly on national television between the 1960s and 1980s tradition per se, but rather how to make the art form stay cre- on Channel 8, which was then shared between Chinese and ative and relevant for a new generation of audiences, and very Tamil programmes. (This incidentally was how I was first importantly whether and how it may perhaps be used to help to exposed to Bharatanatyam dance as a child.) Such programmes promote racial harmony with other ethnic groups, or indeed help were later overtaken by classical dance programmes imported to foster intercultural dialogues. Whereas Singapore has from India and broadcast on the new Channel 12 when pro- seemed to serve as a good example of peaceful coexistence grammes in different languages expanded and became segre- among different communities for the longest time, there are indi- gated. Then with the trend of media privatization in the 1990s cations of divisions beneath the surface. The Ties That Bind and and 2000s, classical dance has all but disappeared from local Blind, a Nanyang Technological University report based on sur- Indian television programming, which has become better known veys conducted between 2006 and 2007 on attitudes of racial for popular movies and other forms of entertainment. A slight or religious groups towards others (Chin and Vasu, 2007), finds reversal in this trend has occurred recently in the form of classi- that Chinese are least accepting towards being in a place full of cal dance contests conducted in the style of American Idol. Indians, with 75 per cent approval compared with 79 per cent for Malays and 86 per cent for “Others”, and also least recep- From a third-party perspective, it could be argued that Indian tive towards the prospect of Singapore's majority population classical dance is one least likely to be endangered among eth- being Indian, at 56 per cent compared with 58 per cent for nic dance forms in Singapore. Unlike the case of the Malay com- Malays and 66 per cent for “Others”. In terms of the attitude of munity, for which the practice of dance is not encouraged by the Christians towards non-Christians, the report notes a 76 per cent Islamic faith and is even avoided during the month of Ramadan, approval of being in a place full of Hindus compared with 99 classical Indian dance is something that is identified with Hindu per cent for Buddhists or Taoists and 82 per cent for Muslims; practice and considered a form of offering to the deities. An and only 58 per cent are receptive towards Hindus becoming a often-cited quote from the Natya Shastra states that the deities majority population, compared with 97 per cent for Buddhists or are more pleased by the practice of dance than by pilgrimage Taoists and 61 per cent for Muslims. or any form of offerings. In Chinese culture, dance has been more of a secular entertainment in comparison. Chinese opera The report concludes with the suggestion that “tolerating the dif- would be the equivalent art form that is performed at religious ferent” would be the “realistic and viable option to sustaining festivals, as may be observed among the Chinese community in cohesion in a culturally diverse society”, rather than expecting 139 society to commit to “substantial common values in the place of In the 2000s, over thirty alleged members of an Islamic militant tolerance” (Chin and Vasu, 2007, p. 35). The idea of tolerance group were arrested under the act. A pastor of an evangelist may well be the most prevalent interpretation of “racial church was called up by the Internal Security Department in Feb- harmony” advocated by government ministries and agencies, ruary 2010 and given a warning after video clips posted on rather than mutual understanding. Interestingly, the results of a YouTube in which he was seen interviewing a former Buddhist survey of religious attitudes among some 2,800 Singaporean monk and nun about their conversion, whereby he appeared to secondary-school students showed that while three-quarters of make disparaging comments on tenets of Buddhist teachings them stressed the importance of tolerating people of other such as nirvana, meditation and reincarnation. religions, the general definition of “tolerance” is simply “not talking about it” (Chew, 2008; see also Lee, 2009). Clearly, such legal measures may be necessary for national security in terms of maintaining ethnic and religious harmony, If nothing else, Singapore has no shortage of legal instruments but something else is needed to promote intercultural dialogues, to rely on in guarding against discord among its multi-ethnic beyond tolerance in the form of avoiding discussion of differ- population. It has a Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, in ences, to promote an “open and respectful exchange or interac- effect since 1992, which allows the government to restrain any tion between individuals, groups and organizations with differ- person of authority in any religious group or institution for “caus- ent cultural backgrounds or world views” with aims such as to ing feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between differ- “develop a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and ent religious groups”, or for carrying out activities to promote a practices”, in the words of the European Institute for Compara- political cause under the guise of propagating any religious tive Cultural Research with regard to intercultural dialogue (see belief, and so on. This is in addition to a Sedition Act, last www.interculturaldialogue.eu). In Singapore, the simplest formu- revised in 1985, which covers tendencies such as exciting disaf- la for the promotion of racial harmony is generally to organize fection against the government as well as promoting “feelings of community events that showcase music and dance performanc- ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the pop- es of different ethnic cultures. Ironically, cultural differences often ulation of Singapore”; this act was first used in 2005 when three surface in such grass-roots events. Classical Indian dancers men were charged for making seditious and inflammatory racist regard the performance stage as sacred and would perform a comments on the internet. In February 2010, three Chinese little ritual of prayer before dancing; it is the practice of not only youths aged 17 to 18 were held by the police for allegedly post- artistes but also patrons of Bharatanatyam dance to remove their ing racist remarks on Facebook against Indians; while eventual- shoes before stepping onto the stage, just as one would only ly released, they could have faced fines of up to S$5,000 and enter a Hindu temple barefooted. Most artistes would also con- three years' jail under the Sedition Act. sider it an insult from the part of the audience to consume food during a classical music or dance performance, and would These two acts are in addition to the Internal Security Act of hence decline an invitation to perform for a feasting event. For 1955, inherited from the British colonial administrators, which non-Indians such as Chinese, however, dance and food make an was used to detain more than a hundred opposition party and ideal combination and conflicts sometimes arise when event labour union leaders in the 1960s, including Chia Thye Poh who organizers, who may even be Indian themselves, neglect the was eventually detained without trial for thirty-two years, possi- taboo while entertaining their VIPs. bly the longest-serving prisoner of conscience in the last century. 140 Perhaps Bollywood dance would be a better choice than Zhu Yingtai in the form of Bharatanatyam dance, using costumes Bharatanatyam if the aim is merely to promote “racial harmony” that imitated Chinese opera and Indian instrumental music on in Singapore using a lower aesthetic denomination. But that is pentatonic scales to approach Chinese music; it was played at not the topic of interest here and incidentally, Bollywood enter- the Victoria Theatre for a week, a record made possible through tainment, which has become increasingly popular among non- the support of Chinese secondary schools. A dozen Chinese stu- Indians in Singapore, is generally limited to Hindi movies, not dents also took part in the academy's 1958 dance production of something that the South Indian population identifies with. Tamil Thirukutrala Kuravanji, which belongs to a traditional genre of movies, in contrast, have for a long time been stereotyped in Sin- Tamil dance drama dating back to the seventeenth century. But gapore by way of a joke that describes the song and dance as such interest in Indian classical dance among the Chinese nothing but “running around the trees”. Sadly too, a lot of peo- community proved to be a passing fad that fizzled out like the ple do not see a distinction between Indian classical dance and anti-colonialist and leftist movement in Singapore. cinematic dance, and imitation of “Indian dance” conflating the two still affords comic relief by Chinese entertainers at concert Nevertheless there have still been non-Indian learners of events. This should perhaps come as no surprise for there is no Bharatanatyam in Singapore every now and then, though active such difference in social and religious significance between folk performers are rare. The first Singaporean Chinese to have com- and “classical” attached to Chinese dance; “Chinese classical pleted the Arangetram in Bharatanatyam, in fact possibly the dance” as a genre was first coined in the People's Republic of first Chinese anywhere to do so, was one Richard Tan Tai Kiat China only in 1950 as a special form adapting movements from who travelled to the state of Tamil Nadu in India in 1965 to Chinese opera, and makes no historical claim, and the fact that study the art after his initial training in Singapore. He held his Chinese dance today often incorporates ballet movements does Arangetram in 1967 at the famous Meenakshi temple in Madu- not cause much of an issue in cultural identity. rai, then performed in the cities of Bombay, Patna and Madras the same year. The second Singaporean Chinese known to have The lack of appreciation of classical Indian dance among the completed his Arangetram, apparently also the last thus far, is Chinese community has not always been the case, however. theatre practitioner Sonny Lim, who held it in Melbourne (Aus- Bharatanatyam once found popularity among Chinese school stu- tralia) after training under a dance guru based there. Unfortu- dents in the colony in the late 1950s, a phenomenon which may nately, a most prominent figure of the Chinese community who not be so strange given the historical background of the Bandung has declared his association with Bharatanatyam was lawyer Conference held in 1955 to promote Asian-African solidarity. Tang Liang Hong, a parliamentary candidate of an opposition More specifically, there was the popular idea among subjects of party in the 1997 general elections, who was labelled during the British colony of “developing Malayan culture” through inter- the campaign by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) as anti- action among Chinese, Malays and Indians, as mentioned even Christian and a Chinese chauvinist; he faced thirteen defama- in a 1953 declaration for the establishment of Nanyang Univer- tion suits from PAP ministers and MPs after the election and sity, a Chinese-language university that was completed in 1958 eventually fled Singapore claiming that he had received through donations from people of all walks of life in the Chinese death-threat letters. community. It was an interesting period of cross-cultural exchange, which saw an experiment by Bhaskar's Academy of Supposing political history had gone the other way, and the Dance in 1956 of staging the Chinese folk tale Liang Shanbo and dominant Chinese population had been ideologically motivated 141 to further attempts in the 1950s to adopt Indian and Malay not the story that really interests the artist but the opportunity for dance forms as part of a common local heritage. The scenario emotional expression and for flaunting an aggressive creed. The might well have turned out as in the People's Republic of China, moral bias is typical of decadence” (Hocart, 2004, p. 241). whereby dance forms of non-Han nationalities including Mongolian, Tibetan and so on are adapted into standards. But Partha Mitter, writing on “decadent” art of the South Indian it would be difficult to picture the kind of secularization in China temple, observed that Hocart and other Western writers have being applied to Indian classical dance in Singapore, with all its spoken of “the violence, the exaggeration, and the cult of the religious connotations. In fact part of the fascination of the hand- monstrous in Hindu art”, “conjuring up a steamy, unwholesome ful of Singaporean Chinese who practise classical Indian music world of a tropical forest exuding a sickly sweet smell of death and dance may well be related to their spiritual associations. and incense” (in King, 1999, pp. 95, 106). India in the mind of many Chinese is the birthplace of Buddhism, and also the mythical land that Buddhist monk Xuan Zang of the Symbolic meanings abound in Bharatanatyam just as in the Tang dynasty travelled to with his monkey warrior disciple, Sun iconography of Hindu sculptures. For example when Shiva, the Wukong, according to mythology as depicted in the classic supreme god in the Shaivite tradition of Hinduism, is enacted in novel Journey to the West. Chinese devotees who visit a Bharatanatyam in the form of Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, Buddhist temple for prayers in Singapore can often be seen poses and hand gestures echo the Chola bronze image of burning joss sticks at a neighbouring Hindu temple as well, like Nataraja like that seen at the famous Chidambaram Temple. The a form of polytheist belief which many Chinese people already right palm is raised at shoulder level to symbolize protection or follow without making any hard and fast distinction between fearlessness, while the left hand points towards the raised left Buddhism and Taoism. foot signifying liberation from illusion. Many other hand gestures symbolize the hand drum held by the second right hand in the In spite of any such affinity that one may choose to see between sculpture, as well as gestures and movements to symbolize other Buddhism and Hinduism, Bharatanatyam dance with its sophisti- features of Shiva such as his third eye, the crescent moon on his cated rhythmic footwork and its cryptic gestural language is still head, his matted hair and the serpent that adorns him. There are largely alien to the Chinese in form and style. Needless to say, twenty-eight basic single-hand gestures and twenty-four double- its religious symbolism will be of even less appeal to an audi- hand gestures which learners of Bharatanatyam have to memo- ence of other faiths. It may be useful here to gain perspective by rize by heart for different applications in dance. recalling the views of Western writers on Hindu art in the earli- er part of the twentieth century. British anthropologist Arthur Indeed, “pure dance” without religious references expressed Maurice Hocart once described the symbolism of the many- through hand gestures or dramatic enactment of Hindu mythology armed deities in Hindu art as “decadent” in the sense of being corresponds to only a small fraction of the Bharatanatyam reper- “interested in ideas and [acting] from ulterior motives”, sharing toire. There are three categories of Indian dance in the classical with other Western writers the view of Hindu art from the tenth concept: Nritta, Nritya, Natya. Nritta refers to pure rhythmic century onwards as a deterioration from art of the Gandhara dance; Nritya refers to dance with some expressions; Natya and Gupta periods which showed Greek influence. He wrote in refers to dance theatre. Unlike for example ballet and most other 1952: “The romantic art of India delights in the presentation of forms of theatrical dance in the world, much of Bharatanatyam is old myths which had suffered the eclipse of Buddhism, but it is a form of mime using a highly codified language of hand 142 gestures which make it different to understand and appreciate for dance may not necessarily mean a break from traditional dance the uninitiated. This can be observed in a typical solo perform- styles but rather a kind of repackaging in presentation to empha- ance like an Arangetram, which would consist basically of the size the literary rather than the religious aspects of dance items, following items in a fixed sequence along with some additional or simply the use of more trendy and upbeat musical arrange- items: Alarippu, Jathiswaram, Shabdam, Varnam, Padam and ments. As long as a choreographer uses classical songs, there Thillana. Of these, Alarippu and Jathiswaram are pure rhythmic would be a tendency to translate the words of classical poetry dance, belonging to the Nritta category. Shabdam belongs to into movements, and these would contain many religious Nritya, as it incorporates poses, hand gestures and facial expres- references. It may also be argued that the spiritual aspect is an sions that evoke Hindu deities. The centrepiece of a performance integral part of the aesthetics in Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam would be a Varnam, usually about 30 to 45 minutes in duration, and the songs in Carnatic music on which the choreography is alternating between Nritta, Nritya and Natya; a typical story based, have their roots in Bhakti or devotion. Even Kalidasa (4th would describe a deity as the object of love for a female charac- or 5th century CE), the Sanskrit playwright who is as revered in ter, depicting her pangs of love and longing for union. This is India as Shakespeare is in English literature, has described followed in the second half by items like Padam, which belongs Natya as a pleasant ocular sacrifice for the gods. While the to Natya. What serves as a finale would then be the Thillana, concept of “Rasa” as essence or flavour is something central to which is predominantly a rhythmic dance. Indian aesthetic theory in the performing arts, referring usually to the navarasa or nine emotions expressed in dance, the idea of The formalization of this format of Bharatanatyam repertoire Bhakti is considered pivotal to the art, as the ideal is for the ego known as the Margam (“path”) has been attributed to the Tan- to be subjugated and the dancer surrendered to divinity as part jore Quartet, four brothers who were dance masters or choreog- of the dance to create aura and ambience for the audience. raphers in the royal court of the Maratha king Serfoji II in the early nineteenth century. The term Margam echoes the descrip- Religious significance in Bharatanatyam is something historically tion of dance in Natya Shastra as a way to Moksha, or salva- inherent which must be accepted, in the name of cultural tion. Legendary dancer Balasaraswati (1918 –1984), who rep- diversity, as a form of traditional art or intangible heritage. In resented the devadasi tradition, described Bharatanatyam as an drawing the line between secular and religious occasions in “artistic yoga” of revealing the spiritual through the corporeal, Indian dance performances, productions staged in a theatre with and famously likened this sequence of the Bharatanatyam dance emphasis on the artistry of music and dance can be distinguished repertoire to the structure of a great temple, consisting of differ- from performances at religious occasions or semi-social events of ent spaces from the outer hall to the inner sanctum. The format dance Arangetrams which would feature an altar of Nataraja on is so rooted as part of the Bharatanatyam tradition even creative stage and a ceremony of prayers. But nothing is too clear-cut, just dance productions in Singapore featuring group dancers tend to as in Western classical music, for a performance of Handel's approximate its structure. Messiah at a concert hall may be considered a secular setting, yet if the venue of a good professional performance happens to There have been contemporary choreographers in the interna- be a church, there is no reason for a non-Christian fan to shun it. tional arena, such as Chandralekha and Shobana Jeyasingh, In Singapore, the National Arts Council simply takes artistic merit known for drawing on the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam for more as key factor in the decision of giving grants for Indian dance, as abstract works. In Singapore, “contemporary” works in Indian long as a production does not denigrate or debase a person, 143 group or class of individuals on the basis of race or religion, or contain characters that may be sensitive in social significance, serve to create conflict or misunderstanding in Singapore's multi- such as the portrayal of the caste of Brahmins who are revered cultural and multi-religious society, according to grants agree- as gods in Hindu mythological tales. ments (see page 9 of the Grant Application Guidelines for Major Grant Scheme, 2009 on www.nac.gov.sg website). While There is certainly a need to rationalize the intercultural approach the National Arts Council generally does not give grants to while presenting Bharatanatyam to a multi-ethnic audience. In Arangetram performances of Bharatanatyam, the reason cited Philosophy and Human Movement, writer David Best distinguished would not be a religious one, but simply that there are too many between “aesthetic appreciation” and “artistic appreciation” in such events and dance students who stage their Arangetram are dance and cited the experience of watching a performance by often not committed to being dance artistes. (It is known that classical Indian dancer Ram Gopal. While he did not see its mean- many Indian girls stop dancing after Arangetram, especially if it ings at all, he said: “I was enthralled by the exhilarating quality of is held just before their marriage and their husbands are tradi- his movements … So it seems clear that my appreciation was of the tionalists who do not like the idea of their wives attracting the aesthetic, not the artistic” (cited in McFee, 1992, p. 43). Such an attention of male members among the audience.) If there is any “aesthetic appreciation” is clearly subjective though it may be religious issue, it usually lies with performers who are non-Hindu; inspired by such factors as speed and techniques. The objective in there are churches or pastors in Singapore who may advise promoting classical Indian dance should not be simply to impress Indian church-goers to renounce the practice of Bharatanatyam with an exotic but incomprehensible art form. It should be to guide before they can be confirmed as Christians. “artistic appreciation” by explaining the form and structure of the dance as well as its various significances, and giving the audience While the mainstream media in Singapore seem to shun a handle by which they can better appreciate the next performance Bharatanatyam of religious significance, Singapore does have they see. In fact, the objective should also be to open doors to platforms that can help to promote intercultural understanding “cultural appreciation”. through classical Indian dance, such as the Arts Education Pro- gramme in public schools which usually consists of 40-minute Presenting aesthetic considerations to advance the case for cultural performances and demonstrations. But an intercultural strategy diversity, as in the argument of romantic liberals such as Herder and in communication does not come naturally to Indian dance Schiller, may not be effective on their own as these are a matter of artistes, who have learned the art from their gurus without ques- taste and cultures are not merely objects of aesthetic contemplation tioning the system of knowledge in the tradition. There may also but also moral systems, as political theorist Bhikhu Parekh (2000) be a tendency to downplay religious references in dance items has pointed out. But a diversity of culture helps people “to see the such as Ganesh Stuthi, which is a typical opening item in praise contingency of their culture and relate to it freely”, and it “creates a of the elephant-headed god. Choosing suitable songs for a climate in which different cultures can engage in a mutually benefi- Bharatanatyam dance that can be easily interpreted to a non- cial dialogue”. Indian dancers may find it easy to appeal to a Indian audience is always a challenge. There are stories that Chinese audience if they do a kitsch peacock dance that relies on can be given a humanist rather than religious interpretation, for colourful feather costumes rather than classical dance movements, example stories of Rama as a brave hero, or Krishna as a mis- but their real challenge would be to make a Chinese audience chievous child. However, this would work better with extended grasp that there is a system to their complicated dance form, which dance drama rather than short items. A dance drama may also may look bizarre at first sight yet should not be trivialized. 144 Beyond that, one may argue that this is a postmodern era where Lee, T. 2009. Religious Harmony in Singapore – a Façade? anything goes, a dance form like Bharatanatyam may be full of theonlinecitizen.com religious meanings, but it may sometimes also be interpreted simply in terms of mythology or humanist expressions. The thing McFee, G. 1992. Understanding Dance. London, Routledge. about religion is one may take a fundamentalist attitude in which there are only absolute rights or wrongs which have to be fought O'Shea, J. 2007. At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the over as on a battlefield. But in the arts, artistes and audience Global Stage. Middletown, Conn., Wesleyan University Press. alike should find it easier to imagine a different point of view. Renaissance City Plan III Report. 2008. Singapore, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. References Websites • http://app.mica.gov.sg/Data/0/Renaissance%20City%20 Best, D. 1978. Philosophy and Human Movement. London, Plan%20III%20(Bk%201).pdf Unwin. • http://www.carnatica.net/dance/bharatanatyam1.htm • http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2005/11/25/ Bhikhu Parekh, B. 2000. Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural stories/2005112501170200.htm Diversity and Political Theory. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard • http://www.interculturaldialogue.eu/web/intercultural- University Press. dialogue.php • http://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art190.html Chew, P. G.-L. 2008. Religious switching and knowledge • http://www.nac.gov.sg/static/doc/Major_Grant_ among adolescents in Singapore. In: L. A. Eng (ed.), Religious Application_Guidelines__FY2010.pdf Diversity in Singapore. Singapore, Institute of South-East Asian • http://statutes.agc.gov.sg Studies, p. 396. • http://www.tamilculturewaterloo.org/singaporetamil.htm • http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/01/religious-harmony- Chin, Y. C. and Vasu, N. 2007. The Ties That Bind and Blind: in-singapore-%e2%80%93-a-facade/ A Report on Inter-racial and Inter-religious Relations in • http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/08/time-to-take-racial- Singapore. Singapore, Centre of Excellence for National and-religious-harmony-to-the-next-level/ Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, • http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/06/2-singapore- Nanyang Technological University. polytechnic-students-behind-racist-facebook-which-has-been- taken-down/comment-page-1/ Hocart, A. M. 1952, 2004. The Life-Giving Myth. London, • http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/09/pastor-rony- Routledge. tans-remarks-on-buddhism-buddhist-leader-wants-authorities-to- ensure-no-repeat-of-similar-incidents-in-future/ King, C. (ed.). 1999. Views of Difference: Different Views of • http://wapedia.mobi/en/Rasa_(aesthetics) Art. New Haven, Conn./London, Yale University Press, in association with The Open University. 145 Ulrich Schaaf The Silesian Lutheran Churches of Peace ´ in Jawor and Swidnica: Symbol of the Struggle for Religious Freedom or Witnesses of Religious Tolerance? In 2001, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided unanimously to include the Protestant Churches of Peace of ´ Jawor and Swidnica (Poland) on the World Heritage List. As rationale the committee put forward the following: “Criterion (iii): The Churches of Peace are outstanding testimony to an exceptional act of tolerance on the part of the Catholic Habs- burg towards the Protestant communities in Silesia in the period following the Thirty Year´s War in Europe. Criterion (iv): As a result of conditions imposed by the Emperor, the Churches of Peace required the builders, to implementing pioneering con- Fig. 1: The Protestant Church in Silesia 1740 (Grundmann, 1970, Map 1). Key: 1. Churches of Peace; 2. Churches of Grace; 3. Protestant church in Prussian structional and architectural solutions of a scale and complexity Wartenberg as a result of the reformed state authority; 4. Border churches (new unknown ever before or since in wooden architecture. The churches in adjacent regions for Protestants living in the Catholic areas of Silesia); 5. Refuge churches: Protestant churches at the borders to the Catholic areas of success may be judged by their survival to the present day. Silesia, which also served believers from the Catholic areas, partly extended for Criterion (vi): The Churches of Peace bear exceptional witness to this purpose; 6. Protestant churches existing in Silesia in 1740 and in the areas of Lusatia which were added to Silesia after 1815 (including the churches restituted a particular political development in Europe in the seventeenth as a result of the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1707); 7. Silesian areas, which were not granted freedom of religion in 1648; 8. Silesia 1740; 9. Borders of the Protestant century of great spiritual power and commitment” (UNESCO, principalities; 10. Border of the Lusatian areas added to Silesia after 1815. 2001). The question whether there are further or even contrary alterna- The specific political and confessional situation in Silesia from tives of evaluation besides the values determined by UNESCO the Reformation until the eighteenth century plays a key role in seems to be of particular interest in the scientific discussions the written material about the Churches of Peace, particularly in about World Heritage and is the subject of the following discus- the anniversary publications released since the eighteenth centu- sion. Taking a closer look at historical literature can provide ry, and about Protestantism in Silesia. The following aspects are answers to this question. The particular focus here is on the state- highlighted here: ments provided in literary works about the Churches of Peace and Protestantism in Silesia, in architectural and art history • The Reformation, which had spread almost unimpeded until publications (Figure 1) as well as in recent Silesian history. How- the end of the sixteenth century and covered large sections ever, the following outline is only representative, touching on the of the population; most important points. • The beginning of the Counter-Reformation from the late sixteenth century onwards; 146 • The assurance of religious freedom to the followers of the the churches had to be built of wood and clay only (Blaschke, “Peace of Augsburg” in the Letter of Majesty (1609); 1913, p. 292; Goguel, 1852, pp. 17– 21; Heuber, 1906, pp. • The confirmation of religious freedom in the Accord of 47– 51; Lehmann, 1802, pp. 17– 20; Wasner, [1902], p. 3; Dresden (1621); Worthmann, 1902, pp. 17– 21; Worthmann, 1929, p. 3). • The Peace of Prague (1635) which reconfirmed religious freedom – although restricted to the city of Wrocław Since the end of the nineteenth century, both architectural and (Breslau), the mediate principalities of the Piasts of Brzeg art historical literature have continually mentioned the three (Brieg), Legnica (Liegnitz) and Wołów (Wohlau) and the Churches of Peace, classifying them as sacred timber-framed Podiebrads of Münsterberg, Ole´snica (Oels) and Bernstadt; ´ buildings of which only the churches in Jawor and Swidnica • The Peace of Westphalia (1648), which basically verified the have been preserved to the present day. The building in agreements of 1635 and which did not force the Lutherans Głogów (Figure 2) consisted of three equally high naves in other Silesian hereditary or mediate principalities to capped with saddle roofs; the central nave had an additional change their religion, allowed them to attend Protestant altar niche. The side aisles might have included interior church services outside their principality and, in addition, galleries. The church in Jawor consists of a three-naved allowed them to build three churches in the Habsburg basilica-like longhouse including an altar room in the east and hereditary principalities outside Głogów (Glogau), Jawor two three-sided galleries inside (Figures 3 and 4). It measures ´ (Jauer) and Swidnica (Schweidnitz); approximately 47 m long and 26 m wide and has a height of • The church reductions ordered by Ferdinand III between about 16.6 m. After its extension around 1700, when two more 1653 and 1654, resulting in the seizure of 656 churches galleries were added, it could allow up to 6,000 people to from the Protestants living in the hereditary principalities; ´ attend church service. In Swidnica, however, the original • The Treaty of Altranstädt (1707) through which Karl XII of basilica-like wood-frame building consists of a three-naved Sweden achieved, among other things, the return of 125 longhouse, which is crossed by a three-naved transept in the churches and the building permission for another six – the centre, including two galleries encircling the whole interior so-called Churches of Grace – in the Habsburg hereditary room. The church's dimensions are somewhat smaller; but principalities; following an extension around the year 1700, too, the church • The granting of religious freedom to all three legally was able to host as many as 7,500 thanks to the additional recognized confessions (Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists), lodges and chancels. Authors of various publications often by Frederic II after he had incorporated Silesia into Prussia in highlight the usefulness, boldness and exceptional size of the 1740; these timber-framed constructions, planned by Wrocław fortress (Anders, 1856; Anders, 1886; Berg, 1857; Eberlein, 1952; builder Albrecht von Saebisch and built under direction of Goguel, 1852, pp. 1– 49; Heuber, 1906, pp. 1– 75; Lehmann, master carpenter Andreas Gamper from 1654 to 1657 (Fritsch, 1802, pp. 1– 22, 47– 49; Worthmann, 1902, pp. 7– 41). 1886, pp. 581– 82, 602 – 05; Lutsch, 1889a, pp. 208 –10; Lutsch, 1889b, p. 405). For example, Hans Lutsch, the first Against this regional historical background and concerning the Provincial Curator of Silesia, writes in his Bildwerk Schlesischer Churches of Peace, it is repeatedly pointed out that the Protes- Kunstdenkmäler (Illustrated Work on Silesian Art Monuments) tants in the Habsburg hereditary principalities were merely given ´ the following about the church in Swidnica (1903, p. 211): permission to erect three churches outside the city walls and that “… a keen accomplishment, of highest usefulness as regards 147 interior design, thus something worth to be considered rather in the technical than artistic sense; a requirement for this accom- plishment is high proficiency as carpenter”. Fig. 4: Jawor, Church of Peace, interior with view to altar and pulpit (photo: author's archive) The exceptional importance of the Churches of Peace for wood- frame architecture and the art of carpentry were questioned during a short period around the mid-twentieth century. So in his Fig. 2: Głogów, God's Hut Church of Peace, copper engraving, F.B. Werner, before 1735 book on Silesian rural architecture, government building officer Hans Härtel (1941, p. 21) compared the wood frame of the Churches of Peace with the construction of contemporary barns and came to the conclusion that the arbitrary insertion of the windows into the truss belts were an indication for already having lost any concept of constructing timber-framed walls in an organic way. It was also characteristic for Härtel and other German house researchers of this time to try to ascribe cultural features solely to the Germans or Teutons respectively. Härtel wrote: “Slavs stuck to the lowest levels as regards their living standards, their cultural achievements were of no relevance at all” (1941, p. 11). After the Second World War, Polish scientists came up with some reac- tions to such descriptions. In his work on Silesian art published in 1948, Tadeusz Dobrowolski (1948, p. 267) described the Protestant churches – among others also the Churches of Peace – Fig. 3: Jawor, Holy Ghost Church of Peace, copper engraving, F.B. Werner, before 1735 as extremely provincial and simple. Marian Morelowski, too, 148 came to the conclusion in his work about the peak of the Baroque the beginning of the eighteenth century (Grundmann, 1922, period in Silesia (1952, p. 28) that the Protestant timber-framed pp. 6 –15; Wiesenhütter, 1926, pp. 14 –16). churches were primitive objects. In his opinion, the attempt of applying wood-frame constructions suitable for houses for the Ehler W. Grashoff, however, believes (1938, pp. 13 – 25) that it construction of churches had been a miserable failure. Their out- is not about the floor plan used. To him the question of gather- ward appearance did not resemble a church, but a heavy and ing a community around one single point is important – a verti- ugly lump. cal axis in which pulpit, altar and baptismal font are joined together – i.e. the question of the gallery's centralistic tendency. Since the end of the nineteenth century, research has also dealt In Raumprobleme des protestantischen Kirchenbaus im 17. und with the importance of the Churches of Peace for the construc- 18. Jahrhundert (Problems of Space in the Protestant Way of tion of Protestant churches. There are various opinions expressed Building Churches in the 17th and 18th Centuries) he writes in the literature as regards the architectural design chosen for the ´ about the Church of Peace of Swidnica and states that here the churches and the positioning of pulpit and altar. Some scientists, whole subject of the Protestant way of constructing churches was for example Karl Emil Otto Fritsch in his fundamental work Der taken up successfully, whereas he does not mention Jawor Kirchenbau des Protestantismus von der Reformation bis zur church at all. Gegenwart (The Church Building of Protestantism from the Refor- mation Era to Present), considers the demand for unity of a room in principle and good visibility and audibility of the priest from every seat – all requirements deriving from Lutheran liturgy – as ´ fulfilled solely in Swidnica church with its encircling galleries and the pulpit's central position in the crossing area (Figures 5 and 6). They conclude that Jawor church, on the other hand, exhibits a weak command of the architectural task as the pulpit's position right in the middle of the northern side means that a consider- able number of visitors cannot see the prayer (Fritsch, 1886, p. 602; Fritsch, 1893, pp. 57– 60; Gurlitt, 1889, p. 90; Lutsch, 1903, p. 211; Poscharsky, 1962, pp. 258 – 59). Other scientists consider the Church of Peace of Jawor a success- ful further development from a simple hall-like church to a room surrounded by galleries, which is as important as the cross-wise ´ Fig. 5: Swidnica, Holy Trinity Church of Peace, copper engraving, F.B. Werner, ´ before 1735 construction of the church in Swidnica. Representative of this the- sis is Alfred Wiesenhütter's work on the Protestant construction The artistic importance of the Churches of Peace is another of churches in Silesia or the eastern parts of the German empire aspect that has been repeatedly analysed. Respecting their outer (Wiesenhütter, 1926, pp. 14 –16; Wiesenhütter, 1936, p. 50). appearance, it is always emphasized that they are merely func- In addition, both Churches of Peace are ascribed an exemplary tional buildings determined by a timber-framed construction with- role, especially regarding the six Churches of Grace built at out any representative facade (Bana´s, 1971, pp. 76 – 78; 149  The last section of this paper deals with the question of values attributed to the Churches of Peace within recent literature on ´ Silesian history. In publications on Swidnica, for example, it is especially pointed out that the emperor, as laid down in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), allowed the Augsburg Confession supporters living in the Silesian principalities directly belonging to the royal court to build not more than three churches at their own expense outside the towns of Swidnica´ (Schweidnitz), Jawor (Jauer) and Głogów (Glogau) – this only on special request. Furthermore, the reduction of Protestant churches within the bounds of the hereditary principalities between 1653 and 1654 is explicitly mentioned. Given this historical background, scientists conclude that an equality between the two Christian confessions, i.e. the Catholic and the Lutheran, which was the actual aim of the Peace of Westphalia, could not be achieved, particularly not in the Silesian hereditary principalities (Hutter, ´ Fig. 6: Swidnica, Church of Peace, interior with view to altar and pulpit (photo: ´ 1990, p. 258) or that the freedom of religion in Swidnica, Jawor Tobias Trapp, Estate ZHD (Center for Craftmanship and Monument Preservation). Fulda, Ulrich Schaaf and Głogów is by no means to be compared with tolerance towards the Lutherans (Kotełko, 1995, pp. 107– 08, 149 – 50). Fritsch, 1886, pp. 582, 604 – 05; Gurlitt, 1889, p. 90). There is also agreement about the interior design and fittings, which is Recent works on Silesian history point to the fact that the Protes- attested a low artistic value. These judgements can be found in tants were granted a certain status when they received building Cornelius Gurlitt's Geschichte des Barockstils und Rococo in permission for the Churches of Peace, a status which questioned Deutschland (History of Baroque and Rococo in Germany) pub- or even condemned the Habsburgs' principle of Catholic autoc- lished in 1889 (Gurlitt, 1889, p. 90) as well as in Paweł Bana´s' racy to failure (Conrads, 1994, pp. 290 – 302; Deventer, 2003, (1971, p. 79) work about the Protestant architecture of Silesia p. 327). Norbert Conrads, however, does not evaluate the in the second half of the seventeenth century. confessional-political decisions taken in the Peace of Westphalia positively: Bana´s (1971, pp. 74 – 82), however, attributes further values to the Churches of Peace. Taking into account the situation of Sile- “Wasn't it just natural that the Piast territories and Wrocław sian Protestants after the Thirty Years' War, he uses for example (Breslau) were allowed to stay Protestant? What does the grant- the term “diasporal architecture”, which particularly applies to ing of three Churches of Peace imply when the emperor in return the Churches of Peace. Furthermore, he particularly emphasizes was allowed to close 656 Protestant churches in his hereditary the Old and New Testament images and mnemonic verses on principalities? Wasn't the Catholic confessionalisation of Silesia, the galleries' balustrades, characterized by the naive didactics which Austria was now aiming at, already somewhat anachro- of biblical scenes. nistic after the end of the ample religious war? … The govern- ment also failed to communicate the concession of the three 150 Churches of Peace as a deliberate act of tolerance, which might in addition, does not correspond to the actual confessional con- have soothed the Protestants' outrage over the loss of hundreds ditions within the Silesian population. of churches. To many people this seemed like an ‘overall attack of counter-reformation’, as the historian Eberlein called it eventu- Summing up, one can say that the historical literature almost ally, in other words: an undercover continuation of the Thirty unanimously attributed an extraordinary importance to the Years' War” (Conrads, 1994). Churches of Peace: as monuments of the art of carpentry and sacral wood-frame architecture. UNESCO, too, followed this val- In other historical discourses of German and Polish researchers ´ uation by including the churches of Jawor and Swidnica, which the agreements of the Peace of Westphalia and the associated have been preserved to the present day, on the World Heritage construction of the Churches of Peace in the following have been List. As the architecture and interior design have both been regarded again and again within the context of the intensive re- denied exceptional artistic value, UNESCO did not take that into Catholicization policy of the Habsburgs (Bahlcke, 2002, consideration. However, the assessment of the churches' histori- pp. 57– 67; Wa˛s, 2002, pp. 173 – 86; Wiszewski, 2006, cal importance seems to be contrary. While in older as well as pp. 290 – 93). In the light of this, Jörg Deventer (2003, in more recent literature the Lutheran Churches of Peace are rep- pp. 268 – 319) points in his work on the Counter-Reformation in resented as a symbol of the struggle for religious freedom Silesia to the role of the Churches of Peace as focal points of the against the background of counter-reformatory measures of the Protestant will and desire for self-assertion. Catholic rulers, UNESCO interprets them as witnesses to the extraordinary act of tolerance on the part of the Habsburgs. To mark the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the peace Nevertheless, neither in the documentation presented by the agreements of Münster and Osnabrück, two comprehensive col- State Party nor in the expert´s opinion can arguments for this lections of essays were published in 1998, reflecting the current conclusion be found in UNESCO's rationale. Maybe UNESCO state of research regarding the Thirty Years' War and the Peace refers to the Peace of Westphalia which basically resulted in a of Westphalia according to the aspects of history and art histo- fundamental parity between the three large confessions on ry interrelations (Bußmann and Schilling, 1998a; 1998b). empire level, paving the way towards religious pluralism and tol- Here, Heinhard Steiger (1998, pp. 437– 46) comes to a posi- erance. The fact that two opinions are so opposed makes clear tive conclusion as regards the legal role of the treaties. He that the discussion on the importance of the Churches of Peace underlines that after a devastating and long-term war pivotal has not yet come to an end. This paper should thus be under- conflicts were solved by finding compromises and making stood as an invitation to continue the discourse. agreements and by establishing peace inside and around the empire. Later he stresses the basic confessional parity achieved between Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists at empire level. Analysing types of two- and three-confessional configurations, Anton Schindling (1998, pp. 465 – 73) comes to the conclusion that the Habsburg hereditary lands must be a type almost simi- lar to a closed religious state. He tags the Silesian Protestants' status, which was only officially granted to them due to the insis- tence of Electorate Saxony and Sweden, as an exception that, 151 References ´ ˛sku. Katowice. Dobrowolski, T. 1948. Sztuka na Sla Anders, F. G. E. 1856. Historischer Atlas der Evangelischen Eberlein, H. 1952. Schlesische Kirchengeschichte. Ulm. Kirchen in Schlesien. Glogau. Fritsch, K. E. O. 1886. Aus der schlesischen Renaissance ____. 1886. Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche Schlesien. des 17. Jahrhunderts (die evangel. Friedenskirchen zu Glogau, Breslau. Jauer und Schweidnitz). Deutsche Bauzeitung, Vol. 20, pp. 577– 582, 601– 07. Bahlcke, J. 2002. 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Zerelik, ´ ˛sk.) (Monografie Regionalne Dolnego Sla ´ ˛ska. Wrocław, pp. 118 – 248. Historia Sla Lehmann, C. G. 1802. Geschichte der evangelischen Friedens- Wasner, A. [1902]. Die evangelische Friedenskirche “zur kirche zu Schweidnitz zu der Feier ihres hundert und fünfzig- heiligen Dreifaltigkeit” in Schweidnitz. Schweidnitz. jährigen Jubelfestes am 23sten September 1802. Schweidnitz. Wiesenhütter, A. 1926. Der evangelische Kirchenbau Lutsch, H. 1889a. Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesiens. Breslau. Schlesien. II. Die Kunstdenkmäler der Landkreise des Reg.- Bezirks Breslau. Breslau. ____. 1936. Protestantischer Kirchenbau des deutschen Ostens in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Leipzig. ____. 1889b. Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz . Schlesien. III. Die Kunstdenkmäler der Landkreise des Reg.- Wiszewski, P. 2006. Nowozytne dzieje chrze´scija´nstwa na Bezirks Liegnitz. Breslau. ´ ˛sku (1526 –1806). In: W. Wrzesi´nski (ed.), Dolny Dolnym Sla ´Sla˛sk. Monografia historyczna. Wrocław, pp. 261– 95. ____. 1903. Bildwerk Schlesischer Kunstdenkmäler. Breslau. Worthmann, L. 1902. Die Friedenskirche zur heiligen ´ ˛sku 1650 –1750. Morelowski, M. 1952. Rozkwit Baroku na Sla Dreifaltigkeit vor Schweidnitz. Festgabe zur Vierteljahrtausend- Wrocław. feier am 22. September 1902. Schweidnitz. Poscharsky, P. 1962. Die Kanzel. Erscheinungsform im ____. 1929. Führer durch die Friedenskirche zu Schweidnitz. Protestantismus bis zum Ende des Barock. Marburg. Schweidnitz/Breslau. Schindling, A. 1998. Andersgläubige Nachbarn. Mehrkon- fessionalität und Parität in Territorien und Städten des Reichs. In: Bußmann and Schilling (eds), op. cit., pp. 465 – 73. 153  Part 4 Political Dimensions of Heritage Ellen Lekka, Marc Wohlrabe presented in this paper, illustrates the importance of different approaches aiming to counter illicit traffic, such as inventorying, Preface raising public awareness, capacity-building and local popula- tions' inclusion in the protection of their heritage. A vividly Heritage is an omnipresent and defining feature of modern soci- debated topic is the restitution of cultural property that has been ety. It is diverse and defines all people by being the cornerstone transferred from its place of origin in one way or another. for their cultural identity. The papers and case studies in this sec- UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the tion demonstrate how the importance of heritage goes much fur- Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Resti- ther than the splendour of humanity's tangible creation and the tution in Case of Illicit Appropriation provides a forum for expressions of our intangible legacy. It goes beyond the out- requests of restitution by source countries and for the required standing artistic and historic value of a monument or the mani- mediation procedure. However, the restitution discourse takes festation of human genius. Heritage is presented in relation to place in an environment where strongly opposed views have to politics and justice and as a concept intertwined with the notions be accommodated by compromise, thus rendering it highly of human rights, property rights and identity. These interrelations complicated. are susceptible to a variety of impediments that shake the very underpinnings of our societies and are the reason why heritage This complexity is often encountered in the legal aspects sur- remains an essential component of who we are. rounding the discussion. One such is presented in Christoff Jen- schke's contribution on the “Obligation to Restitute objets d'art Taking into account that destruction and dispersal of heritage are According to the First Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention responsible for the most far-reaching and long-lasting conse- Versus National Immunity from Seizure” portrays a dilemma that quences to the understanding of humanity's past, the cohesion of might occur between the obligation of restitution of stolen cultur- today's society and the construction of the future, the scale of the al property and the immunity from seizure given to certain objets international illicit art market is alarming. Looting, illegal exca- d'art. Analysing the obligation to restitute cultural property in the vations and theft from archaeological sites, repositories and case of illegal appropriation according to international law, the museums are among the most vicious forms of heritage destruc- dilemma is encountered when objects are granted immunity from tion and call for a reaction in order to protect and preserve what seizure. With the purpose of making exhibitions possible is in danger. Christian Manhart, in “UNESCO's Fight against through granting immunity from seizure in order to minimize the Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property: Restitution and Needs of Muse- risk of legal action, how does this reconcile with claims of resti- ums in Developing Countries”, outlines the role of UNESCO in tution? The complications in this contradictory situation lie in the the combat of illicit trafficking of cultural property. He refers to existing legal ambiguity and its defining legal aspects as the main instruments the Organization makes use of, such as the explained by Jenschke. Conventions created to battle the illegal trade, the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing How far do peoples' rights in relation to their heritage actually the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural go, and to what degree are they the custodians of their heritage, Property, and the UNIDROIT 1995 Convention on Stolen or Ille- given the stewardship and responsibility for its preservation? gally Exported Cultural Objects which the Organization pro- Stefan Disko writes on “World Heritage Sites in Indigenous Peo- motes. The engagement of UNESCO in a variety of activities, ples' Territories: Ways of Ensuring Respect for Indigenous 156 Cultures, Values and Human Rights” and looks into how the issues of communication and cooperation take on a whole new rights of indigenous populations are taken into account, particu- importance. Wei and Levitt bring up two essential factors for a larly within the framework of World Heritage sites. A number of successful restitution debate: communication and cultural sensi- enlisted sites, mainly natural sites in areas connected to the live- tivity in the sense of considering the mindsets and cultural lihood of indigenous populations, are recognized for values that perspectives of each disputing party, both vital components of a do not reflect the indigenous peoples' own understanding of fertile discussion. The fact that the existing legislation often fails their territory and culture. This fact testifies to the importance of to provide an adequate basis for resolution of restitution cases the issue and the need for a change in attitude towards it. The creates the need to explore alternative solutions, while consider- exclusion of the local inhabitants of a site and their cultural ing all the factors involved in each case. The authors look into patrimony leaves out an important part of the site's significance. these alternatives and suggest other ways in which cultural Disconnecting these two components creates a great loss and heritage and property rights disputes can verge on resolution. It renders both the site and the population weaker. The site loses is largely a question of everyone's right to have access to part of its value and the people lose their land and source of heritage, a concept that surpasses the idea of ownership and livelihood and resource for cultural continuation. Disko presents possession. an eight-point plan of recommendations pointing out steps that will include the indigenous voice throughout the procedure of The impact of warfare on the preservation of heritage further nomination of a site to the World Heritage List and further on in proves the political dimensions of heritage. As material heritage its management. One of the key issues discussed is the different is a perishable public good, states and nations have a com- perception of heritage held by the Western world and UNESCO pelling responsibility for preserving it. However, civil wars and in contrast to the one held by indigenous populations. Whereas political upheavals occur, controls break down, vast areas are the former fails to see the interrelation and therefore makes a threatened by the hostilities, and they become looting fields or clear division between cultural and natural heritage, the latter treated as enemy territory with strong identity connotations has a more complex perception and understanding of culture which needs to be destroyed. Throughout the ages the spoils of which embraces both notions. war have mainly been the cultural heritage of the conquered. To further demonstrate the intricacy of resolving the conse- In this case heritage, as a source of collective identity, becomes quences of illicit trade and requests for restitution, William Xiao- a target in the heat of a conflict. In “Dealing with the Past: The jun Wei and Mathew Levitt present a case study of the animal Role of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Monuments in a Post- bronze heads from China's Yuanmingyuan Old Summer Palace Conflict Society”, Nadia Capuzzo Derkovi´c discusses the sys- in “The Qing Bronze Heads Case: Problems and Suggestions tematic destruction of cultural heritage during the conflict in the Regarding the Repatriation of Cultural Property”. The authors former Yugoslavia. Striving for homogenization of societies, point out that the cultural heritage of a nation or group is so ethnic cleansing and effective war strategies, heritage is often a intrinsically connected to its identity that these issues become target as it is a symbol of cultural identity. Moreover, cultural socio-political, attributing a higher significance and magnitude identity can be politically manipulated and used as a means to to the matter. Addressing restitution claims as a negotiation convey ideas and perceptions. In this sense, heritage is able to process that aims to benefit all parties involved and serve all deviate from the true past. Being a component that bonds peo- nations under the concept of universally shared heritage, the ple, cultural identity is often used as a way to create a coherent 157 group and distinguish it from other groups. On the contrary, as presented by Derkovi´c, heritage can also have a reconciliatory role in a post-conflict country such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. She emphasizes the significance of heritage preservation which is evident through the resulting cultural and social cohesion and the potential political stability and economic development it may offer a post-conflict society. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopt- ed in 2001, states that “Cultural rights are an integral part of human rights” (art. 5) and this section demonstrates this idea throughout. Political power is an essential dimension of heritage and as such it dignifies heritage as fundamental to the shaping of our societies. Read on. 158 Standard References Christian Manhart from a private law perspective. Unlike the 1970 Convention, the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention focuses on a uniform treatment for UNESCO's Fight against Illicit Traffic of restitution of stolen or return of illegally exported cultural objects. Cultural Property, Restitution and Needs Claims are processed directly through States Parties' national of Museums in Developing Countries courts (or other competent authorities). In case of theft, claimants may be individuals or States (Parties), while in case of illicit Introduction export, claimants are exclusively States (Parties). The UNIDROIT With globalization, the licit and illicit trade in cultural property Convention is not limited to inventoried objects as is the 1970 has become a major, and growing, international business, Convention, covering instead all stolen and illicitly exported cul- affecting museums, public and private collections, religious tural objects and requiring their return. Cultural objects that have buildings, cultural institutions and archaeological sites world- been unlawfully excavated are to be considered stolen and have wide. to be restituted. The 1995 Convention gives a right to indemni- ty or compensation – not to the thief or to the receiver of a stolen Therefore, the importance of the 1970 Convention on the Means object, but only to a third party that acquired the object in good of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Trans- faith (i.e. without knowledge of its illicit provenance) and condi- fer of Ownership of Cultural Property is also growing continuous- tional compensation to due or reasonable diligence. ly. The Convention provides its States Parties with measures pre- venting the import and trade of stolen artefacts, restitution There is enormous controversy surrounding the 1995 Conven- provisions, inventories, export certificates, monitoring trade, the tion and strong lobbying against it, particularly in “receiving” imposition of penal or administrative sanctions, training, and an countries. Therefore, to date, only thirty countries have ratified international cooperation framework. To date 120 countries this Convention. UNESCO urges those countries which have not have ratified the Convention, and UNESCO is glad to now have yet done so to ratify it. on board such important art market countries as the United States, Canada, the Russian Federation, Germany, France, the In many cases, bilateral negotiations for return are successful. United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. The newest States Parties However, because the 1970 Convention is not retroactive are Belgium and the Netherlands, which are also significant art before ratification by the concerned states, another body had to market platforms, and Haiti which became a Party just a month be created: the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the after the major earthquake on 12 January 2010 in order to have Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Resti- a tool to prevent thefts. tution in Case of Illicit Appropriation. There are twenty-two mem- bers of this committee elected every second year during each Other instruments UNESCO General Conference. In 2008, the Committee cele- However, the 1970 Convention is insufficient by itself. Because brated its 30th anniversary. At the invitation of the Republic of it does not include civil law provisions, it was necessary to devel- Korea, a celebration was held in Seoul in order both to reflect op other instruments. UNESCO therefore strongly promotes the on the Committee's past and to look to its future. So far, the Com- UNIDROIT Convention of 1995 on Stolen or Illegally Exported mittee has not achieved many cases of restitution. Some cases Cultural Objects, which considerably improves the chances of have gone on for many years – the case of the Parthenon restitution and which is complementary to the 1970 Convention Marbles, for example, has been before the Committee for three 160 decades. At the Seoul meeting, discussions were held about provided employment to the villagers and the possibility to strategies to increase international cooperation for restitution, as create awareness for the protection of the remains of their past. well as alternative solutions when pure restitution is impossible, Unfortunately, UNESCO efforts were unsuccessful. An Italian such as long-term or permanent loans. team sent first was threatened by the warlord and forced to end its excavations immediately. A Japanese team was sent next, The Committee continues to consider claims for restitution. In extremely keen to excavate this Buddhist site. However, after 2010, the case of the Makonde mask, claimed by the United three weeks, the situation proved too dangerous for them as Republic of Tanzania from a private Swiss museum, has been well, and they had to return. This is very unfortunate, as this site solved and the mask returned to the National Museum of Tanza- has never been researched and no archaeologist has yet had nia. In addition to the Parthenon marbles, there is still the open the opportunity to see, study or document it. Now its structures case of the Sphinx of Bo ˇgazköy, claimed by Turkey from a muse- are systematically being destroyed just for the objects being um in Berlin. Of course, the purpose of this Intergovernmental removed from them. These objects lose their historical context Committee is not to empty all Western museums or to bring all and value. For example, artefacts from the Graeco-Buddhist cul- cultural objects to their countries of origin. It is intended only for ture that emerged following the third century BC can originate some very significant objects and for those that were stolen or from what are now several countries in Central Asia: from north- illicitly exported, although the definition of illicit export is often a ern Pakistan and Afghanistan, to southern Uzbekistan and Tajik- point of contention in itself. This can be seen in the case of the istan. When items from sites such as Kharwar appear on the art Parthenon Marbles, where there is no consensus by the two par- market, it is almost impossible to determine their exact proven- ties involved as to whether or not the marbles were illicitly ance and they become useless for historical research. exported by Lord Elgin in the nineteenth century. Another example of illicit excavations is the area of the Minaret Today's looters are less glamorous than Lord Elgin. In of Jam, also in Afghanistan, the second tallest minaret in the Afghanistan, for example, many extremely poor villagers living world. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, this was the site of in miserable conditions have no source of income other than to an important Muslim city which is not yet sufficiently researched. dig. From their perspective, there is no difference between dig- Dug into the slopes next to the minaret are countless holes, cre- ging for antiquities and digging for potatoes in their earth. It is ated by the illicit excavation of local villagers. Here, UNESCO's difficult to explain the difference to people in their situation. They preventative excavations employed these villagers to work are paid very little for the hard and often dangerous digging alongside Italian and British archaeological teams in order to and are mostly exploited by the warlords holding the power over safeguard and research these structures. Another goal of this the territory concerned. project was to create awareness among the villagers for their cultural heritage, which is their cultural identity as well. In Kharwar, formerly a large Buddhist city in Afghanistan, the Minister of Culture, Makhdoum Raheen, requested UNESCO's An important numismatic treasure consisting mostly of silver assistance. He was very concerned about the ongoing looting of coins was discovered in 1947 by the French archaeological mis- the site and asked UNESCO to conduct preventative excava- sion in Afghanistan at Mir Zakah, a small village in southern tions on the site. The hope was that presence of an internation- Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. Half of the coins were al team could bring an end to looting. This would also have sent to the National Museum in Kabul while the other half came 161 under legal contract to the Musée Guimet in Paris. While the The looting of Bamiyan's mural paintings is also a cause for con- portion that went to France still exists, most of the coins in the cern. In addition to the famous Buddhist statues, blown up in Kabul Museum were looted in the early 1990s. March 2001 by the Taliban, Bamiyan has 700 caves carved in the rock cliffs by Buddhist monks between the second and ninth A spectacular and much larger second treasure was found by vil- centuries AD. Of these caves, twenty-six still contain mural paint- lagers in the same place in 1992, during the hottest phase of the ings. These are frequently targeted by looters, whose efforts to Mujahideen war in Afghanistan. It contained three tons of silver cut them out often results in large pieces falling down or break- coins which went to several important hubs of the art market. ing into pieces. When the UNESCO team entered the caves, a UNESCO was first offered the treasure in 1993 through an layer of broken plaster with paintings often covered the ground. Afghan art dealer in Peshawar (Pakistan), for the amount of In the 1970s, Japanese specialists made an extensive inventory US$600,000. As custodian of the 1970 Convention, UNESCO of these paintings. Frustratingly, the assessment by professors is unable to make such purchases, as they may be seen to vali- Miaji and Maeda revealed that 80 per cent of them had disap- date looting and illicit trade. Also, it lacks the necessary funding peared within the last thirty-five years, through neglect, theft, and has neither storage nor conservation facilities to care such and also through deliberate destruction – first by the Russian items properly. So, while UNESCO was unable to purchase the army, then the Mujahideen and finally by the Taliban. collection itself, it tried to identify a museum that would be will- ing to take the coins and safeguard them. However, no museum UNESCO worked to safeguard the caves with a Japanese team, approached was ready to do this, even secretly. The coins dis- financed by the Government of Japan, in the hope to be able appeared, re-emerging on the market some years later in one day to restore these paintings. In 2002, UNESCO took the Switzerland. Again they were offered to UNESCO, this time for very simple step of installing locking doors on the caves with US$1 million, and again UNESCO could not make the purchase paintings. This has proved effective and no thefts have since and the silver coins disappeared. taken place from the Bamiyan caves. Recent reports place a large number of them still in Switzerland. UNESCO has also concluded contracts with several institutions A smaller percentage was sent to the United States, where sev- to locate and safeguard looted Afghan cultural property, with eral hundred kilograms were melted down in order to produce the aim of returning them to their country of origin as soon as fake jewellery. Jewellery made from old silver, dating in this case the security situation permits. The Japanese Cultural Heritage from the second century BC to the second century AD, is Foundation was very efficient in finding important and particu- desirable for forgers, as it confuses dating techniques that would larly fine pieces, mostly stolen from the Kabul Museum. A con- normally identify pieces as fakes. This is a tremendous loss for tract has also been signed with the Bibliotheca Afghanica of historical knowledge of the Central Asian Region. Professor Bubendorf (Switzerland), whose director, Paul Bucherer- Osmund Bopearachchi, a specialist in Central Asian numismat- Dietschi, actually returned in 2007 all cultural objects he had ics teaching at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, discov- found in Switzerland. However, UNESCO is currently not in ered on these coins the heads of heretofore unknown kings from favour of such returns, as the situation is deteriorating in kingdoms installed in Central Asia by Alexander the Great. Afghanistan, and this is not thought to be the right moment for These coins would have enormously expanded our knowledge restitutions. of the history of Central Asia and Greece. 162 UNESCO also works frequently with INTERPOL, New Scotland approximately twenty-five smaller projects in Africa and Asia. Yard and other police forces, in order to identify looted cultural objects. This is done by contributing information about stolen Another major ongoing project is the creation of the National objects to their respective databases, provision of specialists Museum of Egyptian Civilizations in Cairo, which will be the who can identify seized objects and establishing contacts with largest museum in Egypt. While UNESCO is not involved in the the relevant antiquities authorities of the country of origin. construction, it is working cooperatively in developing the inven- tory database, advising on security, designing storage and con- UNESCO's Museums Programme servation facilities, training staff and museography. A new proj- The Museums Programme is complementary to the struggle ect is the rehabilitation of the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem, against illicit traffic. In this effort, UNESCO received important substantially funded by Saudi Arabia. This museum, which is sit- funding from the United States, which has provided more than uated on the Haram adjacent to the Aqsa Mosque, was closed US$6 million since 2005, when the Museums Section was creat- in 1999 for political reasons and is since deteriorating with only ed. Museums are not only repositories of cultural objects, but have two staff remaining. Here, the roof and electricity have to be a role in education in conveying a message to their visitors. Muse- repaired, objects conserved, the inventory updated and staff um activities should also be designed to attract new publics, in employed and trained. This project is complementary to another particular those which generally think museums are not for them, one dedicated to the restoration of the historic Islamic manu- such as young people and local communities. In the course of this scripts of the Aqsa Mosque, where UNESCO has installed a con- programme, the main needs of museums in developing countries servation laboratory inside a tomb within the complex and initi- have been identified. They are in particular infrastructure and ated a major programme to train staff on the spot but also in capacity-building, enhancing inventories, building of adequate Italy and Cyprus. For both projects on the Haram in Jerusalem, storage rooms as well as basic and preventive conservation. it was vital to establish good cooperation with the religious Waqf, as well as the competent authorities of Palestine, Israel The infrastructure building and staff training was particularly and Jordan in this part of Jerusalem. important at the Kabul Museum in 2002 and 2003, just after the war. The building was a ruin with the entire first storey destroyed Additionally, UNESCO has produced a series of publications to by rockets. With the help and funding of many nations, train museum specialists, which are translated not only into its six UNESCO restored the building, reconstructed the missing parts, working languages (English, French, Russian, Chinese, Arabic installed windows and heating, and provided electricity, water and Spanish) but also into more than twenty local languages, to and basic equipment. Staff were trained, exhibition and storage ensure their wide dispersal. It also maintains a database of spaces reorganized, and partnerships established with major national cultural heritage legislation. This resource is on the museums in a variety of countries to link the museum staff to the UNESCO website, accessible to everyone, and includes more outside world. UNESCO is also involved in the rehabilitation of than 2,000 acts or pieces of legislation from some 170 the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, as well as in countries.1 1 http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33928&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html. For more information, the Section's general website is at http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34324&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 163 Christoff Jenschke from Italy during the Grand Tour or from archaeological excava- tions in Turkey or Greece (cf. Greenfield, 1996, pp. 42 – 90, to Obligation to Restitute objets d'art the Elgin Marbles debate). The same applies to UNESCO's According to the First Protocol to the Recommendations in this context.2 1954 Hague Convention versus National Immunity from Seizure Customary international law is binding for all states. Applied to the matter at hand, this concerns predominantly the duty to resti- Immunity from seizure tute cultural property taken in times of armed conflict by an occu- To make art exhibitions complete, curators depend on loans from pying power from the occupied territory – widely known as various museums and collections from all over the world. How- “looted art” or “trophy art”. This obligation has been in exis- ever, many collectors and museums lend their objets d'art only if tence since around 1815, when the Vienna Congress forced they are assured of getting them back. In times of claims and Napoleon to hand back the art taken from allied territory actions for restitution by persons who might have a better title (Syssoeva, 2005, pp. 151– 321; Toman, 1996, pp. 3 – 20; than the possessor, it is even more problematic to lend cultural Jenschke, 2006, pp. 362 – 63). property to somebody in a foreign legal system. In order to min- imize or even exclude a risk of legal action, many states have Also binding are the obligations laid down in treaties. Interna- implemented in their laws provisions that allow the competent tional law knows a lot of obligations to restitute cultural proper- authorities to grant certain objets d'art immunity from seizure (in ty which was stolen, illegally exported or taken during armed Germany: Art. 20 Abwanderungsschutzgesetz – Act for the Pro- conflicts (Tsang, 2007; Jenschke, 2005, pp. 38 –112; Roca- tection of German Cultural Property Against Movement – or the Hachem, 2006, pp. 394 – 96). Here, we take a closer look at Swiss Art. 10 –13 Kulturgütertransfergesetz – Cultural Property the obligation to restitute cultural property that was looted dur- Transfer Act). ing armed conflicts, e.g. the First Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Obligation to restitute cultural property Armed Conflict3 (see also Toman, 1996, pp. 331– 51). Art. I On the other hand, there are many – by now almost innumer- paras 2 and 3 provide for restitution of cultural property that able – regulations in public international law which deal with the was exported from occupied territory. Namely, the importing restitution of illegally taken cultural property. Not all regulations state has to seize the cultural property imported from occupied accrue to binding law, e.g. the resolutions of the United Nations territory once it passes its boundaries: General Assembly.1 These mainly deal with peace law obliga- tions to restitute cultural property which took its way from colony I. 2. Each High Contracting Party undertakes to take into its cus- to occupying power or which was taken from indigenous peo- tody cultural property imported into its territory either directly or ple. Others call for restitution of cultural property that was taken indirectly from any occupied territory. This shall either be 1 http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37062&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 2 Recommendation for the protection of movable cultural property of 28 November 1978. http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13137&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC &URL_SECTION=201.html 3 http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15391&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 164 effected automatically upon the importation of the property or, bewaffneten Konflikten – Act for the Implementation of the 1954 failing this, at the request of the authorities of that territory. Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the I. 3. Each High Contracting Party undertakes to return, at the Event of Armed Conflict) only national law will apply in a law- close of hostilities, to the competent authorities of the territory suit. Here, the grant of immunity from seizure according to Art. previously occupied, cultural property which is in its territory, if 20 Act for the Protection of German Cultural Property Against such property has been exported in contravention of the princi- Movement would avert the claim for restitution according to Art. ple laid down in the first paragraph. Such property shall never 1 Act for the Implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention be retained as war reparations. (Siehr, 2006, p. 5). The fictitious case However, State A still can make a claim for restitution against As shown above, a state can be confronted with two kinds of State C based on international law and before an international action for restitution: First, the call for restitution by the lender of tribunal. The lending state has to fulfil an obligation by interna- an objet d'art who was granted immunity from seizure. Second, tional law in favour of the state of origin of the cultural property the claim of restitution by the state from the territory of which the (here State A). cultural property was removed while the state was occupied. This might lead to an – at first sight – unsolvable dilemma in Whether State A is successful before the tribunal depends on the international law. It can only be solved in case one claim pre- rank of claims. State A can make two claims: against State C vails over the other. and against State B. The claim for restitution against State B is the primary claim since the owner of the Rembrandt is located in The problem can be made transparent with the help of the fol- State B. Whereas in State C there is only a possessor, in conse- lowing fictitious case: quence, the claim against State C is a secondary claim. Further- more, international law also knows immunity from seizure. There Cultural property, let us say a painting by Rembrandt, is illegal- are a variety of bilateral treaties that grant the lending parties ly taken from State A – party to a current armed conflict – and immunity from seizure (cf. the examples shown at Prott and comes to State B. The possessor of the Rembrandt in State B O'Keefe, 1989, p. 208, recital 369). Moreover, international wants to lend it for an exhibition in State C. In State C the pic- art transfer would grind to a halt if a lender had to fear action ture gets immunity from seizure and is shown there in an exhibi- for restitution whenever an object is lent. Granting immunity from tion. All three states are Party to the First Protocol of the 1954 seizure creates confidence within the international community Hague Convention. (Mußgnug, 1985, p. 29). It would be betrayed if the grant were not worth the paper it was printed on. Civil legal proceedings should fail since the possessor in State C can avert claims with the grant of immunity from seizure. Courts Conclusion in State C are bound by the national laws. In most cases, inter- Upholding international art transfer as part of cultural exchange national treaties, once they are ratified, only rank on the same is only possible if the trust in a granted immunity from seizure level as national laws. In case they are transcripted into nation- ranks higher than the secondary claim of a state against another al law – as is the case in Germany (Gesetz zur Ausführung der state into whose territory an objet d'art was imported against the Konvention vom 14. Mai 1954 zum Schutz von Kulturgut bei regulations of the First Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention. 165 However, a state granting immunity from seizure will do best to Roca-Hachem, R. 2006. Internationale Bühne: Die Rolle der prove provenance at a high level before granting immunity from UNESCO auf dem Feld der Restitution. osteuropa, Vol. 56, seizure in order to minimize its own risk. In case there are two Nos 1 and 2, pp. 393 – 400. substantiated claims (the lenders according to his grant of immu- nity from seizure and the states according to the First Protocol of Siehr, K. 2006. Stellungnahme zum Fragenkatalog des BT- the 1954 Hague Convention), only one can be settled by resti- Ausschusses für Kultur und Medien zum Gesetz zur Ausführung tution. The other claim has to be settled by paying indemnity. des UNESCO Übereinkommens. Ausschuss des Deutschen Switzerland has found a good solution: according to Art. 12 Bundestages für Kultur und Medien 16. Wahlperiode, Aus- para. 2 lit. b of the Cultural Property Transfer Act, immunity from schussdrucksache, No. 16(22)050. seizure is only granted if the import of the cultural property is not illegitimate. This means that a thorough provenance search is a Syssoeva, E. 2005. Kunst im Krieg: Eine völkerrechtliche must before granting immunity from seizure. Betrachtung der deutsch-russischen Kontroverse um kriegsbedingt verbrachte Kulturgüter. Berlin, Duncker & Humblot. Toman, J. 1996. The Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: Commentary on the Convention for References the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocol, Signed on 14 May, 1954 in the Greenfield, J. 1996. The Return of Cultural Treasures. 2nd edn. Hague, and on Other Instruments of International Law Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. Concerning Such Protection. Aldershot, UK/Paris, Dartmouth/UNESCO. Jenschke, C. 2005. Der völkerrechtliche Rückgabeanspruch auf in Kriegszeiten widerrechtlich verbrachte Kulturgüter. Berlin, Tsang, L. 2007. Legal Protection of Cultural Property: A Duncker & Humblot. Selective Resource Guide. http://www.llrx.com/features/ culturalproperty.htm#International_Conventions ____. 2006. In Kriegen erbeutet: Zur Rückgabe geraubter Kul- turgüter im Völkerrecht. osteuropa, Vol. 56, Nos 1 and 2, pp. 361– 70. Mußgnug, R. 1985. Das Kunstwerk im internationalen Recht. In: Deutsche Richterakademie (ed.), Kunst und Recht, Justiz und Recht. Trier/Wustrau, Germany, Schriften der Deutschen Richterakademie, pp. 15 – 42. Prott, L. V. and O'Keefe, P. J. 1989. Law and the Cultural Heritage. Vol. 3, Movement. London/Edinburgh, Butterworths. 166 Stefan Disko inclusive and appreciative of living cultures and traditions, and has amended the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation World Heritage Sites in Indigenous of the World Heritage Convention to allow for the inscription of Peoples' Territories: Ways of Ensuring outstanding “cultural landscapes” on the basis of their continu- Respect for Indigenous Cultures, Values ing economic, cultural or spiritual value to indigenous peoples and Human Rights (see AHC, 1995). It is also noteworthy that the United Nations General Assembly has recommended that UNESCO should Introduction intensify efforts to recognize indigenous heritage as heritage of Of the 890 properties designated as World Heritage sites under humanity under the framework of the World Heritage Conven- UNESCO's 1972 World Heritage Convention as of February tion (UNGA, 2005, para. 15). 2010, a significant number are situated in the territories of indigenous peoples or areas over which indigenous peoples This paper deals with the question of how to ensure that have rights of ownership, access or use.1 These sites are located indigenous peoples' human rights, as affirmed by the General in many different parts of the world and on all continents. While Assembly in the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights they vary greatly in terms of size, some of them are the size of of Indigenous Peoples, are respected in World Heritage areas small or medium-sized countries and include parts or all of the and in the various processes of implementing the World territories of not just one, but several indigenous peoples. Heritage Convention. A number of suggestions are made on Although establishing an exact number of these indigenous sites concrete steps that the World Heritage Committee could, or on the World Heritage List would be difficult and would require should, take in this regard. These measures would also help to careful analysis, it is estimated that there are roughly between ensure that the indigenous understandings of sites – the values seventy and a hundred such sites. The vast majority of them are and meanings attached to sites by indigenous peoples – are inscribed as “natural sites”, with no reference to indigenous cul- properly taken into account in the management and protection ture or the existence of indigenous peoples in the justification for of World Heritage sites, starting with the nomination proce- inscription. dures. The number of indigenous sites on the World Heritage List is Indigenous sites on the World Heritage List: likely to increase in the future, considering that the World cultural or natural heritage? Heritage Committee actively encourages nominations from As its official title already indicates, the World Heritage Conven- under-represented regions and of under-represented types of tion differentiates between cultural heritage on the one hand and properties (in the context of the Global Strategy for a Represen- natural heritage on the other, defining the two types of heritage tative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List). The Commit- in Articles 1 and 2 respectively. As a consequence, the Commit- tee has revised the selection criteria so that they are more tee maintains a distinction between “cultural” and “natural” 1 The expression "territories of indigenous peoples" in this paper refers to areas which indigenous peoples have "traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired" (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, art. 26), irrespective of whether or not the indigenous rights to these areas are officially recognized by a particular state. There may also be World Heritage sites that, although not located in the territory of an indigenous people, are nevertheless of special economic, cultural, spiritual or other value to indigenous peoples and therefore subject to certain indigenous rights. 167 properties, the classification depending on the criteria under values for indigenous peoples are deeply interconnected.2 Also, which a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List. This distinc- indigenous peoples' land management practices and traditional tion has been criticized as over-simplified, as it takes “no knowledge have in many cases greatly contributed, and contin- account of the fact that in most human societies the landscape, ue to contribute, to the biological diversity in their territories, as which was created or at all events inhabited by human beings, is increasingly recognized by conservation organizations [is] representative and an expression of the lives of the people (including UNESCO).3 Indigenous peoples therefore generally who live in it and so [is] in this sense equally culturally meaning- consider a strict distinction between cultural and natural heritage ful” (WHC, 1994, p. 4). as artificial and inadequate, and consider that their heritage should be managed and protected as an interrelated whole. For In response to such criticisms, the Committee has taken various example, a 1998 Review of Aboriginal Involvement in the Man- steps to soften the dichotomy between cultural and natural agement of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (in Australia) heritage, and to give recognition to the fact that it is not emphasizes: adequate or possible to make a strict separation between cultur- al and natural values in the specific contexts of many World “Rainforest Aboriginal people (and, in fact, indigenous Aus- Heritage sites. These steps have included the introduction of tralians generally) see the trend by western managers to man- the cultural landscapes category in 1992, and the merging age a region's values according to two distinct categories (i.e. of the selection criteria for cultural and natural heritage into a natural and cultural values) as artificial and inadequate. Rainfor- single set of criteria in 2003, “to better reflect the continuum est Aboriginal people adopt a holistic view of the landscape, between nature and culture” (see WHC, 1998, para. IX.11; and asserting that a region's natural and cultural values are in fact Decision 6 EXT.COM 5.1, 2003). However, although the inseparably interwoven within the social, cultural, economic, Committee has combined the criteria, it has – somewhat contra- and legal framework of Bama custom and tradition. They are dictorily – continued to uphold the distinction between “cultural” also concerned at the tendency, particularly at the day-to-day and “natural” properties. level of management, by western managers to treat cultural her- itage considerations as secondary to those afforded to natural The distinction is particularly problematic in the context of World values” (WTMA, 1998, p. 12). Heritage sites that are located in the territories of indigenous peoples, because the cultures, ways of life and spiritual beliefs An Indigenous Peoples Forum held in 2000 in conjunction with of indigenous peoples are inseparable from their lands, territo- the 24th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Cairns ries and natural resources, and because natural and cultural (Australia), therefore petitioned the Committee to “recognise the 2 As the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of the heritage of indigenous peoples, Erica-Irene Daes, has observed, “heritage” for indigenous peoples “includes all expressions of the relationship between the people, their land and the other living beings and spirits which share the land ... All of the aspects of heritage are interrelated and cannot be separated from the traditional territory of the people concerned”. Daes therefore stresses that it is “inappropriate to try to subdivide the heritage of indigenous peoples … All elements of heritage should be managed and protected as a single, interrelated and integrated whole” (UN Commission on Human Rights, 1993, paras 31 and 164). 3 See, e.g. Roué (2006), WWF International and Terralingua (2001), and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, art. 8(j). According to the World Heritage Committee, “The continued existence of traditional forms of land-use supports biological diversity in many regions of the world. The protection of traditional cultural landscapes is therefore helpful in maintaining biological diversity” (Operational Guidelines, 2008, Annex 3, para. 9). 168 holistic nature of Indigenous natural and cultural values and tradi- strengthen their cultures and traditions and develop their tions” (World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Forum, 2000, p. 99). societies in accordance with their own aspirations and needs. Disregard of indigenous peoples and their values in World The continuing need for the Committee and States Parties to Heritage nomination and inscription processes can therefore address this concern is evident from the already noted fact that have far-reaching human rights implications, in addition to the vast majority of the indigenous sites on the World Heritage constituting a human rights violation in itself. List are inscribed as “natural sites”, with no regard for indige- nous cultural, spiritual or economic values in the justification for Human rights concerns and considerations inscription. In all these cases, the “outstanding universal value” Until recently, the establishment of national parks and nature pro- recognized by the Committee does not reflect the indigenous tected areas usually implied that these places were then largely peoples' own understanding of their territory and heritage. This treated as untenured “wilderness” areas, where human interven- conflicts with para. 81 of the 2008 Operational Guidelines, tion and use – with the exception of tourism – was either prohib- where it is stated: “Judgments about value attributed to cultural ited altogether or subjected to tight restrictions, regulations and heritage … may differ from culture to culture … The respect due permits. For indigenous peoples this often meant that they found to all cultures requires that cultural heritage must be considered themselves classified as “squatters”, “poachers” or “encroach- and judged primarily within the cultural contexts to which it ers” on their own lands, that their customary land management belongs” [emphasis added]. practices were treated as threats to the “natural environment” of the sites, and that they were denied access to natural resources Should not the judgement as to whether a site is treated as a critical to their livelihoods, survival and health. In many cases “cultural” or “natural” site also primarily be made within the cul- indigenous peoples were forcibly removed or pressured to leave tural context to which it belongs? And should there not be a sim- following the creation of national parks or protected areas ilar provision for judgements about value attributed to natural (Colchester, 2003; Dowie, 2009; WWF and Terralingua, heritage sites? 2001; SPFII, 2009). Often they were not even consulted when the protected areas were established and subsequently excluded These questions are important, because the justification for from management and decision-making processes.4 The fact that inscription, of course, affects management priorities and frame- their particular cultures and ways of life were inextricably linked works, and if the indigenous peoples' own values are not and interconnected with these places and the associated plant properly taken into account, this can have major implications for and animal species, and had ensured their conservation and them. For example, if a site is inscribed and protected as a nat- protection since time immemorial, was disregarded and disre- ural site, without recognizing the existence and role of the spected. So were indigenous peoples' customary rights to their indigenous inhabitants, this can lead to all kinds of restrictions lands and resources, their land tenure systems, and their various on their land-use practices and undermine their ways of life. It social, economic and cultural rights associated with the respec- can lead to a loss of control over their lands and can have tive sites. Moreover, while protected areas have often greatly significant consequences for their ability to maintain and limited their economic development options, indigenous peoples 4 According to the Forest Peoples Programme (2003, p. 4), “the majority of protected areas in developing countries have been established on indigenous peoples' lands without their consent, often resulting in forced removals, impoverishment and cultural loss”. 169 have rarely shared equitably in the – often substantial – eco- or even aggravated indigenous peoples' loss of control over nomic benefits, such as tourism revenues. Indigenous delegates their lands, and over their economic, social and cultural devel- at the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban (South Africa) in opment as peoples. There are a number of nature protected 2003 stated: areas on the World Heritage List, where local indigenous people were pressured to leave or forcibly removed following “The declaration of protected areas on indigenous territories the establishment of the protected area, and there are even without our consent and engagement has resulted in our dispos- cases where, as Sarah Titchen has observed, “Indigenous session and resettlement, the violation of our rights, the displace- peoples have been actually physically removed from protected ment of our peoples, the loss of our sacred sites and the slow but areas as a way of justifying inscription of an area on the World continuous loss of our cultures, as well as impoverishment. It is Heritage List as a place of natural importance devoid of what is thus difficult to talk about benefits for Indigenous Peoples when perceived as the negative impact of local inhabitants” (Titchen, protected areas are being declared on our territories unilateral- 2002).6 ly. First we were dispossessed in the name of kings and emper- ors, later in the name of State development and now in the name This raises the question of what can be done by the World Her- of conservation” (WPC Closing Plenary, 17 September 2003, itage Committee to ensure that such injustice and marginaliza- Statement by Indigenous Peoples). tion does not occur in World Heritage areas, that indigenous rights are respected in the implementation of the Convention, Unfortunately, these observations and concerns also apply to and that indigenous peoples' values, priorities and understand- many of the protected areas that have been recognized as ings of their own territories are properly reflected in nomination World Heritage sites. There are several indigenous sites on the procedures and management of sites. A related question is what World Heritage List – in particular, but not only, “natural sites” – steps can be taken to promote and facilitate reconciliation and where the local indigenous peoples have almost no role in man- redress in World Heritage areas where indigenous rights have agement and are regularly marginalized in decision-making that been violated in the past. affects their lands, cultures and everyday lives in significant ways.5 In some of those sites, indigenous peoples are essential- A useful tool in this regard is the United Nations Declaration on ly treated as threats to their own territories, through management the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was passed by the UN systems that were imposed on them and are not linked to their General Assembly in September 2007 and whose provisions own governance systems. At least in some instances, the desig- UN agencies and other international organizations are called nation as World Heritage sites may in effect have consolidated on to respect, promote and apply in their various programmes. 5 See for example the situation of the Baka people in the Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon (Tchoumba and Nelson, 2006; Nguiffo, 2001), the Karen in the Thungyai- Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, Thailand (Buergin, 2001; Colchester, 2003, p. 17), or the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, United Republic of Tanzania (Kipuri and Sørensen, 2008, pp. 11ff.; Olenasha, 2006, pp. 159f.). 6 An example where indigenous people were forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands during the World Heritage nomination process is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda (Dowie, 2009, p. 67; Tumushabe and Musiime, 2006). In the case of Thailand's Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, the resettlement of remaining Karen villages within the sanctuaries was announced in the World Heritage nomination for the near future (Buergin, 2001, pp. 2, 7). Thailand's 2003 Periodic Report on the state of conservation of the site threatens: “If Karen villages inside the WH zone exert increasing demands on natural resources in the park, relocation will be conducted” (Thailand, 2003, p. 234). 170 Art. 41 of the Declaration requires UN agencies and other inter- policies and other instruments regarding indigenous peoples governmental organizations to “contribute to the full realization from the perspective of the framework of the Declaration, “so of the provisions of this Declaration” and to establish “ways and that all policies, programmes, projects, other instruments and means of ensuring participation of indigenous peoples on issues activities … are consistent with the Declaration” (IASG, 2007, affecting them”. Art. 42 stipulates that “The United Nations, its para. 9). bodies … and specialized agencies, including at the country level, and States shall promote respect for and full application of To facilitate such efforts, the United Nations Development Group the provisions of this Declaration and follow up the effectiveness (UNDG) has elaborated Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples' of this Declaration”. Issues on the basis of the Declaration, which provide “lines of action for planning, implementation and evaluation of pro- The Declaration affirms a wide range of political, economic, grammes involving indigenous peoples”. They are meant to social, cultural, spiritual and environmental rights of indigenous “assist the UN system to mainstream and integrate indigenous peoples and “reflects the existing international consensus peoples' issues in processes for operational activities and pro- regarding the individual and collective rights of indigenous peo- grammes at the country level”, and set out “the broad normative, ples” (UN Human Rights Council, 2008, para. 43). It provides policy and operational framework for implementing a human a clear-cut frame of reference for states and international agen- rights-based and culturally sensitive approach to development cies for the formulation, implementation and evaluation of pro- for and with indigenous peoples”. They are also thought to “pro- grammes and projects targeted at or impacting indigenous peo- vide a framework for duly integrating the principles of cultural ples. UNESCO's former Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura diversity into UN country programmes” (UNDG, 2008, p. 3). officially welcomed the adoption of the Declaration as “a mile- Another useful publication is the Resource Kit on Indigenous Peo- stone for indigenous peoples and all those who are committed ples' Issues prepared by the Secretariat of the UN Permanent to the protection and promotion of cultural diversity”, and Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII), which is designed to provide ensured that it would “undoubtedly provide the foremost refer- guidance as to “how to engage indigenous peoples and include ence point [for UNESCO] in designing and implementing pro- their perspectives in development processes, including monitor- grammes with and for indigenous peoples” (Matsuura, 2007). ing and reporting processes” (SPFII, 2008, p. 1).8 Additionally, the UN Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous A key principle, affirmed in the UN Declaration and highlighted Issues (IASG), of which UNESCO is a member, has “pledge[d] in both the UNDG Guidelines and the Resource Kit, is the prin- to advance the spirit and letter of the Declaration within our ciple of free, prior and informed consent. This principle is agencies' mandates and to ensure that the Declaration becomes central to indigenous peoples' exercise of their right to self- a living document throughout our work” (IASG, 2008a, para. determination, in particular with respect to developments affect- 10).7 The members of the IASG have also agreed to review their ing their lands, territories and natural resources, and “should be 7 See also the report of IASG's special meeting in February 2008 on how organizations of the UN system can integrate the Declaration into their policies and programmes (IASG, 2008b). 8 See also the 2007 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, which focuses on the application of the human rights-based approach to indigenous peoples (UN Human Rights Council, 2007). 171 respected and used as a methodology when designing pro- applies to management plans, periodic state of conservation grammes and projects that directly or indirectly affect indigenous reports, and international assistance requests. peoples” (SPFII, 2008, p. 17). The substantive and procedural norms underlying free, prior and informed consent “empower Conclusion and recommendations indigenous peoples to meaningfully exercise choices about their Unfortunately, the implementation of the World Heritage Con- economic, social and cultural development” (Motoc and Tebteb- vention often falls short of the principles of the UN Declaration ba Foundation, 2004, para. 9). on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in many cases indigen- ous peoples and communities have been marginalized in the Art. 19 of the UN Declaration articulates the principle as fol- various processes of the Convention. This can have serious con- lows: “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the sequences for the ability of the affected indigenous groups to indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative maintain and nurture their cultures and traditions (and therefore institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed con- their intangible cultural heritage), and to develop their societies sent before adopting and implementing legislative or administra- in accordance with their own needs and interests.11 At the same tive measures that may affect them.”9 time it could have significant ramifications for the credibility of UNESCO as an organization committed to the furthering of Naturally, this also applies to conservation initiatives affecting respect for human rights and the fostering of cultural diversity, indigenous peoples, as the UNDG Guidelines explicitly note: especially considering the high visibility of the World Heritage “Conservation efforts on indigenous lands, including the estab- Convention as one of UNESCO's flagship programmes. lishment of new and management of existing protected areas, have to take place with the free, prior and informed consent and In the following paragraphs, recommendations for specific full participation of the communities concerned” (UNDG, 2008, actions by the World Heritage Committee are given, the adop- p. 18, “Guiding human rights principles”).10 tion of which could help to address these concerns. In particular, the Committee should: In the specific context of World Heritage sites, this also means that nominations of sites in indigenous territories should either be • Formally commit to a human rights-based approach and made by the indigenous peoples themselves, or at least with endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous their full knowledge and agreement at all stages. The same Peoples. 9 Similarly, art. 32(2) requires indigenous peoples' “free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources”. Art. 10 states that indigenous peoples shall not be relocated from their lands or territories without their free, prior and informed consent. An international workshop organized by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2005 clarified various aspects of free, prior and informed consent and suggested a number of elements for a common understanding (see UNDG, 2008, p. 28). Among other things, the principle implies that there is an absence of coercion, intimidation or manipulation, that consent is sought sufficiently in advance of any commencement or authorization of activities, that respect is shown for time requirements of indigenous decision-making processes in all phases of a project, and that full and understandable information on likely impacts is provided (including information on potential risks and on benefit-sharing mechanisms). 10 This has also repeatedly been stressed by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, e.g. in the Concluding Observations: Ethiopia (2007, UN Doc. CERD/C/ETH/CO/15, para. 22). 11 As emphasized in the UN Declaration, “control by indigenous peoples over developments affecting them and their lands, territories and resources will enable them to maintain and strengthen their institutions, cultures and traditions, and to promote their development in accordance with their aspirations and needs” (Preamble). 172 In overseeing the implementation of the Convention in indige- level of indigenous involvement in the implementation of the nous territories, the Committee should formally adopt and follow World Heritage Convention that is in accordance with interna- a human rights-based approach, for which the UN Declaration tional human rights standards. The existence of such a body is should provide the basic normative framework. This would be in therefore crucial for the consistent application of a human rights- line with UNESCO's expressed goal to integrate a human rights- based approach. based approach into all of its programmes and activities (UNESCO Strategy on Human Rights, 2003; UNESCO Medium- The indigenous consultative body should be involved in all Advi- Term Strategy for 2008 – 2013, paras 6 and 69), and would be sory Body evaluations of nominated properties that are situated a way of making the World Heritage Committee's fifth Strategic in the territory of indigenous peoples. This would ensure that Objective (“To enhance the role of communities in the implemen- indigenous communities and their values are not ignored or dis- tation of the World Heritage Convention”) meaningful for indige- regarded when their territories are nominated for World Her- nous peoples. It would also be in line with UNESCO's commit- itage listing, and that the “outstanding universal values” are bal- ment to fostering cultural diversity, considering the importance of anced with indigenous values and do not “trump” the indigenous peoples' collective rights for the maintenance and indigenous values. The indigenous advisory body should also be development of their distinct cultures and ways of life. involved in monitoring the conservation of indigenous World Heritage sites and reviewing Periodic Reports. It would provide • Be more consistent and rigorous in ensuring effective an important contact point for indigenous communities living in indigenous participation in all processes of the Convention World Heritage areas, and enhance their ability to participate (nomination processes, elaboration of management plans, directly in the Committee's work and bring issues to its attention. site management, monitoring, etc.) Maybe such a body could also fulfil functions related to other UNESCO instruments in the field of culture, such as the 2003 • Establish an indigenous advisory body and 2005 Conventions on intangible heritage and the diversity of cultural expressions. The establishment of an indigenous advisory body was first pro- posed in 2000 by the World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Forum • Strengthen the provisions on community participation in the in Cairns (Australia). The Forum called for the creation of a Operational Guidelines “World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Council of Experts” (WHIP- COE), out of concern about the “lack of involvement of indige- Currently the Operational Guidelines (2008) merely “encour- nous peoples in the development and implementation of laws, age” States Parties to ensure the participation of “a wide variety policies and plans, for the protection of their holistic knowledge, of stakeholders”: traditions and cultural values, which apply to their ancestral lands within or comprising sites now designated as World Heritage “12. States Parties to the Convention are encouraged to ensure Areas” (World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Forum, 2000, p. 4). the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders, including site managers, local and regional governments, local communities, Considering the large number of indigenous sites that are now non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other interested on the World Heritage List, the establishment of an indigenous parties and partners in the identification, nomination and protec- advisory body appears indispensable for ensuring an adequate tion of World Heritage properties.” 173 The Committee should ensure that indigenous peoples are treat- elements have “been nominated following the widest possible ed as rights-holders and key decision-makers, whose consent participation of the community, group or, if applicable, individu- must be obtained, and not merely lumped together with a wide als concerned and with their free, prior and informed consent” variety of “stakeholders” to be “consulted” in decision-making (Operational Directives for the Implementation of the Convention processes. The stakeholder approach negates indigenous for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, June peoples' status and rights under international law, including their 2008, Criteria for inscription, U.4 and R.4). No such require- right to self-determination and their collective rights to their ment exists with respect to the World Heritage List. lands, territories and resources. The relevant provisions in the Operational Guidelines should be reworded so that they specif- • Refrain from listing sites in indigenous territories as “natural ically refer to indigenous peoples and do not give the impression sites” and encourage the relisting of existing natural sites in that the involvement of indigenous peoples is something that is indigenous territories as “mixed sites” or cultural landscapes up to the States Parties. They should make clear that the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in the identifica- As shown above, the distinction between cultural and natural tion, nomination, management and protection of World Heritage heritage is problematic in the context of indigenous heritage sites is an essential and indispensable requirement. sites, and the listing of indigenous sites as “natural sites” can be at the expense of indigenous peoples' cultural values and can • Update the Nomination Format and the Tentative List have major implications for their lives and human rights. Accord- Submission Format (include fields on participation of ingly, indigenous peoples are in various cases striving to get local communities / indigenous peoples) natural World Heritage sites relisted under cultural heritage values, an example being the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Neither of the two formats (both annexed to the Operational Heritage site in Australia (WTMA, 1998). Guidelines) currently contains fields explicitly requiring states to provide information on the local communities living in or near • Undertake a review of all World Heritage sites, with the full the sites, on the ways in which they were involved, and whether participation of indigenous peoples, to identify shortcomings the submissions meet with their approval. In contrast, the format with regard to indigenous rights for Periodic Reporting has recently been revised and now con- tains a number of fields enquiring about the involvement of local This would be in line with UNESCO's promise to review its communities and indigenous peoples, and the impacts of World policies, programmes and activities with a view to ensuring Heritage status on their lives (see WHC, 2008). consistency with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (IASG, 2007, para. 9). • Refrain from listing sites located in indigenous territories without indigenous peoples' free, prior and informed consent The adoption of the above measures by the World Heritage Committee would help to empower indigenous peoples living in By way of comparison, States Parties who wish to inscribe ele- World Heritage areas and support their ability to safeguard and ments on the lists established under the Convention for the Safe- foster their distinct cultures and ways of life. It would help to guarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage must demonstrate to ensure that indigenous peoples' human rights are respected and the responsible Intergovernmental Committee that the proposed fulfilled in the management and protection of World Heritage 174 sites, and that they are effectively involved in the implementation References of the World Heritage Convention at all levels. In World Heritage areas where indigenous communities have historically AHC. 1995. Indigenous Cultural Landscapes and World been excluded from management and decision-making Heritage Listing (Draft). Victoria, Australian Heritage processes, or where their rights were violated in the past, these Commission. measures would ensure that World Heritage status contributes to readdressing and redressing these circumstances. Buergin, R. 2001. Contested Heritages: Disputes on People, Forests, and a World Heritage Site in Globalizing Thailand. 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Message from the Director-General of ____. 2009. State of the World's Indigenous Peoples. UNESCO on the occasion of the approval of the United New York, United Nations, Secretariat Permanent Forum on Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Issues. Paris, UNESCO. http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php- URL_ID=39604&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.ht Tchoumba, B. and Nelson, J. 2006. Protecting and ml (Accessed 15 February 2010.) Encouraging Customary Use of Biological Resources by the Baka in the West of the Dja Biosphere Reserve. Moreton-in- Motoc, A. and Tebtebba Foundation. 2004. Preliminary Marsh, UK, Forest Peoples Programme. Working Paper on the Principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples in Relation to Development Thailand. Royal Forest Department. 2003. Thungyai-Huai Kha Affecting their Lands and Natural Resources. Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries. Periodic Report, Summary ver- Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/2004/4. sion. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/591/documents New York, United Nations. (Accessed 15 February 2010.) Nguiffo, S. 2001. One forest and two dreams: the constraints Titchen, S. 2002. Indigenous Peoples and Cultural and Natural imposed on the Baka in Miatta by the Dja Wildlife Reserve. World Heritage Sites Conference presentation, New York, In: J. Nelson and L. Hossack (eds), Indigenous Peoples and 15 May. www.dialoguebetweennations.com/N2N/PFII/ Protected Areas in Africa: From Principles to Practice. English/SarahTitchen.htm (Accessed 15 February 2010.) Moreton-in-Marsh, UK, Forest Peoples Programme, pp. 195 – 214. Tumushabe, G. and Musiime, E. 2006. Living on the Margins Olenasha, W. 2006. Parks Without people: a case study of of Life: The Plight of the Batwa Communities of South Western the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. In: IAITPTF Uganda. Kampala, ACODE. (ed.), Indigenous Peoples' Contributions to COP-8 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Chiang Mai, Thailand, UN Commission on Human Rights. 1993. Study on the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of Protection of the Cultural and Intellectual Property of Tropical Forests, pp. 151– 63. Indigenous Peoples, by Erica-Irene Daes. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/28. Roué, M. 2006. Cultural diversity and biodiversity. International Social Science Journal, Vol. 58, Issue 187, UNDG. 2008. Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples Issues. pp. 7–14. February 2008. New York, United Nations Development Group. 176 UNESCO. 1994. Expert Meeting on the “Global Strategy” and WTMA. 1998. Which Way Our Cultural Survival? Review of thematic studies for a representative World Heritage List Aboriginal Involvement in the Management of the Wet Tropics (UNESCO Headquarters, 20 – 22 June 1994). Doc. WHC- World Heritage Area (Vol. 1). Cairns, Australia, Wet Tropics 94/CONF.001/INF.4. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Management Authority. ____. 1998. 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A/HRC/9/9. World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Forum. 2000. Submission to the World Heritage Committee from a Forum of Indigenous Peoples Assembled in Cairns, Australia, 24 November 2000. WHC-2001/CONF.208/13, pp. 4-5, 15 –18. 177 Case Studies William Xiaojun Wei, Mathew Levitt cultural and historical artefacts, there are still many unaddressed considerations. Historically, the repatriation battle has raged The Qing Bronze Heads Case: between artefact-rich nations (usually developing countries), and Problems and Suggestions Regarding the art-purchasing nations (usually developed countries). The prob- Repatriation of Cultural Property lem is also compounded by the issue of time. The Hague 1954, UNESCO 1970 and UNIDROIT 1995 Conventions contain Introduction statutes of limitations that fail to address those artefacts that were The international cultural artefact market has long since been the removed from one nation by another before the temporal reach concern of archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, govern- of these Conventions. In such cases, there are no definitions of mental and private organizations, and groups concerned with legality to be placed upon removed cultural artefacts, other than the preservation of cultural heritage such as UNESCO. Interna- by the country from which they were taken so many years ago. tional attempts have been made to deter the market surrounding This leaves the country or group of origin no legal or internation- illegal cultural artefacts and to preserve sites of archaeological, ally recognized claim to the artefacts that were taken from them. cultural and historic significance, such as The Hague 1954 Con- Conflicts of diplomacy arise when one country retains the cultur- vention, the UNESCO Convention of 1970 and the UNIDROIT al materials of another, especially when the country of origin has Convention of 1995. National governments have also requested their return. The sale of such materials only enflames addressed the issue, leading to such legislation as the Native the issue. What actions are to be taken, for example, when the American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act in the United sale occurs of artefacts labelled “legal” by the market nation States. International organizations have formed in response to and “illegal” by the country or group from whom they originat- the problem, such as the Association for the Protection of the Art ed (source nation)? How can “cultural property” be defined and of China in Europe as well as the Art Loss Register. Unfortunate- cultural heritage restored without an internationally recognized ly, all these efforts have met with limited success as the sale of legislation that effectively reaches far back enough into history illegally acquired artefacts continues in the global market. as to address the plethora of culturally significant materials being privately traded without regard to those from whom they Repatriating stolen cultural artefacts is a complex issue. The came? Moreover, how should “cultural significance” be value of art crime is estimated (1993) as between US$3 billion defined?1 And how is a company that specializes in the sale of and US$6 billion, with a recovery rate for stolen art of 12 per cultural antiques supposed to behave economically and ethical- cent (Borodkin, 1995). The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the ly in the climate of such socio-political and cultural confusion? Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property allows countries to The Qing Bronze Heads case make claims against other countries for illegally exported These issues recently came to attention with the February 2009 antiquities and admonishes adherents to respect other countries' Christie's auction in France of two Qing bronze heads featuring export restrictions regarding cultural property. Although this is a a rabbit and a rat. These heads belong to a collection of twelve first step towards putting structure around the repatriation of (five of which have since been returned to China) that were 1 See UNESCO 1970 and The Hague 1954 for suggested definitions of “cultural significance”. 180 looted from the Yuanmingyuan Old Summer Palace in China by the “Chinese mind” and fails to acknowledge the cultural insult French and British troops during the Opium Wars in 1860. perceived by China and that, based on this perception, China Beijing's Poly Art Museum acquired three of the bronze heads could never participate in such an undignified auction (Bernard (ox, monkey, tiger) in 2000. A Hong Kong millionaire Gomez of APACE, on the France 24 television programme The purchased the horse and boar heads. He donated the horse's Debate on February 26, 2009). On the other hand, although the head to China; the boar's head remains in his casino in Macau. bronze heads were no doubt taken from China illicitly (especial- The rabbit and rat heads were owned by fashion designer Yves ly under the 1954 Hague Convention, had it been enacted at Saint Laurent. The location of another five of the bronze heads the time), China's demand for the return of the bronze heads (dragon, snake, sheep, rooster, dog) is unknown. The proposed under such a pretence ignores the complex issues involved in the auction of the rabbit and rat heads resulted in legal action by facilitation of black markets by the illegalization of cultural arte- China that was overturned in French courts, again demonstrat- facts, not to mention a failure to diplomatically address French ing the issues of legality in such cases. They were auctioned with socio-culture in a climate of fragile Sino-French relations. the winning bid made anonymously by telephone at € 31.4 mil- lion for the pair. The bidder was a Chinese businessman, Cai Christie's – as well as other auction houses that profit from the Mingchao, who then refused to pay as a protest to their sale and sale of cultural artefacts – are placed in a difficult position by sit- on the grounds that his government has restricted their import uations such as these. They have an economic responsibility to into China. their clients but are also directly affected by international rela- tions and governmental policies of the countries they operate For most Chinese, the value of the bronze heads as cultural arte- within. The illegalization of cultural artefacts could significantly facts is greater than their value as art objects. Apart from their damage these companies, especially within an already reces- monetary value, the Qing bronze heads symbolize for China the sive economy, only to have them replaced by untaxable and humiliation brought on by Western transgressions during the uncontrollable black markets. Furthermore, research has shown events leading up to and including the Opium Wars of the mid- that companies that participate in illegal activity suffer only nineteenth century. Hong Kong, the site of Christie's Chinese minor and temporary sales disruptions, demonstrating that the office, was ceded to the British crown in the “unequal” Treaty of illegalization of cultural artefacts may do little to deter their sale Nanjing that ended the first Opium War. The apparent lack of (Baucus and Baucus, 1997; Moore 1988; Price, 1999). concern for supposed Chinese cultural heritage on the part of Christie's and of France can only serve to underscore the slight- Besides its cultural significance, an issue of intentionality also ing memory of the loss of Hong Kong to Western powers. Pierre arises when all parties involved stand to benefit financially from Berge's offer to return the heads in exchange for the affordance the ownership of the artefacts, including both the dealing party of Tibetan liberties alludes to the loss of Tibet with the fall of the (or parties) and the country (or countries) of origin. In this case, Qing dynasty and the subsequent struggle to hold it within the because the bronze heads were private property owned by and ideological Chinese nation community and the international con- then stolen from the Qing dynastic emperor, the current Chinese flicts that have resulted. Cai Mingchao's refusal to pay for the Communist Government's claim to the heads is dubious. With heads has for some Chinese citizens tarnished the economic rep- the fall of dynastic rule, can it be assumed that dynastic private utation of the emerging global power. While some suggest that property automatically becomes public property? Whether we China should simply purchase the artefacts, this misunderstands are speaking about the bronze heads specifically or the palace 181 property in general, we are dealing here with a forced transfer Recommendation of ownership that impoverished the former owner (the Qing The bronze head debate demonstrates two points: First, that emperor) and benefited the inheritor (the French and British cases of repatriation such as these can be exceedingly difficult troops or the People's Republic of China). Likewise, we are also to resolve as they resonate within the economic, political and dealing with a discontinuity in rule. Essentially, one Chinese socio-cultural spheres of multiple nations and involve a number Government ended and another began. Such a discontinuity of international parties (France, China, APACE, Christie's, carries socio-cultural implications. It would be difficult to refute Xiamen Harmony Art International Auction Company, National that the change in government had some amount of socio- Treasure Funds of China, Cai Mingchao, Pierre Berge, Stanley cultural impact. Therefore, can we argue that the Chinese Ho, Sotheby's, China Poly Group and the Poly Art Museum, The socio-culture under dynastic rule was the same Chinese socio- Beijing Poly International Auction Co. Ltd., etc.). Second, that culture under Communist rule? If we cannot, we must examine currently existing Conventions such as The Hague 1954, whether the property of the former automatically belongs to the UNESCO 1970 and UNIDROIT 1995 are not always able to latter. Furthermore, because the repatriation of the bronze heads adequately address the veracious complexity of these claims or stands to increase state capital as the currently-held bronze the multifaceted issue of protecting cultural heritage. heads are popular attractions in the state-owned Poly Art Museum, China's intention could be argued as one of monetary Despite this, some suggestions can be made. For example, if exploitation rather than cultural sincerity. It is this ambiguity that Yuanmingyuan were to join its counterpart, the Yiheyuan “New” only adds to the difficulty in cases of repatriation. Summer Palace, as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the repa- triation of the bronze heads would perhaps be more forthcoming. Apart from these questions, according to both French and As a World Heritage site that reached beyond local cultural Chinese law, the case would have legally expired under either boundaries into the international cultural-historical sphere, country's statutes of limitations. Strictly speaking, China has no Yuanmingyuan could incorporate the shared cultural histories of international legal claim to the heads. Neither the UNESCO China, Britain and France, preserving the integrity and posterity 1970 nor UNIDROIT 1995 Conventions address the case due of all three national heritages. Incorporation into a “serial site” to their statutes of limitations. Similarly, although the Hague that establishes and demonstrates the contiguity between tempo- Convention of 1954 addresses the case in theory (forced trans- rally, historically and socio-culturally related sites in the three coun- fer of ownership under military action), it is retroactively pow- tries might provide a solution for the parties involved. It must also erless (both China and France are signatories to all three be acknowledged, however, that repatriation of the bronze heads Conventions). could set a burdensome precedent for others to follow; one in which private ownership and cultural institutions are transgressed. Overall, the events surrounding this auction have demonstrated Repatriation may also compromise the integrity of currently not only the cultural misunderstandings encoded within the com- existing World Heritage sites, such as Museumsinsel (Museum munications between these parties, but the legal ambiguity when Island), Berlin. Repatriation of any of the artefacts that warranted dealing with international trade of cultural artefacts without Museumsinsel's World Heritage status, such as the Pergamon effective international guidelines and legislations that address Altar or Ishtar Gate of Babylon, would no doubt damage the the cultural, economic and socio-political concerns of all German cultural-historical landscape. Perhaps where legislation involved. fails, diplomacy must carry the burden of decision. 182 There have been a number of cases in which repatriation was • Christie's sale of Medici papers in London; repatriation of successful and occurred beyond the reach of international state-owned but not private papers by British court Conventions such as UNESCO 1970 or UNIDROIT 1995. (Merryman, 1985, p. 1890); *privately owned articles Examples include: (of royal lineage) not returned to state; • Attorney-General of New Zealand v. Ortiz; *British court • Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar v. Elicofon (Merryman, denies restitution of Maori artefacts (to be auctioned by 1987 – 1988, p. 483; 1985: 1889, note 23); Sotheby's) to New Zealand (at time neither the UK nor NZ • Hooge Rad der Nederlanden (Merryman, 1987 – 1988, were parties to UNESCO 1970). p. 483, note 16); • US repatriated Crown of St Stephen to Hungary in 1977 Many of these involve some form of repayment or trade in (Merryman, 1989, p. 351); exchange for repatriation. If a museum is able to replace one • Netherlands repatriated cultural property to Indonesia cultural artefact with another that the country of origin is more (Merryman, 1989, p. 351; Merryman, 1990); willing to circulate, both parties may benefit and no one is at a • Mayan Codex stolen from Mexico by France and stolen complete loss. Another common feature of these successful cases back by Mexico (Merryman, 1986, p. 846; Riding, 1982); is a cooperative effort by both parties to ensure the safety of a • Italy repatriated throne of Menelik II to Ethiopia (Throne of cultural artefact during and after repatriation to the country or Menelik II recovered from Italy, The Ethiopian Herald, 15 June culture of origin The continued involvement of a repatriating 1982); country in the life of the repatriated artefact could maintain and • France “loans” artefacts to Laos and Iraq in exchange for perpetuate an already existing cultural-historical relationship to pottery (UNESCO referees a bitter contest, ASIAWEEK, 22 the benefit of both parties. Although the location of an artefact October 1981); will change, its existence will continue to involve the shared cul- • Britain returns 21 arch items to North Yemen (UNESCO tural histories of both parties and neither will be impoverished of referees a bitter contest, ASIAWEEK, 22 October 1981); heritage. By regarding these successful cases as models of • Australia returns drum to S. Pacific (UNESCO referees a action, further successful cases of repatriation are likely to occur. bitter contest, ASIAWEEK, 22 October 1981); • Belgium and Netherlands return materials to Zaire and The mindsets and cultural perspectives of each disputing Indonesia (UNESCO referees a bitter contest, ASIAWEEK, party must also be considered. Only by addressing cultural 22 October 1981); particularities can effective communication be established and • American institutions return pieces to Peru and Panama desirable solutions produced. Effective communication between (UNESCO coordinates “restitution”: some nations, museum the two nations, and successful negotiation, requires a multidi- return cultural treasures, The Blade, 4 October 1981); mensional understanding of intercultural dissonance (including • Australia and New Zealand made shipments to Papua New an awareness of individualistic versus interdependent ethoses, Guinea (UNESCO coordinates “restitution”: some nations, high-context versus low-context cultures and language styles, and museum return cultural treasures, The Blade, 4 October 1981); monochronic versus polychronic concepts of time) and methods • French court orders the return of a stolen statue to Cairo by which to overcome and adapt to these (Cohen, 1997, (UNESCO coordinates “restitution”: some nations, museum pp. 19 – 32). Also required is a mutual understanding of the return cultural treasures, The Blade, 4 October 1981); other's conceptions of the individual, the organization, and the 183 association of one to the other. Fei Xiaotong's influential work on References Chinese society From the Soil (Fei, 1992) describes China's differential mode of association with concentric circles of ASIAWEEK. 1981. UNESCO referees a bitter contest, 22 influence and the West's organizational mode of association October. where organizations have clear and discrete boundaries. Under- standing, acknowledging and accounting for these differences Baucus, M. S. and Baucus, D. A. 1997. Paying the piper: an in organization and association are crucial for effective com- empirical examination of longer-term financial consequences of munication in intercultural dialogues. illegal corporate behavior. The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 129 – 51. Although currently existing Conventions and organizations may not be able to adequately address all cases involving the illicit Borodkin, L. J. 1995. The economics of antiquities looting and trade of cultural artefacts, other options are available. A thor- a proposed legal alternative. Columbia Law Review, Vol. 95, ough examination of each case yields clues as to how repatria- No. 2, pp. 377– 417. tion can be successfully achieved to the benefit of the parties involved and humanity's shared global heritage. By thoughtfully Cohen, R. 1997. Negotiating Across Cultures: International considering all the factors involved in a case – including the cul- Communication in an Interdependent World, rev. edn. tural, economic, political and social particularities – solutions Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace Press. may be generated without needing to adhere to a generalizing legislative template. What is clear is that communication and Fei, X. 1992. From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese cooperation are the keys to resolution. These must be culturally Society, Trans. edn. Berkeley, Calif., University of California sensitive and inclusive of all the parties involved, including gov- Press. ernments, ethnic groups, or single individuals. While these may be lofty goals, they are nevertheless important considerations in Merryman, J. H. 1985. Thinking about the Elgin Marbles. the protection of cultural heritage. Michigan Law Review, Vol. 83, No. 8, pp. 1881–1923. ____. 1986. Two ways of thinking about cultural property. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 80, No. 4, pp. 831– 53. ____. 1987 – 88. The retention of cultural property. U.C. Davis Law Review, Vol. 21, No.3, p. 477. http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/Vol21/Issue3/Davis Vol21No3_Merryman.pdf ____. 1989. The public interest in cultural property. California Law Review, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 339 – 64. 184 ____. 1990. “Protection” of the cultural “heritage”? The ____. 1970. Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 38, Supplement. Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of U.S. Law in an Era of Democratization, pp. 513 – 22. Cultural Property. http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php- URL_ID=13039&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Moore, J. S. 1988. Enforcing foreign ownership claims in the antiquities market. The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 97, No. 3, ____. 1983. Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the pp. 466 – 87. Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation. Catalogue No. Price, C. A. 1999. Following fashion: the ethics of CLT-83/CONF.216/INF.3. archaeological conservation. In: F. P. MacManamon, Cultural Resource Management in Contemporary Society: Perspectives on Managing and Presenting the Past. London, Routledge, p. 213. Riding, A. 1982. Between France and Mexico, a Cultural Crisis: Case of Aztec Documents Renews the Issue of Return of National Treasures. International Herald Tribune, 31 August, p. 2. The Blade. 1981. UNESCO coordinates “restitution”: some nations, museum return cultural treasures, 4 October. The Debate. France 24 television broadcast. Programme dated on February. 26, 2009, accessed from http://www.france24.com/en/20090225-sale-century-nets- 3735-million-euros- The Ethiopian Herald. 1982. Throne of Menelik II recovered from Italy, 15 June. UNESCO. 1954. Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention). http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13637& URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 185 Nadia Capuzzo Derkovi´c Dealing With the Past: The Role of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Monuments in a Post-Conflict Society Introduction This paper presents the main conclusions of my research1 on cultur- al heritage destruction and projects of reconstruction after an armed conflict and in a politically divided country. This research analyses the aspects of cultural and historic site management in post-conflict situations and the role of heritage preservation in deal- ing with the past issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1996. Fig. 1: Interior of the National and University Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina, The consequences of the Socialist Federal Republic of Sarajevo, 1996 (photo: author’s archive) Yugoslavia dissolution and the emergence of nationalistic rule were dramatic for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until the break-up According to the data gathered in 1995 by the Institute for the of the war in April 1992, the population of this former Socialist Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Republic was truly multinational, reflecting its historical develop- Bosnia-Herzegovina, “2771 architectural heritage properties ment. Three narodi,2 Croats, Muslims3 and Serbs, lived on the were demolished or damaged [during the war]: 713 of them same territory. During the war, cultural heritage became a target were totally destroyed and 554 were burned out and unusable” as symbol of multinational Bosnian-Herzegovinian identity.4 (Commission to Preserve National Monuments, 2004, p. 30). Historic and religious monuments were systematically destroyed Even incomplete, these data reveal the nearly total devastation because they represented heterogeneity. Territories were to of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian heritage (Figures 1 and 2). be homogenized and deprived from richness of other cultures. This principle of national homogenization of the Bosnian- Fifteen years after the signature of the General Framework Herzegovinian territories, based on a rewriting of the past, was Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (December and remains a threat for heritage preservation. 1995), also known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, the 1 Doctoral thesis entitled “Urbicide et mémoires: destructions et reconstructions à Sarajevo”, University of Geneva, Switzerland, December 2009. 2 The term narodi refers to ethno-national identity. The English equivalent would be nation or national community. 3 Until the beginning of the war, Bosnian Muslims used to define themselves and to be defined by others as members of the Muslim narod, a term inherited from their recognition as constitutive nation by Yugoslav authorities back in 1968. Since the creation of the Bošnjaˇcki Sabor (Bošniak Assembly) in 1993 – during the war – the term Bošniak is used to define Bosnian citizens of Islamic religion. 4 Referring in this case to an inclusive identity containing the different national and citizen affiliation present on the same territory. This one results from long-term contacts, which promoted the emergence of a heterogeneous identity. 186 cultural heritage landscape still bears witness to the deliberate The reconstruction and protection of the historic and cultural destruction of architecture and monuments. heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina follows a process of affirmation of collective identity. As destruction of heritage is meant to eradicate the foundations of a multicultural society, reconstruction strengthens, in certain cases more than it prevents, community cleavages. In this context, the reappropri- ation of places invested by the terror settled during the armed conflict is a precondition for the process of reconciliation. Therefore reconstruction is not solely structural and material; restoration of sense of place should also be promoted. In this way, the management of reconstruction projects should ideally be the result of a dialogue between communiti es, local author- ities and international stakeholders. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments was estab- lished pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agree- Fig. 2: Destroyed Old Bridge in Mostar, 1996 (photo: author’s archive) ment for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its mandate is to promote heritage as a generator and resource for stimulating How can a society exercise its capacity to go back in time if the social rehabilitation and reconciliation. Since the end of the war, traces left by the social group have partially disappeared? As the country has been structurally divided into two political heritage contributes to the sense of belonging, how do memories entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the of the traumatic event influence projects of reconstruction and Republika Srpska. When the Commission issues a national mon- restoration of heritage objects? In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ument decision, this decision concerns the state level, i.e. reconstruction of heritage and cultural properties can be seen as including both entities, but the monument is under the protection a promoter of social cohesion whereas preserved ruined build- of entity levels. As a consequence of the war and as a result of ings could underline divisions among communities and prevent national homogenization of territories, an important movement the restoration of a sense of belonging to a common territory. of population transformed the multinational social fabric of According to this, preservation of heritage is not only a value in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Consequently, the reconstruction itself but can be an efficient instrument for sustainable develop- of cultural heritage or historical places of worship is closely ment and national or regional reconciliation. related to the return of refugees. The totemic function of architecture then becomes evident, as To reconstruct a mosque or church where the believers were buildings are essential witnesses to national history. Their expelled can revive or instigate tensions rather than reconcile the destruction is in a way a desperate recognition of their symbol- inhabitants. The example of the reconstruction of the mosque ic values as they fix, illustrate and focus on national history Ferhad Paša (or Ferhadija) in the city of Banja Luka – located in (Babelon and Chastel, 1994, p. 48). Heritage materializes the the Republika Srpska – is significant. cultural identity of a nation, a people. 187 Built in 1579, the demolition of the mosque began on 7 May are confronted. The case of the Alad a mosque is symptomatic 1993. In the following months, the remains were voluntarily of the strategy of ethnic cleansing during the war in the city of moved with the aim of erasing the traces of the building on the Fo ˇca, in the Republika Srpska. Built in 1550, the Alad a site. Although the mosque was one of the symbols of Banja Luka mosque, known also as Šarena d amija (coloured mosque), was and thus an integral part of the urban environment of the inhab- destroyed in 1992. During the summer of 2004, the works of an itants, independently of their national or religious membership, exhumation team appointed by the federal Commission for miss- the ceremony organized on 7 May 2001 to celebrate the laying ing persons, looking for victims of the recent war around Foˇca of the first stone symbolizing the reconstruction, ended in riots prison, had to be interrupted because suspected fragments with the death of one man and around thirty wounded. In May belonging to the Alad a mosque were discovered. The acts of 2003, the Commission nominated the site as well as the remains ethnic cleansing in the town of Foˇca were particularly violent. of the mosque as a national monument. The decision of the Com- This violence materialized in the burial of human bodies with the mission implies the responsibility of the Republika Srpska gov- remains of a historic place of worship. The image is symbolical- ernment in the application of protective measures at the site and ly powerful and reveals the will to eradicate and erase the pres- the reconstruction of the mosque. Reconstruction works are in ence of the other. progress today. The Bridge of Višegrad – or Mehmed Paša Sokolovi´c Bridge (Fig- Another consequence of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is ure 3) – was built on the River Drina at the end of the fifteenth the exploitation of architectural features in the process of century, on the orders of the grand vizier Mehmed Paša construction of particular collective memories. At the moment, Sokolovi´c. When the Commission to Preserve National Monu- different interpretations of monument destruction are expressed ments announced publicly the will of the state of Bosnia and and tend to set national communities and citizen groups against Herzegovina to see the bridge appear on the UNESCO World each other. At the same time, the Commission to Preserve Heritage List, women victims of the war association in Višegrad National Monuments is working on the reconstruction and protection of monuments, seeking to promote a collective Bosnian cultural heritage. In this context of memory “competi- tion”, practices of patrimonialization (heritagization) show the expression of group memories whose aim is often to assert precedence at a specific site. The uses and misuses of the past reveal the tensions within the system of spatial and temporal markers of identity. Indeed, public places, historic monuments and cultural heritage no longer constitute any more the founda- tions of collective memory. We can observe a fragmentation of identity referents according to the membership of various communities today. The following examples reveal the complexity with which the reconstruction projects and the initiatives to protect the heritage Fig. 3: Mehmed Paša Sokolovi´c Bridge in Višegrad, 2007 (photo: author’s archive) 188 addressed a letter to the members of the Commission expressing all the national communities. Its objective is to de-ethnicize, to their disapproval of this heritage site qualifying as a national depoliticize the heritage so that it becomes an identity marker monument. During the ethnic cleansing of the city, the bodies of for all the citizens of the country, and not only for one com- the victims, mostly unarmed civilians, were thrown in the River munity in particular. Drina from the bridge. The destruction of the cultural heritage and the other identity These survivors are the witnesses of crimes committed in the markers shattered the spatiality lived by the inhabitants of a course of the last war in which this architectural masterpiece was place and, by extension, the role of its markers in the mobiliza- used as a place of execution. The bridge crystallizes their fears tion of memory. The problem of cultural heritage restoration is and they perceived it as the symbol of their persecution, the closely connected with the work of memory and the essential humiliations they had to suffer and the violation of their rights. In need to restore a historic continuity, interrupted by the tragic memory of the Višegrad victims in 1992, they therefore events that sealed the dislocation of the Socialist Federal Repub- expressed their disapproval concerning the nomination of the lic of Yugoslavia since 1991. The key lies in joint planning of bridge as a national monument. projects of reconstruction and restoration by the local authorities as well as in promoting the symbolic elements of a common past In the words of Amra Had imuhamedovi´c (Commission to Pre- to strengthen the reconciliation process. serve National Monuments, 2006, pp. 18 –19), one of the three national members of the Commission: “… just as glory and mag- We have seen that heritage reconstruction and preservation do nificence, pride and justice are a part of the heritage that not only concern the rehabilitation of an architectural continuity. encourage us to great work, so shame and humiliation, cruelty In the examples presented, reconstructions and initiatives of cul- and crime are a part of the heritage that remind us of the con- tural heritage protection are connected to the process of recon- sequences of evil. … In the hope that the beauty of the bridge, ciliation between the national communities of Bosnia and Herze- … will never again see the shadow of such atrocities cast over govina and to dealing with past issues. To use the symbolism of it, we are convinced that it is important to preserve the bridge the bridge, it is important to restore reliable bridges between for future generations, without disregarding any aspect of its his- communities opposed during the war. Reconstruction projects tory …”. The bridge has to connect individuals. can facilitate intercommunity relations and restore a sense of belonging to the territory, i.e. to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a These examples reveal the complex interweaving between whole. destructive events, the perception of them by the victims and the symbolic value of cultural heritage. The projects of reconstruction of the heritage – deliberately destroyed to expel people and cleanse a territory of the presence of the other – have to be intro- duced by actors whose objective is the protection of a common cultural and historical heritage. In this sense, the mandate of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments is significant in the process of reconciliation. Its mandate, through the nomination of national monuments, is to make cultural heritage significant for 189 References Babelon, J.-P. and Chastel, A. 1994. La notion de patrimoine. Paris, Liana Levi. Bevan, R. 2006. The Destruction of Memory. London, Reaktion Books. Bublin, B. 1999. Gradovi Bosni I Hercegovine. Milenijum razvoja I godine urbicida. [The Cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Millennium of Development and the Years of Urbicide]. Sarajevo, Sarajevo Publishing. Candau, J. 2005. Anthropologie de la mémoire. Paris, Armand Colin. Commission to Preserve National Monuments. 2003. The site and remains of the architectural ensemble of the Ferhad Paša mosque – Ferhadija and graveyard. Decision No. 08.2-6-533/03-8, 7 May. www.kons.gov.ba ____. 2004. Cultural Memory. A Vanishing Treasure. Sarajevo. ____. 2006. Baština. Annual II/2006. Sarajevo. Halbwachs, M. 1997. La mémoire collective. Paris, Albin Michel. OHR. 1995. The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo/Brussels, Office of the High Representative and EU Special Representative. http://www.ohr.int/dpa/default.asp?content_id=380 190  Part 5 Cultural Landscapes and Sustainable Development Marie-Theres Albert landscape. With his central categories of “time”, “space” and “place” he implies concepts of sustainable development, not Preface least due to the fact that urban landscapes especially are char- acterized by their aesthetics, as well as through their use by The category of cultural landscape was introduced in 1992 to human interventions. Turner approaches the discussion and UNESCO's criteria for the nomination of World Heritage prop- reflection on the topic in an abstract manner. By including erties. The variety of landscapes inscribed has enriched the theoretical classics in this context, he defines his understanding World Heritage List ever since. Cultural landscapes are com- of an urban landscape as the “sum total of unbuilt land”, bined works of man and nature, and therefore more likely to be “urban building and structures”, as well as the arising matrix of connected to human society, settlements and the environment as “public and private open spaces of the urban landscape”. He a whole. The nomination of cultural landscapes furthermore includes central lines of argument from literary studies, cultural includes the opportunity to judge the impact of human activities studies, philology, philosophy, and last but not least, from the on nature with regard to economic, social and cultural develop- perspective of photography. His paper on the topic of urban ment. Factors can be identified either as potentials or as threats, landscapes transcends an association of city as a material her- as strengths or as weaknesses. Based on the potential of the cul- itage, and brings the reader into the immaterial connotations tural landscapes category, this section plays a considerable role that are linked to a city as landscape according to individual in linking a World Heritage site with strategies for sustainable experience. development. Thus this category is the most suitable in combin- ing World Heritage with other UNESCO programmes, i.e. the Steven Yieko Ojoo, in “Indigenous Interpretation of the Luo Cul- goals defined in the Millennium Declaration. tural Landscapes”, approaches the topic through the process of globalization. He explains that globalization and nationaliza- The first paper in this complex section is by Mechtild Rössler and tion may lead to the loss of special intangible features, authen- functions as an introduction to the topic. In “World Heritage and ticity and value of cultural landscapes, and therefore in many Sustainable Development: The Case of Cultural Landscapes”, cases to the loss of symbols of identification for certain groups Rössler not only provides a historical overview of the concept of of people. Safeguarding strategies on the basis of discourses sustainable development since the Brundtland Commission of regarding modernization and heritage protection are needed. 1987, but beyond this relates theoretical positions to the Furthermore, and related to cultural landscapes, a critical view nomination practice of cultural landscapes. It is not just the case on the implementation of the World Heritage Centre's Opera- studies she presents that render this rather abstract topic compre- tional Guidelines is needed. Ojoo enters into this discussion. In hensible, but also the theoretical context so expertly explained. order to safeguard the intangible heritage of indigenous peo- The paper concludes with the same message on which this ples; and in order to preserve their traditions and religious publication is based, that the potential of World Heritage still lifestyles, which are by any standards a part of world cultural has much to offer for human development. diversity; an adaptation of the guidelines to meet the needs of indigenous peoples and their land is urgently required. He The contribution by Michael Turner, “The Perception of Urban includes an example of a marginal community in the Luo cultur- Space as Landscape: From Site to Space and Scape”, has a al landscape, their traditions and artistic and religious lifestyles. completely different emphasis on urban space as a cultural This paper also highlights that this is only one of numerous 192 examples where a call exists for the protection of living of the redevelopment process. In this case, they emphasize that traditions and cultures against the demands of globalization. it was both the respect shown in meeting the demands of the Priority is to be given to diversity and interpretations. local community and the tourists' expectations and interests. At the same time, as the valley became an international attraction, Ana Pereira Roders and Ron van Oers, in “Outstanding Univer- people's lifestyles and values were seriously affected in terms of sal Value, World Heritage Cities and Sustainability”, aim to con- globalization. Therefore they find it important not to overlook the tribute to the growing body of knowledge concerning manage- inhabitants' rights when developing a global cultural landscape. ment of World Heritage properties through mapping the current process being undertaken, to the process of managing proper- In the paper by Yuri L. Mazurov, “Challenge of Climate ties of outstanding universal value. The results have proved that Changes for Historical Heritage: Monitoring and Reporting in such management processes consist of a wide framework, the Russian Federation”, the Russian strategy of handling cli- including the outstanding universal value assessment, which not mate change is dealt with. The emphasis of this paper lies more only involves the States Parties, but also the Advisory Bodies, the with the problem that environmental protection and climate pro- UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the World Heritage Com- tection are possibly much harder to implement in transformation mittee. Except with the States Parties, the management practices societies than in developed industrial societies. The central were seen as universally defined and implemented as a process. thought is that natural heritage is a manifestation of cultural her- However, no universal methods or tools, in addition to weights itage. In order to protect natural heritage, it is necessary to con- or values, have been found or identified for any of the above vert the material values that are connected with heritage to four participants. Further research will focus on the practices immaterial values, which means to raise awareness. This is undertaken by States Parties in the assessment process – identi- indeed a difficult task in the Russian transformation society. To fication, proposal and management (protection and demotion); show that this concept can still be successful, Mazurov includes and map what is currently defined and implemented as a the example of setting up an innovative environmental monitor- process, together with their methods and tools, and if existing, ing project in Russia, which makes it possible to calculate the criteria and weights. effects of climate change on heritage sites over short-, medium- and long-term time spans. Shadi Azizi, Nader Afzalan and Mahda Mohammadbagher present their paper, “A Case Study of Cultural Landscape as a In “Impacts of Early Land Use and Mining on River Landscapes”, Potential for Sustainable Development of Local Scale: Garme Vil- Thomas and Alexandra Raab focus on the change of landscape lage Redevelopment”, from the viewpoint that cultural landscape over the course of time and during the history of natural land- has a somewhat human imprint in the landscape. This is a result scapes. Landscapes are affected and developed by various of the interaction between socio-economic and physical- human interactions and through political and cultural interests. geographical conditions. The example of Garme village, the The range is broad: it starts with climatic, cultural and socio- focus of the study, is a rare and successful case concerning economic changes in very early times and continues through the indigenous development of an organic cultural landscape in important modern industrial activities and trading. Mining is one the Islamic Republic of Iran. The authors point out the indigenous of the major uses of landscape, and of course holds the most people's understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the striking challenges for everyone involved. Nevertheless, mining village, and describe the crucial factors that lead to the success may be considered as one of the important factors for 193 developing either the landscape itself or the culture of miners. The landscape change in Europe dates to around 10,000 years ago. The main focus in this paper is on river landscapes concentrated in Central Europe. The authors present and describe how environmental changes may be seen as results of natural and human influence on the landscapes through different historical epochs. They furthermore integrate a theoretical analysis of concepts of landscape based on a complex knowledge in the fields of life, earth and prehistorical science. In summary, the range of papers published in this section are on the one hand representative of its topic, but on the other hand have left many aspects open to discussion. Although the debate on the close relation between cultural landscape and sustainable development is self-evident, it is still in its early stages. But the first steps have been taken. 194 Standard References Mechtild Rössler World Heritage and Sustainable Development: The Case of Cultural Landscapes Introduction The World Heritage Convention of 1972 has evolved consider- ably over time. The Convention, based on earlier considera- tions (see Rossler, 2007; Titchen, 1996) between the two World Wars on safeguarding the heritage of humanity and joint efforts by different nations and UNESCO to preserve the Nubian Temples from the waters of the Aswan Dam (Egypt) in 1960, Fig. 1: Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila (Mexico) was shaped into a unique document in the framework of the Photo: Carlo Tomas © UNESCO First United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. It was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference World Heritage and sustainable development in 1972 and entered into force only three years afterwards in Although conservation is closely linked with sustainability, the 1975. The first sites, such as Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) or term entered the global debate in particular through the Brundt- the Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia) were inscribed as land report in the 1990s and the 1992 United Nations Confer- early as 1978. At that time the term “sustainable development” ence on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de was not used – it evolved only in the 1990s with its current Janeiro (Brazil). A broadly shared and accepted definition was meaning. proposed by the Brundtland Commission: “Sustainable develop- ment is development that meets the needs of the present without At the time of writing the World Heritage Convention covers 911 compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own sites in 151 countries on the World Heritage List and has been needs” (WCED, 1987). ratified by 186 countries, which makes it the most universal legal instrument in heritage conservation. This was taken up by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987 in the Preamble to Decision 42/187: “Believing that sus- This paper retraces the concept of sustainable development tainable development, which implies meeting the needs of the and its application in the framework of the World Heritage Con- present without compromising the ability of future generations to vention using the example of cultural landscapes. It also draws meet their own needs, should become a central guiding princi- conclusions for the future of this international legal instrument ple of the United Nations, Governments and private institutions, highlighting intergenerational equity as a principal and funda- organizations and enterprises …”. mental concept in heritage conservation. It also emphasizes the need to see World Heritage properties in a broader context of It is therefore not surprising that in the same year as UNCED, sustainability debates and connectivity with surrounding areas. 1992, the term “sustainable land-use” entered the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage 196 Convention with the introduction of the World Heritage cultural The general observation could be made that despite the changes landscape categories by decision of the World Heritage in 1992 and 2005, the concept was not rapidly and easily Committee: embraced by the official texts, including the Operational Guide- lines and specific World Heritage Committee decisions under the “The term ‘cultural landscape’ embraces a diversity of manifes- 1972 Convention. In contrast, sustainable development has been tations of the interaction between humankind and its natural fundamental for all stakeholders in World Heritage conservation, environment … Cultural landscapes often reflect specific tech- as World Heritage sites are key destinations for local, national niques of sustainable land-use, considering the characteristics and international tourism in many cases. They are also natural, cul- and limits of the natural environment they are established in, and tural and landscape sites sustaining local communities, providing a specific spiritual relation to nature. Protection of cultural land- ecosystem and other cultural, social and environmental services. scapes can contribute to modern techniques of sustainable land- use and can maintain or enhance natural values in the land- Cultural landscape case studies scape. The continued existence of traditional forms of land-use It was not surprising that the concept of sustainability entered the supports biological diversity in many regions of the world. The Operational Guidelines with the introduction of cultural land- protection of traditional cultural landscapes is therefore helpful scapes. These sites are of outstanding universal value for their in maintaining biological diversity” (para. 39 of the Operational exceptional interaction between people and their environment. Guidelines, adopted by the 16th session of the World Heritage Sustainability is therefore at the heart of their survival over cen- Committee in 1992; in 2005 integrated without change as turies. They express a long and intimate relationship between Annex 3 of the Operational Guidelines). people and their natural environment. Particularly, rural land- scapes formed through specific techniques of land-use that guar- Only in 2005 with another revision of the Operational Guide- antee and sustain biological diversity serve as learning grounds lines, separate paragraphs were developed, in particular: for establishing sustainable livelihoods, and for facing current “6. Since the adoption of the Convention in 1972, the interna- and future challenges such as adaptation to adverse impacts of tional community has embraced the concept of ‘sustainable climate change. This is indispensable for empowering local com- development’. The protection and conservation of the natural munities to address and overcome poverty (e.g. the Rice Ter- and cultural heritage are a significant contribution to sustainable races of the Philippine Cordilleras, the Agave Landscape of development.” Mexico, or other agricultural landscapes) and to act towards overall sustainability (including renewable energy) in the man- Another paragraph was also introduced concerning “sustain- agement vision of the site. able use”: “119. World Heritage properties may support a vari- ety of ongoing and proposed uses that are ecologically and cul- A few examples illustrate the sustainability approach and exist- turally sustainable. The State Party and partners must ensure ing and potential future challenges: that such sustainable use does not adversely impact the out- standing universal value, integrity and/or authenticity of the Hortobagy National Park (Hungary) is the illustration for the property. Furthermore, any uses should be ecologically and cul- Puszta, a landscape of unique pastoralism which evolved over turally sustainable. For some properties, human use would not centuries. It is a site where the original ecosystem was com- be appropriate.” pletely changed by human intervention and transformed into a 197 Fig. 2: Hortobágy National Park – the Puszta (Hungary) Fig. 3: Vegaøyan – The Vega Archipelago (Norway) Photo: © Till Westermayer Photo: DN Lars Løfaldli © DN Lars Løfaldli balanced and sound cultural landscape sustaining a living islands in the North Sea centred on Vega, just south of the tradition. One of the questions is how such systems can survive Arctic Circle. The islands are a testimony to a distinctive way of with global change. life based on fishing and harvesting the down of eider ducks in an inhospitable environment. There are fishing villages, quays, This is the case also for another landscape in Europe, Val warehouses, eider houses (built for eider ducks to nest in), farm- d'Orcia (Italy). The landscape is part of the agricultural hinter- ing landscapes, lighthouses and beacons. The Vega Archipel- land of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated ago reflects the way fishermen and farmers have, over the past in the territory of the city-state in the fourteenth and fifteenth 1,500 years, maintained a sustainable living and the contribu- centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and tion of women to eiderdown harvesting. to create an aesthetical picturesque landscape. The landscape's aesthetics inspired many artists, whose images have come to Management for sustainability of cultural landscapes exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural A major international conference was organized in 2003 focus- landscapes. This agrarian and pastoral landscape reflects an ing on sustainable management of World Heritage sites innovative land-management system. Such landscapes however (UNESCO, 2004).1 The experts at the conference made it clear may be under threat through new policies, such as European that best practice standards for management are needed for agricultural policies. any World Heritage site and specifically adapted management approaches for cultural landscapes and sacred sites. Legal A living system such as The Vega Archipelago (Norway) forms protection is not sufficient for the preservation of cultural land- a cultural landscape of more than 100,000 ha, most of it small scapes and their transmission to future generations, as their 1 Linking Universal and Local Values: Managing a Sustainable Future for World Heritage (Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 2003). 198 survival depends on a multiplication of factors linked to the St Kilda is not only of associative value for the people of the daily intervention of people with their environment. The people Outer Hebrides and of Scotland, it also triggers actions with eco- living in and actually managing their land have in-depth knowl- nomic impacts such as the establishment of a local museum, edge of the history of the place and processes over time, thus regional development through cruise ships and ecological being able to adapt to changes and future evolutions. Therefore tourism, and other evolutions in a truly remote area of Europe management of cultural landscapes is a broad concept which out of reach of individual tourists and visitors. requires the deep involvement of stakeholders, as well as adapt- ed operational measures of conservation crucial for enhancing The living associative values were recently demonstrated by the the integrity and the survival of a site's outstanding universal production of an opera on the story of the birdmen of St Kilda, value. which was a hit at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival and has been produced in several European languages. It gave rise to a new Integrated management of cultural landscapes not only requires concept: a virtual visitor centre, an idea to be shared with many a clear long-term vision for the site but also to ensure its social, remote heritage places and specifically for complex cultural economic and ecological sustainability. This is most important landscapes with many different layers, whose story could be for living cultural landscapes, but actually for all, whether of the demonstrated by such an educational and awareness-raising designed, living or associative category. tool. This may also be a new avenue for the future of many sites with difficult access but also for serial sites and potential future An interesting case is relic landscapes such as St Kilda (United large-scale nominations. Such linkages through technological Kingdom), which has had practical no permanent community tools (Google Earth, on-line stakeholder exchanges, etc.) may since August 1929 living at the site, but requires management also create new economic opportunities while reducing carbon of both natural and cultural landscape values. At the same time footprint and enhancing environmental sustainability. even a relict site with no local people has stakeholders involved: Through management planning, those responsible for a World Heritage property have to show strategic and practical aspira- tions that they are aiming at maintaining the outstanding univer- sal value, integrity and authenticity of a site. The management of a cultural landscape should ensure that its presentation, use and interpretation is consistent with the conser- vation of World Heritage values, that is the specific and unique interaction between people and the environment and its tangible expressions and attributes. The management of a World Heritage cultural landscape should specifically ensure appro- priate community involvement, including indigenous people, local communities and other stakeholders, starting from the identification throughout the nomination, inscription and Fig. 4: St Kilda (United Kingdom) Photo: Armelle de Crepy © UNESCO management processes. This is further outlined in our recent 199 handbook for conservation and management of cultural to achieved through cooperation, ‘Increased awareness and landscapes (UNESCO, 2009). Management should be based appreciation by communities and people around the world of on cooperative approaches, including stakeholder involvement the diversity and richness of our shared natural and cultural her- in management; often in cultural landscapes the stewards, own- itage’, local and international communities value and feel a con- ers and managers are local people and communities. nection with our unique world heritage and a greater apprecia- tion of their national, regional and local heritage as an integral Another crucial point is that management should respect the tra- and positive contributor to their sustainable development” ditional and customary law; in this respect since 1992 tradition- (Annex 1 of Decision 33 COM 14 A.2; contained in the Deci- al management, if well documented, is allowed under the Oper- sions of the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee).2 ational Guidelines for cultural properties, a change integrated with the inclusion of the cultural landscape categories and since Often sustainable development is reduced to tourism develop- 1998 for natural properties. ment exclusively. However it has to be seen in a much broader picture for cultural landscapes specifically: they not only pro- The management of World Heritage cultural landscapes should vide a basis for sustainable land-use, living grounds for people, be flexible and adaptable and measured in cultural, social and plant and animal species, but also in situ conservation of the environmental terms; this also means linkages of World Heritage agro-diversity of the world, important for the survival of tomor- cultural landscapes in the broader ecological region. Context row's generations. Even tourism development has to be seen as should be taken into account, particularly to ensure sustain- multifaceted and increasingly complex: it is linked to enhancing ability. Finally, the management of World Heritage cultural land- local rural and urban development, supporting local communi- scapes should be based on the best available knowledge and ties and indigenous people and developing incomes through skills, which may require interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity diverse services. At the same time the mainstreaming of cultur- and multidisciplinarity. al, social and environmental sustainability is happening at a global level, not least through the Copenhagen Summit on Towards a new vision of sustainability Climate Change. and World Heritage Following the Future of the World Heritage workshop held at Conclusion: World Heritage and UNESCO in February 2009, a draft vision for the future was pre- intergenerational equity pared, which was discussed by the World Heritage Committee: Working towards the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention in 2012 and taking into account the priorities set by “The rich diversity and value of our shared cultural and natural the World Heritage Committee; sustainable development is inheritance is appreciated and protected by all humankind, and emerging strongly on the agenda. 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These generations have the right to the heritage of the Nature/Earthscan. past for their natural resources, identity and cultural diversity. Phillips, A. 2002. Management Guidelines for IUCN Category V Protected Areas Protected Landscapes/Seascapes. Gland, Switzerland/Cambridge, UK, International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 9.) http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/pubs/guidelines.htm 201 Rossler, M. 2005. Weltkulturerbe und Globalisierung. Vom UNGA. 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environ- Weltwunder zum “Erbe der Menschheit”. In: I. Schroeder, and ment and Development. 96th plenary meeting, 11 December. S. Hoehler (eds), Welt Räume Geschichte, Geographie und New York, United Nations General Assembly. Globalisierung seit 1900. Frankfurt/New York, Campus, A/RES/42/187. pp. 235 – 57. http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm ____. 2007. Le patrimoine mondial et la mondialisation. (Table WCED. 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environ- ronde – A la découverte du patrimoine de l'humanité). In: 60 ment and Development: Our Common Future. New York, ans d'histoire de l'UNESCO. Actes du colloque international, United Nations. Paris 16 – 18 novembre 2005. Paris, UNESCO pp. 327 – 32. http://www.unesco.org/archives/Archives/files/actes_FINAL_ web.pdf The George Wright Forum. 2000. The journal of the George Wright Society. Special issue: Landscape stewardship. New directions in conservation of nature and culture. Vol. 17, No. 1. Titchen, S. 1995. On the construction of outstanding universal value: UNESCO's World Heritage Convention (Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972). PhD dissertation, Australian National Univer- sity, Canberra. ____. 1996. Including cultural landscapes on the World Heritage List. World Heritage Review, No. 2, pp. 34 – 39. UNESCO. 2004. Linking Universal and Local Values: Managing a Sustainable Future for World Heritage. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (World Heritage Papers No. 13.) http://whc.unesco.org/en/series/13/ ____. 2009. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes. A Handbook for Conservation and Management. Edited by N. Mitchell, M. Rossler and P.-M.Tricaut. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (World Heritage Papers No. 26.) http://whc.unesco.org/en/series/26/ 202 Michael Turner Newton space as absolute Leibniz space as a collec- The Perception of Urban Space as tion of objects and their relationships Landscape: From Site to Space and Scape Kant space and time as part of a system Introduction which humans use In the context of the World Heritage Convention we have moved to structure their experience from the point in time to the line of time; from built icons to urban themes; from building to context; from place to space. These Fig.1: Philosophers' concepts of space and time transformations represent the new challenge for urbanism where growth and change need to be understood and managed. eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant described space and time as elements of a systematic framework which humans use to struc- Time, space and place ture their experiences (Figure 1). Space is that boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direc- The urban landscape can be viewed both as a series of struc- tion. It is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although tures and edifices more or less organized by human action and with time, it is to be part of the four-dimensional continuum as a panorama of social and cultural histories framing our pres- known as space-time. The concept of space is considered to be ent and inscribing our past. Seen in this way, “… the conurba- of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical tion becomes one huge archaeological site as the city reveals its universe although disagreement continues between the philoso- inner self through a continuous process of urban renewal and phers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between revitalisation in which the very innards of the landscape are entities, or part of a conceptual framework. exposed and delayered like a vast anatomical dissection” (McCormick, 1998). It is this very disagreement which is inherent in the historic urban landscape, where history represents “time” and landscape rep- The urban landscape resents the “space” of the city – the place. The urban landscape comprises the sum total of the unbuilt land within and around our towns and cities. Indeed urban buildings Many of the philosophical questions arose in the seventeenth and structures themselves can also be thought of as part of the century, during the early development of classical mechanics. In urban landscape, in that their form and distribution defines the Isaac Newton's view, space was absolute – in the sense that it matrix of public and private open spaces of the urban land- existed permanently and independently of whether there was scape, as well as providing its backdrop. The urban landscape any matter in the space. Others such as Gottfried Leibniz consid- is the sum of all these parts, but it also needs to be understood ered that space was a collection of relations between objects, as a whole which is greater than their sum.1 given by their distance and direction from one another. In the 1 The European Urban Landscape Partnership seeks to further a holistic and integrated understanding of this landscape. 203 Jeremy Whitehand (1993) expanding on the German morpho- cate mechanically a specific and pointless task in utter isolation genetic traditions of M.R.G. Conzen, sees that urban landscapes from the swarming multitudes on all sides. Once again the invisi- are an important part of our daily lives. Buildings, streets, gar- ble city viewed in parts through the rooms of place. dens and parks are a fundamental means by which we orientate ourselves within cities, and contribute significantly to our daily Academic research levels of efficiency and well-being. Central to the goals of the European Urban Landscape Partner- ship2 are the aims of the European Landscape Convention: “to Yet despite the controversy surrounding a few special places, the peo- promote landscape protection, management and planning and ple and forces responsible for shaping ordinary town and city land- to organise European cooperation on landscape issues”. The scapes have rarely been systematically investigated and are poorly Convention not only raises the landscape to a matter of Euro- understood. By viewing urban landscapes in relation to the individu- pean cultural and environmental policy, but for the first time als and organizations responsible for their creation, Whitehand pro- places urban and peri-urban landscapes on an equal footing vides a crucial missing dimension to urban landscape history and a with natural and rural landscapes. sharp insight into the dynamics of contemporary urban change. The integrated approach opens the door to concepts developed Although the urban landscape is where the vast majority of peo- within the framework of UNESCO urban biospheres as urban ple live and work, it appears to be strangely invisible to many ecosystems are the cities, towns and urban strips constructed by people, in particular to many urban policy-makers. Despite calls humans. This is the growth in the urban population and the sup- for an integrated approach, the only oblique reference to the porting built infrastructure has impacted on both urban environ- subject was in relation to biodiversity, which is hardly the main ments and also on areas that surround urban areas. justification for the importance of the urban landscape although we humans are an integral part of this biodiversity. The debate Urban ecosystem research is currently focused on: on the UNESCO “historic urban landscape approach” recom- mendation, to which Whitehand was party, is long overdue. • understanding how cities work as ecological systems; • developing sustainable approaches to development of city One of the main reasons for the invisible nature of the urban land- fringe areas that reduce negative impact on surrounding scape is that we are not used to perceiving it in its totality. We environments; need aerial photographs to understand the layout of Haussmann's • developing approaches to urban design that provide for Paris, and fish-eye lens images of the wrap-around views of health and opportunity for citizens. Pushkin's Saint Petersburg. We walk in the street carrying the men- tal image of the city. Walker (1998) notes that in the cityscapes In addition to this body of knowledge, we bring to the table of George Grosz and Otto Dix, the geography of the city resem- three university laboratories that observe the city, TUDelft (the bles the infernal regions of Hieronymous Bosch, where each indi- Netherlands), Columbia (New York), and Bartlett School of vidual is consigned to a particular torment and compelled to repli- Architecture (University College London). 2 http://www.urban-landscape.net/contst_public/urban_landscape.php 204 Urban landscapes at TUDelft3 investigate the evolving urban a theory of space and a set of analytical, quantitative and landscape and its typologies, landscape architectural-based descriptive tools for analysing the layout of space in buildings urban development in the Netherlands and abroad, and the and cities. The theoretical work in the Space Syntax Laboratory design of urban spaces, urban fabrics and urban regions within is taught in the Graduate School and also takes advantage of a the framework of the architecture of landscape. The social, close working relationship with Space Syntax Limited, a UCL economic and technological development of society demands a spin-off consulting company. The company has also contributed fundamental reassessment of the design and the planning of our important results on crime and spatial design with new research landscapes. At the same time, landscape plays an increasingly presented at International Space Syntax conferences. important role in understanding and conceptualizing public spaces in compact urban environments. In this approach land- But these islands of research provide us with nuts and bolts, and scape is seen as that which lies underneath, the site or substra- are not part of the experience of the historic urban landscape. tum which is the point of departure for all urban design and The experience is understood through the subject and the object planning. The Urban Landscape Lab4 is an interdisciplinary or the observer and participant. applied research group at Columbia University in the City of New York. Here the focus is on the role of design in the analy- The theatre of space sis and transformation of the joint built/natural environment, and My eldest granddaughter has completed her baccalaureate in study of ecological processes and urban systems as hybrid phe- theatre, studying and acting the plays of Brecht. The excitement nomena through targeted pilot projects, practical strategies and of returning with her to Brecht and rereading his poems of the experiments. This landscape/ecology-based approach to urban- impact of the cities in Germany between the years 1925 and ism brings together a wide range of disciplines to focus on spe- 1928 (Brecht, 1976) has added a dimension for the reflection cific environment and development issues as they relate to built on the historic urban landscape. The subject of expressionism is form. The teaching and research interests share common objec- discussed by Walker (1998) and emanates its strongest contours tives: to effect positive change in the urban landscape in terms when cast against the background of the modern urban land- of biodiversity, climate change, water quality and access, waste scape. In the midst of the most developed concentration of the and sanitation. The focus is on the physical design of infrastruc- forces of technological achievement and civilized social tures, landscapes and dense urban fabrics as change agents in organization, the isolated and alienated character of the a collaborative, interdisciplinary working model that involves modern subject comes most prominently to the surface. feedback, exchange and monitoring efforts with scientists and engineers. In the Jungle of Cities, Brecht's arrangements of scenes recall the stationendrama model of expressionist theatre. Certain scenes The Space Syntax laboratory at the UCL's Bartlett School of are arranged as a series of vignettes from isolated stage areas Architecture brings together disciplines to reintegrate the city where self-sufficient minidramas are enacted. Scene 5 alternates into its urban fabric by a configurational approach in under- between the separate dramas played out in a dirty bedroom, a standing the structure and functioning of cities. Space syntax is hallway and a gin mill type saloon. This use of the stage is a 3 Delft University of Technology: http://www.tudelft.nl/ 4 Janette Kim, Director; Katherine Orff, Founder and Director, Columbia University. 205 paradigm of the city where the destruction of the family from the and future helping in the conceptualization of the city as a prod- prairie lands takes place in the great city jungle. uct of the literary imagination. Nevertheless, he adds the caveat that textualizing the city creates its own reality, but cannot sub- Extending this idea, Silvija Jestrovic (2005)5 introduces the notion stitute for the physical city. “Literary texts and cultural paradigms of spatial inter-performativity to discuss theatre's relationship to help us to focus and to arrest the flux of time.” actual political and cultural spaces. She examines how theatrical and political spaces refer to and transform one another. Street culture The space and place of the city as perceived from the street in But for the literary base, it is Richard Lehan (1998) that has pro- each generation and the art of walking has generated a cultur- vided the most extensive encounter with the Western idea of the ally indigenous terminology. This has been translated through city moving from the early novel in England to the apocalyptic semiotics into the fields of architecture and design, theatre and cityscapes of Thomas Pynchon. Along the way, he gathers a rich choreography. While the walk and talk in the Greek polis of entourage that includes Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Emile Socrates continues in the academic quad, it is the street culture Zola, Rider Haggard, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, F. that bonds the spaces together as a landscape. The cultural lan- Scott Fitzgerald and Raymond Chandler. The European city is guage of the city has given us the experiences of the Italian read against the decline of feudalism and the rise of empire and liston(e), the German spazieren, the French flâneur and the totalitarianism; the American city against the phenomenon of the Israeli Dizengoff (Figures 2 to 5). It was only the English that wilderness, the frontier, and the rise of the megalopolis and the strolled aimlessly, loitered, sauntered and developed the decentred, discontinuous city that followed. constitutional. • walk and talk • liston(e) • spazieren • flâneur • Dizengoff • stroll, loiter, saunter • constitutional Fig. 3: Interior of the Galeries Lafayette, redefining the public sphere in Haussmann's Paris Fig. 4: Venice – Piazza San Marco and the Colonnade Fig. 2: The experiences of space of the Procuratie Nuove, c. 1756, a painting by Canaletto Lehan charts a narrative continuum full of constructs that “repre- (www.canalettogallery.org) sent” a cycle of hope and despair, moving from myth to mastery and mystery. He summarizes the urban paradigms of the past 5 Silvija Jestrovic was an SSHRC postdoctoral fellow at York University in Toronto, and has recently taken up an appointment in the School of Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick (UK). She is currently working on a book-length project entitled Avant-Garde and the City. 206  remarkable event – but Erfahrung – which would be more like an ethos or way of being). Lauster (2007) observes that “Hessel's Spazieren in Berlin con- tains motifs that are central to Benjamin's idea of the flâneur. These include, on the one hand, delight in immersing oneself in the crowd, the object of observation, and on the other hand, being viewed with suspicion since the keen ‘reading’ of urban physiognomies shows an affinity with the business of criminals and detectives. The first-person observer of Hessel's Berlin sketches should be closely related to the third-person flâneur depicted in Benjamin's later work”. Fig. 5: Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv (photo: author’s archive) Flâneur But it is the flâneur that has captured the imagination of the Eighteenth-century depictions of life in Venice clearly focus on urban designer. The texts at the end of the Victorian decadence the diverse activity of the street. Every day at the Listone in and the flamboyance of the writers in the wake of urban change Piazza San Marco, Venetians gathered for their evening stroll: in the twentieth century are now being incorporated as a social commitment. The term flâneur comes from the French masculine “Each evening there was the liston, or promenade, in the piaz- noun flâneur – which has the basic meanings of “stroller”, za, crowded with masqueraders, whose gaiety and wit diverted “lounger”, “saunterer”, “loafer” – which itself comes from the the ladies and gentlemen seated under the porticoes of the French verb flâner, which means “to stroll”.6 Charles Baudelaire Procuratie, while at the further end, by the sockets of the three developed a derived meaning of flâneur – that of “a person who standards and in the darker corners, was the rendezvous of har- walks the city in order to experience it”. Because of the term's lots, pimps, and pathics” (Pompeo Molmenti, 1761). usage and theorization by Baudelaire and numerous thinkers in economic, cultural, literary and historical fields, the idea of the Walter Benjamin in his review of Franz Hessel's Spazieren in flâneur has accumulated significant meaning as a referent for Berlin (1929, On Foot in Berlin), makes the distinction between understanding urban phenomena and modernity. In French studying (studieren) and learning (lernen). “A whole world sep- Canada, flâner is rarely used to describe strolling and often has arates these words. Anyone can study, but learning is something a negative connotation as the term's most common usage refers that you can only do if you are there for the duration.” To study to loitering, an English influence. While there is no English equiv- a city is to take it as an object to be analysed and otherwise alent for the French word flâneur, just as there is no Anglo-Saxon accounted for. To learn, on the contrary, would be to become counterpart of that essentially Gallic individual, the deliberately transformed by experience (not Erlebnis – the experience of a aimless pedestrian, unencumbered by any obligation or sense of 6 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 207 urgency, who, being French and therefore frugal, wastes noth- collective way of life of the past are never simply past, dead, or ing, including his time which he spends with the leisurely discrim- lost to progressive demolitions and architectural plans of urban ination of a gourmet, savouring the multiple flavours of his city administration” (Lewandowksi, 2005). (Skinner, 1962). The English could, at the most, consider their “constitutional” which might include taking the dog for a walk. His analysis of urban experience is based on what he calls the method of historical materialism linking to the definitions of Benjamin's two motifs that of cultural memory and that of the correspondence of Baudelaire. He coins this the “data of remem- flâneur are critical for the interpretation of urban space as land- berance” with the murmur of the past being heard. Benjamin scape. In their underdeveloped state these motifs remain provoca- acknowledges a historical privilege to particular works, for their tive, if perhaps somewhat idealistic. Hessel learns his city, Berlin, ability to register the shocks or anxieties of their time or place by walking its streets, spazieren, and remaining open to the city's and “the techniques based on the use of the camera … random stimulations, the serendipity and the involuntary associa- extending the range of the mémoire volontaire”. tions. The resident's memory, which conjures the senses of change and transformation as well as the relative permanence and imper- Photography manence of people and places, can determine which remain, Benjamin (1999a, p. 182), quoting Baudelaire, remarks that while others are often surprisingly lost to some principle of renew- “photography should be free to stake out a claim for ephemeral al or decay. And it is this alternative temporality of cultural mem- things, those that have a right to a place in the archives of our ory, Benjamin suggests, that informs the dweller's understanding memory”. The comparison with the discipline of photography is of his dwelling environment. In this way, the landscape becomes helpful as the image is perceived within the realms of street pho- the evidence of the past, both tangible and intangible. tography and urban landscape photography. For Benjamin it is more than a medium, it becomes the essence of understanding His essay written in 1939 On Some Motifs in Baudelaire in the dialectic city. Peter Marshall defines urban landscape Illuminations (1999a), harnesses a range of key texts and argu- photography as ments concerning memory, historicity, modernity and urbanism, and creates what is now one of the single most influential studies • in some way describing a town or city; of the modern city providing the polemics for the urban landscape. • representing an attempt to understand our experience of the city; A sociological reading of Walter Benjamin's “Arcades Project” • showing a dedication to the subject, expressed through a or Passagen-werk is provided by Joseph D. Lewandowski. body of work rather than isolated images; Specifically, the essay demonstrates how Benjamin's city can • concentrating on structures or processes rather than on people. both be an administratively constructed objective site with a reflexively structured subjective space responding to the street Together with Mike Seaborne, both London-based photogra- life. The distinctive street culture that characterizes this account phers who work in the urban landscape, they have developed a as the “dialectic of urbanism”, recalls that “the city ruins of the website7 called Urban Landscapes that is dedicated to the 7 http://www.urbanlandscape.org.uk/ 208 exploration of urban landscape photography. “Street photo- Benjamin argues for the great consequences that the camera graphy” looks mainly at urban experience largely through a and the photograph have had on both memory and culture. In study of the people who live it. Urban landscape photographs a startling analogy, rich with the metonymic vocabulary of pho- often include people, but they are clearly situated and existing tography, Bergson's work becomes in Benjamin's description in the structures of the town or city. the snapshot of his age: “In shutting out this experience the eye perceives an experience of a complementary nature in the form The challenge for urban landscape photography is not only to of its spontaneous after image, as it were. Bergson's philosophy record the physical manifestations of this relentless process, but represents an attempt to give the details of this afterimage and also to make visible the underlying social and cultural forces to fix it as a permanent record” (Benjamin, 1999a, p. 154). which ultimately determine their form and meaning. Just as the photograph provides a permanent record of a tran- The enduring power of photography lies in the acceptance of sient moment, the philosophy of the time fixes on a contingent its images as credible documentary records with enduring image of memory and renders it essential. Experience has, archival validity. The apparent transparency of the photo- then, perhaps become blind to the conditions out of which it graphic image promotes the idea of comparing photographs arises. Benjamin (1999c, p. 265) observes in his review of of the same subject taken at different times. Through photogra- Hessel that “Baudelaire is the source of the cruel aperçu that phy, therefore, the urban landscape as it appears today may the city changes faster than a human heart”. be compared directly with what it looked like in the past, so providing a new context in which both historical and contem- Benjamin's method is simultaneously historical and aesthetic porary images may be viewed and interpreted. Our under- but the notions of history and aesthetics are transformed in the standing of history can be divided into two periods: the time process. Parker (2004) poses the question that underlies Ben- before photography and the period following its invention jamin's text as follows: how and to what extent is urban expe- (Seaborne, 2003). rience determined by historical conditions? The main answer that his readings provide would be that, under the conditions This comparison is ideally applied to the architecture of the city. of modern urbanism, the ways in which history determines experience do not become matters of conscious awareness. “It is not that what is past casts its light on what is present, or Indeed the dialectical image provides a dynamic relationship what is present its light on what is past; rather, image is that between the site, space and scape encompassing the historic wherein what has been, comes together in a flash with the now urban landscape and provides the seal of authenticity. The to form a constellation. In other words, image is dialectics at a requisite base for assessing all aspects of authenticity is the standstill. For while the relation of the present to the past is a ability to understand all sources of information, in relation to purely temporal, continuous one, the relation of what-has-been original and subsequent characteristics of the cultural heritage to the now is dialectical: is not progression but image, sudden- and their meaning.8 ly emergent” (Benjamin, 1999b, p. 462). 8 Para. 80 of the Operational Guidelines for the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972. 209 Experiences of space The urban landscape Contexts – urban life The flâneur has also become meaningful in architecture and While Baudelaire characterized the flâneur as a “gentleman urban planning describing those who are indirectly and uninten- stroller of city streets”, he saw the flâneur as having a key role tionally affected by a particular design they experience only in in understanding, participating in and portraying the city. A passing. Walter Benjamin adopted the concept of the urban flâneur thus played a double role in city life and in theory, that observer both as an analytical tool and as a lifestyle. From his is, while remaining a detached observer. This stance, simultan- Marxist standpoint, Benjamin describes the flâneur as a product eously part of and apart from, combines sociological, anthropo- of modern life and the Industrial Revolution without precedent, a logical, literary and historical notions of the relationship parallel to the advent of the tourist. His flâneur is an uninvolved between the individual and the greater populace. Social and but highly perceptive bourgeois dilettante. Benjamin became his economic changes brought by industrialization demanded that own prime example, making social and aesthetic observations the artist immerse himself in the metropolis and become, in during long walks through Paris. Even the title of his unfinished Baudelaire's phrase, “a botanist of the sidewalk”. Arcades Project comes from his affection for covered shopping streets. Because he used the word to refer to Parisians, the flâneur (the one who strolls) and flânerie (the act of strolling) are associated Lauster (2007) challenges the substance of what is accepted as with Paris. However, the critical stance of flânerie is now applied a critical key to nineteenth-century urban experience by implying more generally to any pedestrian environment that accommo- that Benjamin's concept is based on incorrect readings of dates leisurely exploration of city streets – in particular commer- Baudelaire and Poe, and is conceived in opposition to earlier, cial avenues where inhabitants of different classes mix. journalistic depictions in which the flâneur features as an empir- ically observed and observing stroller within a whole spectrum The observer-participant dialectic is evidenced while such acts of metropolitan types. exemplify a flâneur's active participation in and fascination with street life while displaying a critical attitude towards the unifor- In the context of the historic urban landscape, designing for mity, speed and anonymity of modern life in the city. flâneurs is one way to approach issues of the psychological aspects of the built environment. Architect Jon Jerde, for exam- The notion of the flâneur is important in academic discussions of ple, designed his Horton Plaza and Universal CityWalk projects the phenomenon of modernity. While Baudelaire's aesthetic and around the idea of providing surprises, distractions and critical visions helped to open up the modern city as a space for sequences of events for pedestrians. investigation, theorists, such as Georg Simmel, began to codify the urban experience in more sociological and psychological terms. Mike Savage (2000) considers how Benjamin examined the rela- In his 1903 essay The Metropolis and Mental Life (Frisby and tionship between history, experience, memory and the built envi- Featherstone, 1998). Simmel theorizes that the complexities of the ronment. This integrative approach which is critical in attempting modern city create new social bonds and new attitudes towards to resolve the conflicts of conservation and development opens up others. The modern city was transforming humans, giving them a the understanding that memories are lodged in specific places new relationship to time and space, inculcating in them a “blasé where people have been placing the past and present in a dialec- attitude”, and altering fundamental notions of freedom and being. tic relationship. He argues that Benjamin's concept of “aura” can 210 be used to place his interest in cities and urbanism in context. walker in these material and urban places became the model for “Cultural treasures”, as the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, his philosophy of the future and his understanding of experience. being contemplated with “horror”, left in an urban context lose Benjamin understood that the flâneur is the paradigm for the their meaning to the passers-by. Savage summarizes that the new interpretation that he hoped to accomplish in his work, a processes of perception themselves are historically specific and reading of material images in all their multiple forms. He with the mechanically reproduced cities, the aura which Ben- described this “reading” as a “profane illumination” which for jamin detected in the urban realm has disappeared. He con- Benjamin had two central dynamics – fantasy and imagination. cludes that “the contemporary flâneur might still speculate that the consumer-centred postmodern city is based on unstable founda- Our urban landscape needs the fantasy and imagination to tran- tions”. This no doubt is the challenge for the design of cities. scend the understanding of place and enrich the depth of focus that the dialectic memory recalls in the space of the city. It As a postscript, it should be noted that Benjamin's work seems to requires an innovative integrative approach of mutual respect have had little impact on the study of religion, despite his impor- between peoples, their generations and their environment; a tance as a central figure in much of what is called cultural analy- Kantian redefinition where new life-styles and experiences inter- sis today. Perhaps this is a result of the perception of Benjamin as act with their land and timescape. a Marxist. Over the past few years a seminar on Fantasy, Imagi- nation, and Walter Benjamin's “Profane Illumination” given by Richard D. Hecht, professor at UC Berkeley has taken up a num- ber of twentieth-century Jewish thinkers whose work has been of great significance for the study of religion and cultural analysis. The correspondence between Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem (1992) is evidence to the dichotomy in their friendship. For Scholem, Benjamin was a figure driven by religious impulses. References He notes that while one can argue that Scholem's effort to locate Benjamin in the religious sphere was an extension of the debate Benjamin, W. 1999a. Illuminations – edited and with an they had since their first meeting in 1915 about the nature of Introduction by Hannah Arendt, translated by Harry Zorn. On Judaism, it underscores that religion was a significant category in Some Motifs in Baudelaire. London, Pimlico, pp. 152 –196. his thought. Hannah Arendt in her introduction (Benjamin, 1999a) records that Benjamin gave up his theological back- ____. 1999b. The Arcades Project. Trans. H. Eiland and K. ground but not the theory and not the method of drilling to obtain McLaughlin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press. the essential in the form of quotations. This is perhaps obscured by a backward reading of contributions as “Art in an Age of ____. 1999c. Selected Writings II 1927–1934. Trans. Mechanical Reproduction” (Benjamin, 1999a, pp. 211– 35). R. Livingstone et al. Edited by M. W. Jennings, H. Eiland and G. Smith. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press. Assuming the work of Walter Benjamin, we reflect on his inter- pretations of matter, memory, and the transformations of urban Brecht, B. 1976. Poems 1913 –1956. Edited by J. Willett and space. The flâneur, representing the diachronic cosmopolitan R. Manheim. London, Methuen. 211 Frisby, D. and Featherstone, M. 1998. Simmel on Culture – Savage, M. 2000. Walter Benjamin's urban thought: a critical Selected Writings – The Metropolis and Mental Life (1903). analysis. In: M. Crang and N. Thrift (eds), Thinking Space. London, Sage Publications, pp. 174 – 86. London, Routledge, pp. 33 – 53. Hanssen, B. (ed.). 2006. Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Scholem, G. (ed.). 1992. The Correspondence of Walter Project. London, Continuum International Publishing Group. Benjamin and Gershom Scholem, 1932 –1940. Trans. (Walter Benjamin Studies.) G. Smith and A. Lefevere. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press. Hessel, F. 1929. Spazieren in Berlin. Skinner, C. O. 1962. Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals. Jestrovic, S. 2005. The Theatrical Memory of Space: from New York, Houghton Mifflin. Brecht and Piscator to Belgrade. New Theatre Quarterly, Vol. XXI, No. 4, pp. 358 – 67. Walker, J. 1998. City jungles and expressionist reifications from Brecht to Hammett, Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 44, Lauster, M. 2007. Walter Benjamin's myth of the flâneur. The No. 1, pp. 119 – 34. Modern Language Review, Vol. 102, No. 1, pp. 139 – 56. Whitehand, J. W. R. 1993. The Making of the Urban Lehan, R. D. 1998. The City in Literature: an Intellectual and Landscape. Oxford, UK, Wiley-Blackwell. Cultural History. Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press. Lewandowski, J. D. 2005. Street culture: the dialectic of urbanism in Walter Benjamin's Passagen-werk. Philosophy & Social Criticism, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 293 – 308. McCormick, R. 1998. Archaeologies: Tracing History in the Urban Landscape. Molmenti, P. 1761. Venice; its Individual Growth from the Earliest Beginnings to the Fall of the Republic. 2008 reprint Buck Press. Parker, S. 2004. Urban Theory and the Urban Experience: Encountering the City. London/New York, Routledge. 212 Steven Yieke Ojoo tangible heritage. It is therefore a priority to find realistic solu- tions to reconcile the protection of cultural heritage diversity Indigenous Interpretation of the and the pace of development, while also acknowledging cultur- Luo Cultural Landscapes al change. Several cultural landscapes are fast degrading with- out viable monitoring strategies. Such sites are also increasing- Introduction ly exposed to human destruction necessitated by factors The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World including survival instincts in the currently demanding econom- Heritage Convention define cultural landscapes as clearly ic situation. A stable foundation is therefore necessary to offset defined geocultural regions representing the “combined works the imbalance. of nature and of man” (UNESCO, 2008b, para. 47). The guide- lines further explain that cultural landscapes embrace a diversi- Therefore, having lived for over twenty years within the Luo com- ty of manifestations of the interaction between humankind and munity, and interacting with local heritage bearers, the author the natural environment; and that certain categories of cultural interprets some aspects of the Luo cultural landscapes, and landscape may be valued because of the religious, artistic or cul- assesses how globalization impacts on the community, recom- tural associations of the natural element. With this background mending practical strategies to help to safeguard the com- as precedent, the discussion on indigenous interpretations of the munity's heritage. Luo cultural landscapes is relevant in highlighting the threatened tangible and intangible heritage of a marginal community in A brief introduction to the Kenyan cultural scene Kenya. Anthropological research shows that Kenya has a diverse popu- lation that owes its origin to other parts of Africa. The major The Luo Nilotic community is the third largest ethnic group in ethnic divisions are Bantus, Nilotes and Cushites. The Bantus Kenya. An insight into their cultural landscapes through chang- owe their ties to central Africa and were/are mainly agricultur- ing visual history over the past century aims at unraveling the alists. The two major Bantu speakers in Kenya are the Kikuyu challenges faced by the cultural group in the globalizing world. and the Luhya, forming 20.78 per cent and 14.38 per cent The group, like most others, has an intimate expressive relation- respectively of a population of slightly over 39 million. They ship with their environment. Indigenous interpretations will mainly occupy the wetlands in Kenya's central and western include traditions and belief systems that govern their artistic, provinces (World Fact Book, 2010a). religious and ceremonial lifestyles and how they relate to nature. The discussion focuses on their cultural landscapes and how the The Nilotes, on the other hand, have three sub-divisions (river- local community over the past decades has incorporated new lake, highland and plain Nilotes). The river-lake Nilotes include ways to cope up with the inevitable dynamics of globalization the Luo, forming 12.38 per cent of the total population. They and cultural change. were/are mainly fishermen. Highland Nilotes include the fourth largest community, the Kalenjin (11.46 per cent). The Maasai, As heritage managers, our duty to highlight and safeguard liv- who belong to the plain Nilotes, form just 1.76 per cent of the ing traditional cultures has been less than adequate. This is due total population. The highland and plain Nilotes are nomadic to various factors including the pace and demands of modern- pastoralists. The Nilotes occupy the lake region in the eastern ization and globalization that seriously threaten both living and part of the country, the Kenyan highlands and the savannah 213 plains. Other tribes, such as the Cushites, are mixed farmers information about, or the explanation of the nature, impor- and historically known to be hunters and traders. Most of the tance and purpose of historical, natural or cultural resources, other tribes form less than 2 per cent respectively (World Fact objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal Book, 2010a) methods. Kenya has a pronounced cultural heritage which broadly encom- Fowler (2003) defines interpretation as “communication of infor- passes the expressions and creativity of its forty-three ethnic mation about, or the explanation of, the nature, importance, and groups. The preoccupations of these groups are intertwined with purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites their traditional norms, values and practices (Mullis, 1963). For and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods”. Thus, example nomadic pastoralists such as the Maasai and Samburu cultural interpretation involves communication processes normally have makeshift temporary houses made of mud, tree designed to reveal meanings and relationships of cultural and branches and sometimes animal hides. Because of their lifestyle natural heritage to the public, through first-hand involvement most of their artefacts are light and portable, such as small with an object, artefact, landscape or site. wooden jars for carrying animal blood or milk. Their art also places a great deal of symbolism on functional and ritual According to Fowler (2003), cultural landscapes are “distinct objects. For example, the social status of a man is determined geographical areas that uniquely represent and embrace a by the number of livestock he owns and decorative beads are diversity of manifestations of the interaction between humankind used to emphasize this. and its natural environment”. Notably, 78 per cent of the Kenyan population still live in their The interpretation of Luo indigenous cultural landscapes is based native ancestral lands (World Fact Book, 2010a). Despite on the perspectives of traditional Luo practitioners. With moder- adjusting to the standards set by globalization and its effects, nity altering the lifestyles of most communities, it is remarkable there are still some aspects of intangible cultural heritage that that some parts of the Luo community still follow and practise have withstood the wave of cultural dynamism. The Luo commu- their traditions. The interpretations also take into consideration nity is such an example of a society faced with the struggle to some of the domains of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguard- adapt their intangible heritage to the modernizing world. ing of the Intangible Heritage including oral traditions and expressions, social practices, rituals and festive events and tra- Luo cultural landscapes ditional craftsmanship (UNESCO, 2003). The ICOMOS Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (2008) defines cultural interpretation as Evans-Pritchard traced back the history of the Luo, noting that “the full range of potential activities intended to heighten pub- originally this community and other Nilotes came from the River lic awareness and enhance understanding of cultural heritage Nile region of the Sudan, entering Kenya through the northern site. These can include print and electronic publications, pub- part of Uganda. The Acholi and Lango tribes of Uganda are lic lectures, on-site and directly related off-site installations, considered to be related to the Luo because they have similar educational programmes, community activities, and ongoing traditional practices and language (Evans-Pritchard, 1949). The research, training and evaluation of the interpretation process Luo community settled around Lake Victoria to practice their life- itself”. Therefore cultural interpretation is the communication of long tradition of fishing. They settled under forty different clans 214 who share a common ancestry, as indicated in Figure 1. The rituals before constructing the home. The rituals involved slaugh- clans have notably very slight dialectical differences but are tering animals and singing. Societal seers blessed the new able to communicate well (Evans-Pritchard, 1949). home. The man was then expected to move out of his father's home to his newly constructed one. As the protector of the home and as goodwill to starting a new life, he would be offered ani- mals, machetes, spears and shields by community well-wishers. This was because traditionally each individual belonged to a strong network within the kinship community. Therefore the com- munity often intervened in matters affecting its members, who were also expected to reciprocate whenever there was urgency. Interpretation (a) Identity and hierarchy. The Luo homestead had a particular oval-shaped design that was traditionally recommended for Fig. 1: Luo settlement map identification purposes. Most homesteads had similar housing (Evans-Pritchard, 1949), illustrating the structures and designs that were unique to the community and original distribution of the forty Luo clans around Lake Victoria. easily distinguished from neighbouring tribes. As shown in Fig- ure 2, the Luo was a patrilineal group with the man as the head Interpretations of Luo cultural landscapes of the home. His wives had a hierarchy in decision-making with The following section takes a tour-guide's interpretation the first wife often acting as team leader. This was manifested in approach to explain some aspects of the Luo traditional cultural the construction of the houses. The first wife's house was central landscapes from the mid to late twentieth century. The interpre- and had a clear view axis from the gate. tation also involves explaining the importance and purpose of the cultural resources of the indigenous Luo. The details include visuals taken from the author's photo archive and a collection made by early ethnographers who had intercultural contact with the Luo community in the early twentieth century. Housing and family values Explanation The Luo homestead (Dala) was traditionally constructed on a Fig. 2: Ideal Luo home – a typical traditional homestead of a Luo family. higher slope for early-warning purposes during conflicts, to The home was fortified by a tough euphorbia fence and thorns to keep off avoid flooding during the rainy seasons and for aesthetic rea- predators (Ojoo, 2009). sons. Before the construction, the potential head of the home (a man) looked for an ideal place, often on a fresh piece of ances- (b) Polygamy and wealth. The community was traditionally tral land. The land was cleared and the community performed polygamous. According to the Luo elder Walori Ogotha, 215 interviewed by the author in 2008, polygamy was directly homestead (see Figure 2) leaving enough land for crop produc- influenced by the wealth and the power of the man. Wealth and tion and animal grazing. power was recognized by the number of livestock (cows, goats and sheep) the man owned. With more livestock, the man was Fig. 4: Completed house before better placed to support more spouses and children. Ogotha finishing touches are made on the walls, which are continuously explains that the Luo traditionalist encouraged polygamy as a smeared with red mud and cow dung for protection from pests and way of instilling morality among women who were by ratio more aesthetic purposes. Originally the numerous than men. Most men died during the frequent tribal doors were made from woven reeds and tough animal hides, but conflicts and as a result polygamy was a check on continuity of currently iron sheets are used for security purposes (Ojoo, 2009). the family unit.1 (c) Architecture. As illustrated in Figure 3, the houses were semi- permanent. The Luo used simple construction materials that were easily available, and therefore the houses were easily repaired Fig. 5: After touches – cow dung and red mud decorations on the or reconstructed whenever they were destroyed. Oteyo and walls. Roof thatching is an art and a Morton (2008) affirm that traditionally the Luo houses were built good roof would be flawless and able to withstand rainy and windy by special craftsmen who transferred the knowledge to their sons conditions for over six years (Ojoo, 2009). orally and by example. The materials used included grass, sisal ropes, small stems, mud and cow-dung for finishing decorations. Ceremonies and recreation Explanation Oteyo and Morton (2008) highlighted Luo traditional cultural practices that revolved around ceremonies, the most important of which were marriages and funerals. Other ceremonies included childbirth, initiation, inauguration of leaders, winning wars, Fig. 3: Wall and roof of a grass-thatched Luo traditional house (Ojoo, 2009). good harvest season, etc. An ethnographer, Carline (1929) noted that elaborate funeral ceremonies involved young men The roof was thatched by systematically aligning the grass while driving cattle to the deceased person's home before the burial the wall was built by tying several stems to four corner-pillars and then afterwards symbolically driving death away (tero and using mud to reinforce and secure the structure (Figure 3). buru). Funerals are still a communal affair involving family, After drying, the house was decorated using cow dung (see Fig- extended family, relatives, friends and members of the immedi- ure 5). The house was structured to have favourable tempera- ate community. Carline documented in his photography how the tures both day and night. The houses were built within an oval Luo had strong attachments to the transcendental world. Witch 1 The late Walori Ogodha was one of the few remaining Luo elders who had a deep knowledge of oral tradition, practices and skills. Ogotha originally thatched roofs of traditional Luo houses. He transferred the skills to his sons and grandchildren who still practise the craft in Kapiyo village. 216 doctors and seers played a key role in acting as media between Defence and economy the living and the dead, especially during important ceremonies. Currently, due to hard economic times, funerals are smaller, Explanation involving only close relatives. In the early nineteenth century, the Luo were territorial and had standing armies that were mainly composed of young warriors Traditionally ceremonies involving the communities were conduct- (Ogot, 1967). The warriors were trained by the elders and ed in natural historic landmarks. Examples include Kit Mikayi (see protected their territories from intruders. They also occupied the Figure 11) which was considered a spiritual retreat. Historically territory of weaker neighbours and snatched away property and Kit Mikayi “is where the mother of Luo tribe sheltered herself after occasionally young women. Among the traditional Luo, every a long journey down the Nile” (Ogot, 1967). Another spiritual eligible male became a warrior at adolescence until he reached retreat is Simbi Nyaima (Figure 10), a lake believed to have the middle age group (35 to 40 years). The warriors used a drowned an evil community. The beliefs instilled a sense of shield for protection and a long spear for attacking the enemy. respect among the community. Currently, Simbi is unexploited by The shields were made from strong animal hides while the the society for fears of spirit reprisals. But its waters are used for spears were designed by local blacksmiths. Under the present cleansing rituals. During the traditional ceremonies, known artists Kenyan Government, the roles of the armies have ceased as all who were mainly musicians were invited to perform to the audi- communities fall under state jurisdiction. ence. The musical instruments included the lyre (nyatiti), a string instrument (orutu), a long drum (ohangla), and bells (ongen'go) As traditional fishermen, the Luo settled mainly along the shores (Oteyo and Morton, 2008). The musicians composed songs with of Lake Victoria and surrounding rivers, such as the Yala, Nzoia, various themes including songs of praise; rebuking songs – Nyando, Sondu, Ndati and other smaller streams. Both men and targeting antisocial members; love songs; educational songs for women participated in the fishing activities as noted by Ogot the young; informative songs to pass on oral traditions and cele- (1967). Men used rafts to access more fishing grounds, where- bration songs after a victorious raid by warriors, a good harvest, as women engaged in shore fishing and used basket-like fish marriages, etc. (Oteyo and Morton, 2008). traps (Figure 6). Interpretation The community was traditionally spiritual. Beliefs in spirits acted as checks to the moral values of its members. As a result, cere- monies were practical opportunities to appease the deities using rituals, at the same time sharing and transferring the informal education to members of the community. Participation in the cer- emonies established stronger bonds among members and hence strengthened the communal identity. Education was informal and oral and in some instances practical, especially in craftwork or Fig. 6: Four Luo women going fishing with basket traps (osech/osera kiteng'a). Osera refers to the fishing trap carried by the women. Kiteng'a refers to the performing arts. technique of trapping the fish with the basket in the water. Kiteng'a was a fishing method for women near the shores of the lake. Traditionally kiteng'a fishing was mainly done by married women. They are wearing glass neck beads (tikng'ut), wrist bracelets (minyonge), and glass waist beads (tik nungo) (Hobley, 1903). 217 Other economic activities included small-scale subsistence farm- (1969) puts it, “they were notoriously religious”. The community ing of millet, maize, sorghum, peanuts, potatoes and yams. The played a major role in socializing individuals. Cultural land- men cleared the land, harrowed and cultivated. Women on the scapes were also important in determining the communal lifestyle other hand weeded and harvested the crops. Distribution of and economy. The Luo interaction with their cultural landscapes roles was according to gender and age. The Luo were also semi- has therefore influenced the development of community values. nomadic pastoralists. Their livestock were mainly cows, goats and sheep. A man's wealth was determined by the number of Implications of globalization on indigenous livestock he had, the amount of food he produced and the num- Luo cultural landscapes ber of family members. The livestock was useful for trade purpos- Scenes such as those captured in Figures 6 and 7 no longer es, ceremonies, food or for payment of a dowry. Evans-Pritchard exist, mainly as a result of globalization, and internal or (1949) noted that some specialized community members would external cultural influences. Notably, there has been a decline trap wild game and birds either for barter trade or subsistence of interest among young people to participate in traditional (see Figure 7). values. The World Fact Book (2010a) indicates that 22 per cent of the total population lived in urban areas in 2009. The Interpretation statistics also project an annual rate of urbanization at 4 per Traditionally, before colonization, there was no central govern- cent with most of the youth migrating to urban areas to acquire ment in Kenya to offer security to the citizens. Therefore the Luo, formal education, employment and experience modern like many other ethnic groups, had small community armies com- challenges as opposed to living in difficult conditions in their posed of adult males. The armies protected its vulnerable mem- original cultural landscapes. From these statistics, indigenous bers and property including community land, animals and cultural landscapes are bound to experience a decline of the crops. Therefore the armies ensured general security and food younger generation resulting in discontinuity in cultural heritage security, which was important for the survival of group members. transfer. Oral information from traditional heritage bearers (the elders) is therefore lost. The Kenyan age structure also reveals pressure from the majori- ty of the younger generation who are in need of important socio-economic services. Of a population of 39,002,772, 42.3 per cent are in the 0 –14 age group and 55.1 per cent in the Fig. 7: A quail trap. Quails were considered delicacies. This method was used by 15 – 65 age group (World Fact Book, 2010a). The figures also specialists in the community who exchanged indicate that only 2.6 per cent of the population are over 65 quails for other commodities (photo: Evans-Pritchard, 1936). years of age. It can be deduced that an investment in the younger generation socially, politically and economically is a Summary necessity for any future planning. Consequently, government The Luo Community was very hierarchical with the spiritual world priorities are focused on the immediate economic agenda, at the top, followed by immediate ancestors, village elders, men, disregarding safeguarding of cultural landscapes. Figures 8 women and children respectively. Most artefacts had both func- and 9 show examples of cultural landscape destruction. tional and spiritual attachments (Mullis, 1963), and as Mbiti 218  local fishing communities are obliged to buy from large entrepreneurs, altering the traditional Luo fishing practices. With the adverse effects of poverty, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, illiteracy, poor infrastructure and ethnic conflicts, the country is still struggling to implement the International Monetary Fund sponsored Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Millennium Development Goals. More pressing and immediate issues need Fig. 8: Water hyacinth choking Lake Fig. 9: A dried-up stream bed. Drought to be addressed that directly affect and influence the lives of Victoria and destroying the ecosystem. brought about as a result of destruction Kenyans (United Nations, 2005). For example, the Kenya Dumping wastes into the lake nourishes of water catchments means starvation the hyacinth weed. Human activity has and death for families and animals that Economy-Overview (World Fact Book, 2010b) highlights the altered the cultural landscapes of the cannot access water (Ojoo, 2009). Luo fishing community. Fishing boats fact that the government had corruption scandals in 2005 and find it difficult to manoeuvre through 2006, forcing the World Bank and IMF to delay loans. The the hyacinth (Ojoo, 2009). country also suffered from 2007 post-election tribal clashes2 and Robinson and Picard (2006) explain that a remarkable increase experienced famine in the agricultural sector coupled with the in population has introduced new demands for goods and serv- global financial crisis of 2009. The GDP growth rate went down ices, altering traditional perspectives and enhancing people's from 7 per cent in 2008 to 2.2 per cent in 2009 (World survival instincts. Traditional cultural landscapes had relatively Fact Book, 2010b). Most communities that were affected includ- less population compared with the present. In 1960, for exam- ed the marginalized tribes whose production levels decreased ple, Kenya had a population of about 8 million. Currently the fig- and dependency rose. The above factors trigger survival modes ure is over 39 million (World Fact Book, 2010a). This implies among communities and safeguarding their heritage becomes a that more resources are needed to meet requirements. As a secondary concern. result, settlements have enlarged considerably. Along the shores of Lake Victoria coastal towns and townships have emerged The country's inadequate alternative sectoral revenues also forces including Kisumu, Homabay, Usenge, Asembo bay and Mbita. the Kenyan economy to rely on agriculture and tourism as major These towns have caused environmental degradation including sources of revenue, forming almost 75 per cent of annual revenue water and air pollution. The lake is currently choked by water (World Fact Book, 2010b). Despite the influx of visitors, little has hyacinth (Figure 8). been done to increase heritage awareness and management capacities of the locals. The demands of tourism have also altered High Beam Research (2005) notes that over the past few traditional perceptions and obliged tour operators to concentrate decades Lake Victoria has had human-related ecological more on the natural heritage (see Figures 10 and 11 next page) problems from mechanized over-fishing, leading to the extinction paying less attention to cultural tourism that would include the of some fish species, pollution from sewage and industrial communities and their cultural landscapes. Globalization has had wastes and chemicals used in modern farming. As a result, the the effect of decreasing the number of culturally informed people, 2 The Nation (23 February 2008). The daily news coverage depicted dominant tribes in Kenya trying to take control of the government after a disputed election in December 2007. The country became ungovernable and witnessed unprecedented ethnic cleansing. 219  each region. Therefore TGHI considers applicable steps and modules that would revitalize safeguarding cultural landscapes and the tourism sector to benefit both locals and visitors in Kenya. By involving indigenous communities, the unemployment rate that stands at 40 per cent (World Fact Book, 2010d) would be gradually reduced. A number of unemployed urban dwellers would also be motivated to move back to their cultural land- Fig. 10: Sections of a crater lake (Simbi Nyaima) in the Luo region, a natural scapes and engage in sustainable projects. The programme tar- heritage tourist attraction. Luo interpretation of the lake includes mythical stories gets the following stakeholders: UNESCO, Ministry of Culture surrounding it. The community therefore identifies with the lake and thus contributes to its protection from destruction (Ojoo, 2009). and Heritage, Ministry of Tourism, regional heritage personnel, expert trainers and trainees. The objectives, activities and con- Fig. 11: Kit Mikayi (“the stone of the ditions of the THGI programme are summarized in Table 1. first wife”), a natural heritage site that is becoming increasingly popular. The historic and traditional significance to the community is not well documented Table 1 illustrates a log frame of the THGI programme propos- and interpreted. Most interpretations al. Activities indicate that trainers and trainees are identified by have been orally transferred. Little literature has been documented about the Government of Kenya, the financing mandated organiza- such legendary landscapes (photo: tions and targeted communities. The trainers develop target Web. http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Kit-Mikayi.JPG). specific modules for each region, incorporating lectures on the historical and expressive values of the cultural landscapes, and as commercial activities take preference over safeguarding the interactive activities with existing heritage bearers. Training is indigenous heritage. People's perspectives are currently driven expected to produce informed interpreters with adequate by market forces and the desire for a better quality livelihood. capacities to explain and involve visitors to understand the underlying values of each targeted region or community and Suggested remedies therefore enhance the educational experience of visitors. The The following remedies are appropriate only if the civic trainers are encouraged to have in-depth reference materials community and government leaders are willing and able to and operational modules. The task would also instill technical participate in matters relating to management and safeguarding capacities to help in safeguarding the sites. Capacity-building of indigenous cultural landscapes. The author recommends is done by experts and mandated organizations including Training Heritage Guides and Interpreters (THGI) as a way of UNESCO who have teams that routinely implement heritage benefiting indigenous groups while ensuring continuity in cultur- tasks when contacted by Member States. THGI requires al landscapes and heritage interpretations. THGI involves identi- updated workshops for guides to establish confidence, net- fication, motivation, training, building capacities and evaluation works and plans of action. The trainees are informed of the role of local tour guides and interpreters. THGI is adapted from Train- media, brochures, websites and books can play in relaying ing the Trainers, a similar pilot programme that was implement- information and marketing. Trainers and heritage experts are ed in Asia by UNESCO Bangkok Office in 2008 (UNESCO's expected to monitor the activities of the trainees once the Cultural Heritage Specialist Guide Programme, 2008). The programme commences. Assessments, evaluation, feedback Asian programme noted that the thematic modules vary with and recap workshops are recommended. The last part of the 220 programme involves issuing certificates to ensure due credit diversity. Such trained guides would also be able to act as train- and instill commitment among the graduates. Certified guides ers for a new generation of guides. The THGI programme is rec- would also increase trust among the visitors. With adequate ommended for Kenya as a country that greatly relies on rev- support from local heritage offices, the interpreters can begin enues from tourism. Sustainability will be ensured by adequate their role and share information not only nationally but interna- training, monitoring and evaluation, motivation of the guides tionally, encouraging visibility and awareness of their cultural and involvement of government for logistic support. landscapes and heritage and hence contributing to the world's Intervention logic Objectively verifiable Sources and means of Assumptions and risks indicators of verification achievement/benchmarks Development Train heritage guides and interpreters for • Partnerships between UNESCO/heritage • Trainers reports. Assumption: objective(s) continuity in heritage transfer. mandated organizations, government • Government reports. • Kenya is politically stable for the heritage personnel and community • UNESCO evaluation at the end smooth running of the programme. representative of the project. Risk: • Training modules developed. • After training workshop • Political instability in the • Future course contents developed. assessments. represented regions could • Timeframe and schedules developed. interfere with the intake and reduce the number of participants. Immediate Equip trainees with capacities to • Course participants/trainees identified. • Progress reports from coordina- Assumptions: objectives or sustainably promote and safeguard their • After training assessments done and tors and monitoring team. • Youth willing to participate. respective landscapes while working as future strategies identified. • Monitoring of work by • Peace will prevail in selected project goals heritage guides and interpreters. • Evaluation and monitoring reports on UNESCO staff and/reports by areas covered by the project. training programmes. implementing agencies. • There will be cooperation by all • Information on heritage partners. websites, books and brochures. • Willingness by funding partners to • Issue of government certificates. extend the programme. Expected • Accredited heritage guides in different • Training sessions held. • Monitoring of the project by The results will be attainable with results parts of the country. • Records for future reference available at UNESCO staff and reports by excellent collaboration between the • Promotion and safeguarding of cultural heritage departments. implementing agencies. project partners. landscapes countrywide. • Programme reports by • Availability of experts for the • Increased employment among young government and funding proposed activities. people. partners (UNESCO). • A stable atmosphere in the region. • Continuity in heritage transfer. Activities Write project proposal for the training to Means: Costs: Preconditions: mandated organizations and UNESCO for • Expertise in the relevant fields addressed Depend on the budget available • The government is willing to financial and technical support. by the project. from the government at funding undertake the programme 1. Identification of trainers and trainees. • Equipment to facilitate smooth running of organizations. involving its communities. 2. Training. the project. • The programme will be welcomed 3. Monitoring and evaluation. • Availability of heritage professionals. by communities. 4. Certifying. • Input required to implement these activities is financing contract for training and capacity-building programmes. Table 1: Training Heritage Guides and Interpreters (THGI) illustrating project objectives, activities and expected results (Ojoo, 2009). 221 Viability of the THGI programme a dedicated website. Third, more investment should be made Africa still has serious and immediate socio-political and eco- especially on civic participation for management, protection, nomic policy and management issues to tackle. Most societies preservation and conservation of both tangible and intangible have relegated cultural concerns to secondary importance, cultural heritage and cultural landscapes. Well-trained heritage instead looking for faster means of economic benefit. Cultural stakeholders would be able to offer the world a better interpre- landscape planning, management and interpretation is therefore tation of cultural landscapes and values. Finally, the suggested a new professional field in Africa. As noted, the viability of most programmes are applicable to transparent and accountable development programmes depends on community participation governments which provide public goods and services for their and government support. Therefore, for the TGHI programme to citizens. be effective, government leaders especially in the cultural sectors have to be involved because they are directly responsible for cul- tural policies that influence different regions within the country. TGHI would be more viable if it were run alongside other nation- al economic and social programmes that aim to deliver public goods to the people. 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A narrative during a traditional house United Nations. 2005. The UN Millennium Development building ceremony in Sakwa Kapiyo, Bondo District, Kenya Goals. New York, UN Services Section. (personal interview with the author). Websites Okello Ayot, H. 1979. History of the Luo-Abasuba of Western • Kenya Economy. Kenya from A.D. 1780 –1940. Nairobi, Kenya Literature http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Kenya/Economy.html Bureau. (Accessed 27 January 2010.) • Kit Mikayi. Oteyo, G. and Morton, C. 2008. Paro Manene: Exhibiting http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kit-Mikayi.JPG Photographic Histories in Western Kenya. Journal of Museum (Accessed 17 0ctober 2009). Ethnography, Vol. 21. • National Museums of Kenya. http://www.museums.or.ke/ (Accessed 15 October 2009.) 223 • World Fact Book. 2010a. Kenya Demography. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-fact- book/geos/ke.html (Accessed 29 January 2010.) • ____. 2010b. Kenya Economy Overview. http://www.indexmundi.com/kenya/economy_overview.html (Accessed 28 January 2010.) • ____. 2010c. Kenya Literacy. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ (Accessed 28 January 2010.) • ____. 2010d. Kenya Unemployment Rate. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ (Accessed 28 January 2010.) 224 Ana Pereira Roders, Ron van Oers In between, the definition of OUV and the selection criteria had been actively discussed by the heritage community. At an expert Outstanding Universal Value, World meeting organized by UNESCO in 1976 (even before the Heritage Cities and Sustainability: World Heritage Committee was established), participants Mapping Assessment Processes agreed that World Heritage properties “should represent or sym- bolize a set of ideas or values which are universally recognized Outstanding universal value as important, or as having influenced the evolution of mankind The concept of outstanding universal value (OUV) “is at the heart as a whole at one time or another” (UNESCO, 1976). of the World Heritage Convention” (Cameron, 2005) – the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Parent's report, dating from 1979, which had examined the Natural Heritage (UNESCO, 1972). Since 1972, the term has World Heritage criteria, recognized the necessary inclusion of been used when referring to the cultural and natural significance subjective elements in the evaluation of cultural heritage and the of properties listed as World Heritage. contribution of comparative analysis to understand the differ- ences between global and regional references (Parent, 1979). Issued without a fixed or static definition, for practical purposes related to the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, At the Assessment of the conclusions and recommendations of the interpretation of the term OUV had been mainly based on its the special meeting of experts (on the Concept of Outstanding accompanying criteria as originally recommended by the World Universal Value), the World Heritage Committee agreed with the Heritage Convention. experts that the OUV defines the thinking at the time of inscrip- tion. Also, they drew attention to the poor understanding of the In 1977, draft Operational Guidelines were adopted at the 1st term OUV in general and the need for major communication session of the World Heritage Committee, together with ICOMOS efforts, as well as the involvement of all stakeholders (UNESCO, draft criteria (UNESCO, 1977). In 1980, the guidelines were for- 2005b). mally adopted including the definition of the six criteria for cultur- al heritage and the four criteria for natural heritage, together with More recently, ICOMOS (2008) has complemented the defini- the additional test of authenticity (UNESCO, 1980). tion of OUV, with an individual definition of its two main terms. Outstanding “means that in comparison with the generally doc- Over time, these criteria underwent several revisions until the umented cultural heritage, they belong to the very best or are current version (2008), although the greatest progress is to be ‘representative’ of the best”. Universal “means that these out- found in the guidelines adopted in 2005. The World Heritage standing values can be acknowledged as such in general and Committee decided to adopt a recommendation of the Global worldwide”. Strategy meeting in 1998 to join the cultural and natural her- itage criteria into one single group of criteria. Moreover, the Management versus assessment term OUV was defined as “cultural and/or natural significance Just as value-based management, the OUV-based management which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and regards part of the process defined and implemented to manage to be of common importance for present and future generations a World Heritage property “with the primary purpose of protect- of all humanity” (UNESCO, 2005a). ing the significance of the place as defined by government 225 authorities or other owners, experts, and other citizens or groups Responsible parties with a legitimate interest in the place” (Mason, 2002). That There are four different responsible parties involved in the OUV- includes all activities directly related to defining, monitoring and based management process. These are the States Parties, deciding on the OUV of World Heritage properties, including UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the estimating the impact and deciding how to mitigate the risks of World Heritage Committee. imminent and potential threats. The States Parties are the countries who have, since 1972, rati- Even though the term “assessment” of OUV is commonly used fied the World Heritage Convention, being 186 to date (out of and referred to by UNESCO on several occasions, e.g. “criteria 192 UN Member States), which means there is an almost univer- for the assessment of outstanding universal value” (UNESCO, sal adherence to this Convention. They share the responsibility 2008), the official documents provide no further explanation of to identify and protect all heritage situated on their national ter- what this actually entails. ritories, to nominate those properties considered to possess OUV to the World Heritage List, and to contribute to the international As a pre-eminent part of the management process, the OUV protection of all World Heritage properties (UNESCO, 2009a). assessment regards all activities directly related to defining and monitoring the OUV of World Heritage properties, including esti- The World Heritage Centre, which is Secretariat to the World mating the impact of (potential) threats. Thus, in simpler terms, it Heritage Convention and its Committee, is the focal point for all excludes all stages of decision-making along the OUV-based World Heritage-related matters at UNESCO. The Secretariat management process. ensures the daily management of the Convention and assists the parties involved in the execution of their tasks and duties. It is There is a slight but fundamental difference between practice also responsible for the dissemination and awareness arising on and process. Practice regards all activities, including the tasks all World Heritage-related issues (UNESCO, 2009b). As such, it already defined and formally implemented as part of a process is important for its staff to understand the concept and be capa- (methods and tools), as well as the activities that remain unde- ble of assessing the OUV. The Advisory Bodies are respectively fined and informally executed. the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and On the other hand, process is “a logical sequence of tasks per- the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and formed to achieve a particular objective. A process defines what Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). They function as is to be done, without specifying how each task is to be per- advisors to the World Heritage Committee as regards its deci- formed. … A method consists of techniqaues for performing a sions specific to cultural heritage (ICOMOS), natural heritage task [and] a tool is an instrument that, when applied to a partic- (IUCN) and training (ICCROM) (UNESCO, 2009c). ular method, can enhance the efficiency of a task” (Martin, 2000). The World Heritage Committee is composed of twenty-one States Parties, elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Therefore, by mapping the OUV-based management process this World Heritage Convention during UNESCO's General Confer- paper identifies all the activities that have been logically defined ence in Paris every two years. Their term of office lasts a maxi- and implemented, together with their methods and tools. mum of six years (often voluntarily reduced to four years), and 226 this is the official and only body deciding the core issues of the properties in Latin America; 77 % of properties in Arab States implementation of the Convention, i.e. the inscription of new and 41 % of properties in Europe” (UNESCO, 2009f). properties on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the subsequent reporting on monitoring the Advisory Bodies are expected “to be objective, rigorous and sci- state of conservation of World Heritage properties and the use entific in their evaluations, [as well as their conduct to deliver a] of the World Heritage Fund (UNESCO, 2009d). consistent standard of professionalism” (IUCN, 2009a). Howev- er, ICOMOS is often criticized for “not implementing the same Problem field clarity in the evaluation of World Heritage nominations” as Even though often implemented worldwide, ever since the first IUCN, although ICOMOS' current efforts to establish a frame- World Heritage inscriptions in 1978 (UNESCO, 2009e) (which, work for the identification of heritage sites is a step forward; “it relevant for the category of historic cities, included Aachen is necessary to continue the exploration” (Jokilehto, 2006). Cathedral in Germany and the City of Quito in Ecuador), there has been a gap relating to references on OUV-based manage- Also the World Heritage Committee is concerned about the con- ment processes and even more on OUV assessment practices. sistency of its decision-making process. During its 33rd session The nomination process was the only stage of the OUV-based (2009, Seville, Spain), the need for better processes, methods management process found mapped (Leask and Fyall, 2006), and tools was mentioned on several occasions. Particularly rele- and the evolution of its stages – identification, nomination and vant to this research, the Committee requested “the Director of inscription – further surveyed (Rao, 2010). the World Heritage Centre in cooperation with the Advisory Bodies to further identify methods and processes towards the There are, however, several references framing the difficulties, establishment of guidelines on the assessment of the impact of consequent to this gap, as expressed by the States Parties, Sec- contemporary architectural insertions on the Outstanding retariat, Advisory Bodies and World Heritage Committee. The Universal Value of World Heritage properties for discussion by evolution of the term “cultural heritage”, from monuments and the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2010” sites now practically covering the entire historic built environ- (UNESCO, 2009g). ment, including its intangible dimensions, is bringing “a certain difficulty in the assessment of cultural values”. According to Methodology Jokilehto, this also contributes to the “confusion about what This research has utilized the following methods of data collec- should be intended by outstanding universal value in the context tion. First, two UNESCO documents were analysed on proposed of the World Heritage Convention” (Jokilehto, 2006). methods, after which during the 33rd session of the Committee the decision-making process was carefully observed to check on Not clear on what OUV exactly means, the States Parties face consistency or deviations vis-à-vis these methods. difficulties in managing the protection of the OUV of their inscribed properties. In a recent study, ICOMOS (2008) identi- The two documents were respectively, the Operational Guide- fied management deficiencies and aggressive development as lines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention the two major threats to World Heritage properties. In fact, last revised in 2008, and the Rules of Procedure: Intergovern- “95 % of properties in Africa were affected by management mental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and problems, as were 88 % of properties in Asia/Pacific; 77 % of Natural Heritage, published by UNESCO in 2003. 227 Moreover, while mapping the OUV-based management process, Table 1 (next page) summarizes the key official documents that particularly as concerns the working methods of the Advisory are mentioned during the clarification of the OUV-based manage- Bodies, more data have been collected from their websites, as ment process, when they are requested, the responsible parties well as from personal contacts. Therefore, unlike the references and the relevant stage of the OUV-based management process. from the two main UNESCO documents, the references of these extra data are clearly identified. For a better understanding of the methods followed, process mapping consists of constructing a model that shows the relation- ship between the activities, people, data and objects involved in the production of a specific output (Biazzo, 2002). Besides an evident increase in visibility and consequent improve- ment of communication and understanding (Damelio, 1996), process mapping also reveals the strengths, weaknesses, oppor- tunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of the process being mapped, which in turn can help to improve and redesign it (Biazzo, 2002). Results The OUV-based management process occurs in three main stages: nomination, protection and intensive protection (Figure 1). Nomination regards the process for a property to have its heritage value recognized as being outstanding and universal. Protection regards the process of safeguarding all World Her- itage properties and preventing their OUV from being placed in danger and/or irreversibly destroyed. Intensive protection con- cerns the process of safeguarding under high alert those proper- ties where the OUV is in danger of becoming irreversibly destroyed. Fig. 1: The OUV-based management process These three stages do share the same aim, although they have very different regularities. While the nomination stage occurs Nomination only once, the protection stage occurs continuously and the Even though a property needs to be included in a national inven- intensive protection stage occurs only occasionally. In fact, tory list before it is initiated within the nomination process, such unlike the other two stages, the intensive protection stage might national inventory lists have not been included in the OUV-based never occur. management process. Its national character and therefore the 228  Official document Time Responsible parties OUV-based management process 1.1 Tentative List submission form Updated every ten years States Parties Identification 1.2 Nomination file One year later than the Tentative List States Parties Proposal 1.3 Evaluation report After submission of the Nomination file Advisory Bodies Advice 1.4 Decisions adopted at WH Committee session Annual session of WH Committee WH Committee and Secretariat Decision 2.1 Management plans, regulations Included in nomination file States Parties Management 2.2P Periodic Report (PR) Cyclical, every six years States Parties Periodic monitoring 2.3P Joint Mission Report (JMR) When requested by stakeholders Secretariat and Advisory Bodies Ad hoc advice 2.2R State of Conservation (SoC) report Whenever requested by WH Committee States Parties and Secretariat with Advisory Bodies Reactive monitoring 2.3R Reactive Monitoring Report (RMR) Whenever requested by WH Committee Secretariat and Advisory Bodies Reactive advice 2.4 Decisions adopted at WH Committee session Annual session of the WH Committee WH Committee and Secretariat Decision 3.1 Management plans, regulations (enhanced versions) After session of WH Committee States Parties Management 3.2 State of Conservation (SoC) report Whenever requested by WH Committee States Parties and Secretariat with Advisory Bodies Verification 3.3 Reactive Monitoring Report (RMR) Whenever requested by WH Committee Secretariat and Advisory Bodies Advice 3.4 Decisions adopted at WH Committee session Annual session of WH Committee WH Committee and Secretariat Decision Table 1: Key official documents, within the OUV-based management process likelihood of eventual differences between the respective criteria To increase clarity and transparency, and to foment knowledge and indicators employed are the motives for this exclusion. exchange, the Convention strongly encourages States Parties to describe the identification process and the respective roles of the After having its value officially recognized at national level, a participating stakeholders, such as site managers, local and property can be included by the State Party on its Tentative List. regional governments, local communities, NGOs and other By then, in our research the first stage of the nomination process interested parties and partners. – identification – has occurred, as for this inclusion on its Tenta- tive List the State Party needs to identify the OUV of the proper- However, an encouragement is not a requirement, leaving the ty, together with possible criteria for nomination, statements of decision to States Parties to implement wholly or partially. With- authenticity and integrity, as well as a comparison with other out clear guidelines, the definition of an identification process, similar properties to indicate its international significance. its methods and tools, is left open-ended with each State Party 229 following its own path; some more clear and defined than oth- and “carries with it the presumption of eventual inscription”; ers, which can result in marked differences and inconsistencies while deferral requires further study to determine the OUV of the hampering decision-making further down the road. nominated property and delays the decision to a subsequent meeting (ICOMOS, 2007). The second stage of the nomination process – proposal – can only occur one year after the property has been included on the Deferral, which questions the OUV of the nominated property, Tentative List. The State Party prepares a more detailed OUV may for example result in the commissioning of a comparative assessment as part of the submission of the official Statement of study, which needs to include the nominated property (examples OUV, within the Nomination file, to the Secretariat. of comparative studies already undertaken include vineyard cul- tural landscapes, rock art of the Sahara, cultural landscapes of Next, the Advisory Bodies perform the third stage of the nomi- the Pacific, to name but a few). Even if this brings “no commit- nation process – advice – when preparing, developing and sub- ment to eventual inscription on the World Heritage List”, these mitting to the Secretariat the evaluation of the nominated prop- studies are fundamental because they provide background erty, including its OUV, within an Evaluation report. information for both ICOMOS and States Parties, and support the World Heritage Committee's decision-making process ICOMOS is responsible for the assessment of Nomination files (ICOMOS, 2007). related to cultural heritage including cultural landscape proper- ties, while IUCN takes care of the nominated natural heritage In other cases deferral may stem from the need for a satisfacto- properties; and jointly, they evaluate the Nomination files of ry management plan to be drawn up and implemented or for mixed heritage properties. significant changes to be made in the area proposed for inscrip- tion. In any case, deferral means that a mission is necessary to Each Advisory Body has its own procedure for the evaluation of evaluate the additional information requested. Referral, on the nominated properties as described in the Operational Guide- other hand, carries with it the presumption of eventual inscrip- lines. ICOMOS distinguishes three phases: Choice of Experts; tion. This procedure is used when the Advisory Bodies recom- Site Missions; World Heritage Panel. IUCN defines a process of mend relatively minor redefinition of boundaries or request fur- five steps: Data Assembly; External Review; Field Inspection; ther information on management plans. Other Sources of Information; IUCN World Heritage Panel Review. However, the Evaluation Reports prepared by the Advisory Bod- ies and their draft decisions are not the final decisions. Their aim Out of the four possible outcomes of this advice process, the is to provide a technical basis for the World Heritage Commit- draft decision to inscribe or not to inscribe is self-explanatory; to tee to undertake the fourth and last stage of the nomination defer or to refer a nominated property perhaps needs further process – decision – which occurs during the annual sessions of clarification. In both instances more information is requested to the Committee, when deciding to reject, defer, refer or approve support the nomination of the property. the property and its respective Statement of OUV for inscription on the List. This last stage of the OUV-based management Basically, the main difference between deferral and referral is process is the only stage of the nomination process that does not that referral acknowledges the OUV of the nominated property form part of the OUV assessment process. 230 Thus, even if it is common practice for the World Heritage Com- Convention has been formalized. The States Parties are mittee to follow the technical advice of the Advisory Bodies, responsible for its first stage of protection – management – when there may be situations where it decides not to. During the 33rd they develop, implement and monitor the impact of strategies to session of the Committee (Seville, Spain, July 2009) the advice protect the OUV of their World Heritage properties. Documents for the nominated historic city of Cidade Velha, Cape Verde such as Management Plans and Regulations play a fundamental (Africa) was for referral, meaning acknowledging its OUV but role here in guiding the involved participants and wider com- requesting more information on other aspects, but it was finally munity in such a management process. approved for inscription by the Committee. Also, several nomi- nations for which the advice had been deferral (not acknowledg- If information is received on imminent or potential threats to an ing their OUV) were finally referred, e.g. The Mercury and inscribed property, the World Heritage Committee will request a Silver Binomial on the Intercontinental Camino Real, jointly Reactive Monitoring Report, which follows a set format. When proposed by Mexico, Slovenia and Spain.. the case is well-sustained, this report might lead the property into the intensive protection process, or even to complete removal During this 33rd session, the arguments presented by the World from the World Heritage List. Heritage Committee to deviate from an Advisory Body's advice were varied, such as inconsistencies between the Advisory The Periodic Report is the second category of monitoring Body's reports and the documents and/or information provided reports. Its periodicity has a six-year cycle and it also follows a by the State Party, the efforts of the State Party to comply with set format. The States Parties are requested to report to the the recommendations from previous sessions, the contribution of World Heritage Committee on their application of the Conven- such a nomination to the Global Strategy for a Representative, tion, including the state of conservation of the properties located Balanced and Credible World Heritage List launched in 1994 on their territories. (UNESCO, 1994). Also, the decision to either agree or disagree with the drafted decision does not follow any regular methods Both reactive and periodic monitoring reports occur during the and/or tools, nor criteria and weighting. second stage of the protection process – monitoring – which is developed by States Parties and sent to the Secretariat. These Instead, the decision-making process undertaken by the World reports present the state of conservation of the respective prop- Heritage Committee was quite regular. The Committee was only erty, as well as the Statement of OUV with related imminent or unable to reach consensus and requested a secret ballot potential impacts. (UNESCO, 2003) for the decision to defer the nomination of The Architectural and Urban Work of Le Corbusier, jointly proposed Whenever requested by the World Heritage Committee, the Sec- by Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan and Switzer- retariat can organize joint missions together with the Advisory land. Bodies. They undertake the third stage of the protection process – advice – and like the reports from the previous stage they aim Protection to present the state of conservation of the respective property, as From the moment that the Statement of OUV has been officially well as its Statement of OUV with related imminent or potential approved by the World Heritage Committee and the property is threats. Depending on the urgency for monitoring, these reports inscribed on the List, the actual protection under the 1972 are either Reactive Monitoring reports (urgent) or Joint Mission 231 reports (less urgent). The process undertaken by the Advisory are included, there might be properties that never go through the Bodies to develop these reports was not found to be officially intensive protection process. When there is strong evidence that described, not in the Operational Guidelines, nor on their web- the OUV is deteriorating and entering a stage where it has sites, although at IUCN there is an open invitation for experts to become endangered and is thus facing possible deletion from voluntarily submit “any news, documents, research or comments the World Heritage List, these endangered properties require on the status of these World Heritage sites, their values (habi- particular attention and procedures. tat/wildlife, etc) and management” (IUCN, 2009b). The stages within the intensive protection process are very simi- What was found described is the content of the report. Respec- lar to the stages of the “reactive” protection process, including tively, the World Heritage Committee requests that reports of mis- management, monitoring, advice and decision. Again, this last sions to review the state of conservation of the World Heritage stage of the OUV-based management process is the only stage properties include: of the intensive protection process which does not form part of OUV assessment. • an indication of threats or significant improvement in the conservation of the property since the last report to the The main difference, besides the decision variables ranging World Heritage Committee; from (1) removal from the World Heritage List, (2) remain listed, • any follow-up to previous decisions of the World Heritage or (3) removal from the Danger List, is the higher level of risk that Committee on the state of conservation of the property; the OUV will be destroyed, and consequently that the site will • information on any threat or damage to or loss of outstand- lose its significance for which it will have to be removed from the ing universal value, integrity and/or authenticity for which World Heritage List. Together with all other decisions, these deci- the property was inscribed on the World Heritage List sions are annually published in the document “Decisions adopt- (UNESCO, 2009). ed at the XX Session of the World Heritage Committee”. The last stage of the protection process – decision – is undertak- Conclusion en by the World Heritage Committee and follows a very similar Our survey results have proved that the OUV-based manage- process to the decision stage of nominations. The main differ- ment process is a wide framework that includes OUV assessment ence is the nature of the decisions which can vary from (1) no and that involves not only the States Parties, but also the Advis- action recommended, to (2) recommended corrective action, or ory Bodies, the Secretariat and the World Heritage Committee. (3) to be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, or The Operational Guidelines universally define and guide the ultimately (4) removal from the World Heritage List altogether. process for managing the OUV. Again, this last stage of the OUV-based management process is the only stage of the protection process that does not involve or Except for the States Parties, the management practices were concern OUV assessment. found to be universally defined and implemented at the different stages by the different parties. However, no universal methods Intensive protection or tools utilized at the different stages by the different parties, as The intensive protection process is initiated after the inclusion of well as criteria and weighting, were identified for any of the four World Heritage properties on the Danger List. Thus, unless they parties. 232 Therefore, on the basis of this survey alone, it has not been pos- Similarly to the results relating to the World Heritage Committee, sible to determine the impact of such practices on the sustainable no pre-established methods or tools, with criteria or weighting, development of World Heritage properties. It has been possible were found that both “desk” and “site” experts could use to on the other hand to determine which practices are already define or to confirm/disagree with the OUV definition proposed being implemented as part of a formal process and which prac- by States Parties. If such were the case, the quality and consis- tices remain obscure or unclear, acknowledged by the different tency of inscriptions could be better managed, with prevention parties only. of uncomfortable situations, such when the Advisory Bodies are accused of having produced subjective or non-technical reports. When comparing these four OUV-based management practices, Moreover, a single method would allow the Advisory Bodies to one can state that the Secretariat and World Heritage Commit- undertake further studies and correlate their results on cultural, tee are far more process-oriented than the Advisory Bodies and natural and mixed properties, totally in line with the World States Parties. However, they all lack clarity on how their man- Heritage Committee's decision to abolish separate criteria for agement process is being implemented, which is diminishing the natural and cultural properties and to harmonize them into one reliability of their practices. This lack of clarity concerns both the set of ten criteria for all properties. general and detailed levels, which respectively affects the meth- ods and/or tools utilized, as well as their criteria and weighting. Thirdly, the Secretariat is deeply involved in devising and orches- Furthermore, a rationale can be presented per OUV manager. trating the World Heritage processes, which were found to be well-defined in the Operational Guidelines for the whole OUV- The World Heritage Committee does have its stages generally based management process – nomination, protection and inten- described for the whole OUV-based management process – sive protection. However, its role as an OUV assessor that is nomination, protection and intensive protection. What is not shared with the Advisory Bodies at both protection and intensive found described are the methods and/or tools, as well as their protection stages, such as when undertaking Reactive Monitor- criteria and weighting used to sustain its decisions. If such were ing missions, was not found to be clearly defined. Neither was the case, the process could be better managed, also time-wise, it possible to identify any methods or tools, with respective with the prevention of uncomfortable or unclear situations, such criteria and weighting, followed by the Secretariat for any of the as when the Committee disagrees with the Advisory Bodies, as cases where joint missions would be undertaken. it could follow a more transparent, pre-established process, with respective criteria and weighting. Lastly, the OUV managers who have their processes least described in the Operational Guidelines are the States Parties; Secondly, a considerable part of the processes of both ICOMOS clearly this has to do with issues of sovereignty and responsibil- and IUCN is described for the nomination stage, but hardly at ity, leaving it open to them to utilize processes, with criteria and all for the protection or intensive protection stages. Much com- weighting if existent. Even if strongly recommended, clarification plementary information was retrieved and deducted from their of the stages undertaken within their OUV-based management websites and/or statutory documents. Also, there were inconsis- process is not mandatory. Further research is required to confirm tencies, for example the stages recommended by IUCN for field whether the States Parties follow common stages and tasks, inspections and the stages undertaken by ICOMOS when criteria and weighting. choosing experts. 233 Progress has been achieved with this survey in understanding Damelio, R. 1996. The Basics of Process Mapping. New York, the perception and interpretation of the OUV-based manage- Productivity Press. ment process, as well as communication among the parties involved. When prioritizing the need for further research, it may ICOMOS. 2007. The Role of ICOMOS in the World Heritage be concluded that even if OUV management would benefit from Convention. 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Final Decisions of the 33rd Session of the World Heritage Committee. http://whc.Unesco.org/download.cfm?id _document=102372 (Accessed 20 October 2009.) 236 Case Studies Shadi Azizi, Nader Afzalan, Mahda Mohammadbagher beliefs about the ‘balance of nature’ have typically acknowl- edged … the evidence reveals that nature is a ‘profoundly A Case Study of Cultural Landscape as a human construct’”. Potential for Sustainable Development of Local Scale: Garme Village Redevelopment Cultural landscapes, as the outcome of the intensive interaction between culture and landscape, are rich potentials for reviving Introduction and sustaining old and new life in a region; to use their poten- Small lively villages in the central desert of the Islamic Republic tials and to implement sustainable development, locals and of Iran are today challenged with the serious difficulty of attract- indigenous people are the main resources; they are enriched ing socio-economic forces towards sustaining their livelihood. with valuable knowledge about their habitat gained through the This paper introduces a successful example of the revival of a ages. cultural landscape in this region through the participatory plan- ning process and the use of cultural and natural potential contri- This paper explores how indigenous development has altered butions to sustainable development, addressing the possibility of Garme village to make it an attractive place. The analysis is in conserving and enhancing these rural areas. It is a field study as three sections: the first explores the characteristics of cultural well as desk research on the basis of field observations and com- landscapes and their potential as a tool for sustainable develop- prehensive reviews of recent research and key documents relat- ment. The second section contributes to defining the causes of ing to the redevelopment of cultural landscapes. The outcome cultural landscape deterioration; and the third investigates the shows that residents' participation is the key factor in reviving redevelopment process carried out in Garme village with a view the natural and cultural potential of such villages and sustaining to sustainable development. As the nature of the information the local economy by attracting tourists. It is important to bear in sought is subjective, the data were collected by observation and mind that the Iranian economy is totally based on the oil indus- field study and documents were also analysed to investigate the try; whereas the tourism industry is highly fragile and not com- geography and culture of old Garme. parable to some neighbouring countries such as Turkey, which are very successful in attracting tourists. Bringing national and Cultural landscape categories and characteristics international tourists to a small village such as Garme (Garmeh), As Fowler states concerning the creation of cultural landscapes, far from famous tourist destinations such as Tehran, Esfahan and “Cultural Landscapes as now understood and practiced for Yazd, is a major challenge. The key to success is addressing the World Heritage purposes were established in China in the first extraordinary natural and cultural aspects of this region through millennium CE. According to that term, Cultural Landscapes the participation of the indigenous people. deliberately express a relationship between nature and humans” (World Heritage Papers 7, 2002). Landscape and culture are strongly interconnected. They interact with each other and shape our beliefs and values around the set- Carl O. Sauer (1925) also clarified that “the cultural landscape ting that supports us. Cronin (as cited in Alanen and Melnick, is fashioned from a natural landscape by a culture group”. He 2000, p. 21) articulates the views of several scholars in stating believes that cultural landscape is the result of the interaction that: “the natural world is far more dynamic, far more change- between culture as the “agent” and the natural area as the able, and far more entangled with human history than popular “medium” (Sauer, 1925, pp. 19 – 53). Though the landscape 238 changes under the influence of a given culture, which itself is help us to find the redevelopment solutions regarding the real evolving through time, and gradually achieves its ultimate potentials existing in a natural area shaped by human imprints development status. through the passage of time. In addition, the revised Operational Guidelines of 1992 first To see the potential of cultural landscapes, it is crucial to identi- defined cultural landscapes as cultural properties representing fy the characteristics (Lennon and Mathews, 1996, p. 18) that the “combined works of nature and of man” designated in differentiate them from heritage items or landscapes. The Inter- Article 1 of the Convention, which can be categorized in three national Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indentifies six- main groups: teen characteristics of a cultural landscape (Phillips, 2002, p. 13). Note that all such characteristics may vary in different • Defined landscape: the most easily identifiable category and kinds of cultural landscape such as a defined, an organically a landscape which is designed and created intentionally by evolved or an associative landscape, and rely on diverse factors man. Examples are garden and parkland landscapes, often to revive it. Considering these characteristics, Garme village is associated with monumental or religious buildings. considered as a cultural landscape because it: • Organically evolved landscape: this category is formed in response to the initial socio-economic or religious forces • is concerned with both people and their environment; and evolved to its present form in response to its natural • is concerned with a range of natural and cultural values; environment. • focuses on areas where people/nature relationships have • Associative cultural landscape: the inclusion of such land- produced a landscape with high aesthetic, ecological, biodi- scapes is justifiable by virtue of the powerful cultural or versity and/or cultural values, and which retains integrity; religious associations of the natural element rather than • recognizes the value of, and the need to support, the material cultural evidences, which may be insignificant or stewardship role of the private landowner (including that even absent (UNESCO, 1992). of Land Trusts or similar bodies); • places a special emphasis on effective land-use planning; Each category has different potentials making the area a special • depends therefore on the presence of transparent and district requiring special implications to revive and remain democratic structures which support people's active vibrant. Learning about the diverse potentials of a region helps us involvement in the shaping of their own environment; to choose the best means to launch the redevelopment process. • brings social, economic and cultural benefits to local com- munities; Particularly stringent criticism has been made obliquely describ- • brings environmental, cultural, educational and other benefits ing the UNESCO approach as elitist. Artificial distinctions based to a wider public; on specific features are regarded as indications of an exception- • can be used to help resolve conflicts over resource management; al landscape (Fowler, 1992, p. 17). Fowler's definition sees cul- • can offer models of sustainability for wider application else- tural landscape as the very opposite of elitist. He believes that where in rural areas. by recognizing “cultural landscape we can find a place that may look ordinary but with our appreciation can become Below we discuss what kind of cultural landscape Garme village extraordinary” (Fowler, 2003, p. 7). Such a different view can is, what are its characteristics, and how we can make use of its 239 real potential to make it a vibrant and attractive region not just • Difficulty of rural areas to produce and sell their agricultural for tourists, but also for the inhabitants of the region. products in competition with very cheap imports; • Superiority of industrial development in urban areas in Cultural landscape potential for sustainable development: comparison with rural development; Sustainable development relies not only on the implementation • Domination of cities and city life, in contrasting to the lack of of interconnected redevelopment approaches, but on the use of simple facilities in villages, in particular those located in the potential. Many cultural landscapes are outstandingly important central deserts of Iran. for the practices of sustainable use of natural resources. At the same time they can provide opportunities for socio-economic The increasing migration of village dwellers and the fragility of development not just within their local boundaries, but also in the rural life, its culture and identity, are the main consequences of whole region as their broad context. They can be linked with such problems. All these factors lay the groundwork for region- other cultural and natural resource areas in a regional context al socio-economy disruption. There is an urgent need to manage for conservation and sustainable development. Thus, cultural such conditions in order to revive rural life and regional econ- landscapes can contribute to local and regional development far omic and social vibrancy. Below we describe the methods of beyond their boundaries. The survival of cultural landscapes redevelopment of a rural area by implementing bottom-up requires not only support for traditional sustainable practices, planning, and the use of cultural landscape potential: the but also the adoption of new sustainable technologies, and as natural habitat and the indigenous people. stated in the global Agenda 21, “Maintaining and managing development resources, and strengthening the role of social Garme village case study groups” (UNCED, 1993) which in recent cases have proved to This paper concentrates on the cultural landscape potential in be the most important factor in sustainable development. Garme village as a case study on the methods to redevelop villages in the central desert of Iran. The case study is based on What causes the disruption of rural areas? the following outline: the location and history of Garme village, Cultural, political and socio-economic forces in developing coun- the themes for choosing it as a cultural landscape, the relation- tries such as Iran have different impacts on the habitat compared ship between the case study and sustainability concepts. with those of developed countries. Interconnected relations between such forces in Iran are very complex; usually overlying Garme is located in Iran's heartland in Esfahan province (Khur each other in a way that would disrupt the livelihood of rural and Biabanak district). There is a chain of villages in this district; areas in the long term. Some of the most important reasons for including Iraj, Ordib, Garme, Ab-Garm, Mesr and Farahzad disruption of rural districts are as follows. (Figures 1 and 2). Among them, this paper concentrates on Garme village as a first step in the development process with the • Dependence of economic and social development at both use of cultural landscape potential. regional and local levels on the oil industry; • Lack of an economic strategic plan with emphasis on The historical background of the district has been documented in development of rural areas; many resources since the tenth century. For example in the tenth • Weakness of the tourist industry in comparison with century Ibn Hawqal (Shoar, 1966, p. 144) and Abu-Eshaq neighbouring countries such as Turkey; Estakhri (Tostari, 1994, pp. 229 – 31) discussed villages located 240 in the central desert, one of which was called Jarmagh or and natural resources associated with groups of people during Garmeh. In addition, Al-Maqdis-I (Monzavi, 2006) and Nasir - its history, in particular one local family group who have been Khusraw in the eleventh century describe a relatively large set- trying over the past twelve years to revive these villages using its tlement called Jarmagh or Garmeh. So there exist many early cultural potential as a motivation. narratives about Garme and this geographical district. Unfortunately, inappropriate development of this area as a result All these villages are linked to each other in a chain located in of the inefficiency of rural development in Iran has placed this the central desert of Iran and close to a salt lake. In addition, irreplaceable landscape alarmingly at risk and far from sustain- various themes have arisen in choosing this district as a cultural able (Figures 3 – 6). For example, the large palm gardens of landscape. These themes fall into three categories: natural, cul- Village Natural Cultural Natural/Cultural Status tural, and natural/cultural. Iraj +Garme Fountains Iraj +Garme Traditional management Relatively These three categories and their status in relation to the villages of distribution of water damaged Garme Renovating Restored of Khur and Biabanak district are illustrated in Tables 1 and 2. some houses Consequently, according to The Cultural Landscape Founda- as an inn Garme Providing organic foods Revived tion's (http://tclf.org/) definition of cultural landscape as “a Garme Palm gardens Damaged geographic area including both cultural and natural resources Garme Presenting local and the wildlife or domestic animals there in, associated with a clothing for historic event, activity, or person or exhibiting other cultural or tourists Garme Renovating aesthetic value”, this local area known as Khur and Biabanak summer roofless which consists of several villages can be described as an mosque Iraj Adobe castle Damaged “organically evolved” cultural landscape. Not only does it pos- Iraj Old relatively Damaged sess extraordinary natural resources but also includes cultural habitable fabric Iraj Large fruit gardens and farms Table 1: Thematic categories for villages of Garme and Iraj Village Natural Cultural Natural/Cultural Status Ordib Traditional management of Relatively distribution of water damaged Ordib Traditional agriculture Ordib Fountains Ab-Garm Thermal spring Mesr Renovating one Camel breeding and Revived house as an inn expanding camel riding instead of using them as a food source Fig. 1: Esfahan province, Fig. 2. The chain of villages in Khur Farahzad Renovating one Restored Islamic Republic of Iran and Biabanak district, in the east of house as an inn Esfahan province Table 2: Thematic categories for villages of Ordib, Abegarm, Mesr and Farahzad 241  focused on attracting tourism. As a result of such valuable activities, statistics from 2007 show that: • the annual visitor rate was 50,000; • the average daily expenditure of each visitor was US$10; • the main income of seventy villagers comes directly from tourism. Fig. 3: Iraj gardens and farms Fig. 4: Garme palm gardens (photo: authors) (photo: authors) Moreover, what has occurred in this region is manifested in local investment, cultural achievements and accomplishments, such as: • enhanced sense of attachment on the part of village residents; • gradual return of local migrants to their own village; • attracting and training efficient and skilled local workers; • reviving the local economy by proving new job opportuni- Fig. 5: Garme palm gardens in 2007 Fig. 6: Garme palm gardens in poor ties, such as taxi driving, producing and selling craftwork, (photo: authors) condition in 2009 (photo: authors) camel riding, biking and trailing; • renovation and restoring the Agh Mohammad house as a Garme have been in poor condition because local people have small inn with capacity for forty people registering with migrated to cities and there is no one to protect palm trees from Lonely Planet (local investment); extra water, which can be harmful to them. In the old days there • learning vernacular skills by locals and tourists; had been enough local labour to manage the flow of water in • participation of villagers in providing accommodation for Garme by digging holes around the trees and filling them with tourists. palm skin to absorb the extra water. Later, high unemployment and low wages forced those workers to leave their villages. Overall, in this area the tourism industry provides villagers with Thus, the workers who form the cultural potential of the society a sustainable income allowing them to stay in their villages. As need to be supported by a sustainable economy for preserving they discover that their extraordinary desert culture and nature and reviving this cultural landscape. In addition, because of are attractive to both national and international tourists, they try unemployment and shortage of earnings, camels were slaugh- to revive their culture; for example by renovating their houses in tered for food. Moreover, the architectural heritage area the vernacular style, camel riding instead of camel slaughtering, including adobe structures, houses and a castle are falling into reviving types of craft and local costumes (Figures 7 and 8). The disrepair because of local people's migration. gradual return of migrants to their own villages is also one of their most significant achievements. As a result, the cultural and In this region, the cooperative management and participation of economic dimensions of the area which were on the way to families originally from Garme village is very important. Their destruction have gradually improved thanks to the contributions activities over thirteen years have resulted in economic growth of tourists towards a sustainable local society. 242  References Alanen, A. and Melnick, R. (eds.). 2000. Preserving cultural landscapes in America, Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press. Fowler, P. J. 2003. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes 1992 Fig. 7: Reviving Garme crafts – 2002. Paris, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (photo: authors) Lennon, J. and Mathews, S. 1996. Cultural Landscape Management. Guidelines for identifying, assessing and Fig. 8: Renovation of Garme's small inn (photo: authors) managing cultural landscapes in the Australian Alps national parks. Jane Lennon and Associates, heritage consultants. On the other hand, rapid socio-economic changes all around the world and the fundamental problems of rural development, Monzavi, A. 2006. Ahson at-taqasim fi marifat al-aqalim by especially in developing countries such as Iran, have brought Al-Maqdis -I. Tehran, Koumesh Publications. about serious difficulties in sustaining traditional forms of land use. In this area, the villagers' participation in tourism is to find Phillips, A. 2002. Management Guidelines for IUCN Category new ways of earning money. Although in the short term they V Protected Areas: Protected Landscapes/Seascapes. Gland, have renovated houses as inns and provided some attractions Switzerland, International Union for Conservation of Nature. such as car services, organic food, camel riding and live desert music, in the long term they have plans to revive their palm Sauer, C.O. 1925. The morphology of landscape. University garden and make use of all agricultural production in their inns of California Publication in Geography, Vol. 2.2. for entertaining tourists. In addition they have a long-term programme to develop a powerful rural chain to absorb Shoar, J. 1966. Ibn Hawqal, Surat al-ard. Tehran, different kinds of local investment and make use of social and Bonyad-e- Farhang-e- Iran. cultural factors rather than just economic ones to redevelop their cultural landscape. The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Washington DC. http://tclf.org/ Finally, the use of cultural landscape potential is a good motivation to improve local sustainable income from tourism, Tostari, M. 1994. Al- Masalik - wa-al-mamalik - by Ibrah - -Im ibn especially in remote desert villages. Sustainable income could Muh. ammad Is..takhr -I. Tehran Adabi Va Tarikhi. save the cultural landscape from destruction. UNCED. 1993. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. New York, United Nations. 243 UNESCO. 1992. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, rev. edn 2008. Paris, World Heritage Centre. World Heritage Papers 7. 2002. Cultural Landscapes: the Challenges of Conservation. World Heritage 2002, Shared Legacy, Common Responsibility, Associated Workshops 11–12 November. 244 Yuri L. Mazurov are typical of modern life. Many monuments of historical and cultural value have been lost or doomed to perdition. The scope Challenge of Climate Change for Historical and scale of this phenomenon are such that “cultural heritage Heritage: Monitoring and Reporting in the loss” was named among the major issues in the European Russian Federation Environment Agency's first state of the environment report Europe's Environment: The Dobris Assessment (EEA, 1995). Global climate change is universally acknowledged as one of the biggest challenges facing the world today, and much is The great relevance of this issue for Russia is reflected in the being done to assess the potential fallout. Valuable data have inclusion of a new special section, Impact of Environmental Fac- been obtained for many world regions concerning the possible tors on Cultural Heritage Preservation, in the annual government effects of climate change on their biota, people's health, state of reports on the state of the environment (MNR, 2009). Since the infrastructure and the various branches of their economy. 1994, the Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage has been engaged in carrying out an open-ended It is possible that a systemic approach to this problem on the part project on the environmental monitoring of the country's of the global community and a number of states will generate the immovable cultural heritage at regional level. The project is illusion of complete control over the events now occurring on our supported by the Ministry of Culture and the State Environmen- planet. Unfortunately, this is not the case. For example, cultural tal Committee, Goskomecologia (from May 2000, Ministry of heritage is excluded from the areas most likely to be affected by Natural Resources and Ecology). The aim of the project is to climate change, a situation which professionals working in this gather, process and use environmental data for government sphere find unacceptable. To avoid heritage losses which may reports. have a disastrous impact on society, this situation should be funda- mentally changed for the better within the shortest possible time. The above year saw the elaboration, coordination and approval of statistical data forms regarding the condition of cul- Building the heritage sphere into a global policy of minimizing cli- tural heritage in the Federation which, following some additions mate change risks should begin with professional monitoring of and amendments, are still in use. Based on these forms, the the impact these changes are having on the condition of historic Russian Ministry of Culture, its local bodies and specialized and cultural monuments. In Russia, this goal can be achieved research establishments carry out a regular inventory of the using a system that has been evolved to monitor immovable cul- condition of monuments. With this end in view, the Russian tural heritage. We believe that this approach can be recommend- Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage has worked ed for use at global level. This paper provides an insight into the out a completely new methodical approach. Its main features salient points of this approach and arguments for its feasibility. may be reduced to the following principles that take into account: Russian experience of environmental monitoring of cultural heritage • certain regularities in the way natural and man-made factors The past few decades have seen cultural heritage properties affect monuments; become one of the main victims of “environmental aggression” • specific ways in which cultural heritage properties react to as a result of extensive economic development and lifestyles that environmental risk factors; 245 • objective and subjective difficulties that stem from creating a Chairman of Goskomecologia V. Danilov-Danilyan – jointly streamlined system of environmental monitoring of heritage called upon the regional heads to expand regular monitoring of properties. cultural heritage properties. Today this call has been heeded and implemented in the regions: nearly forty Federation con- Most Russian regions gave an enthusiastic response to the stituents have introduced a section on the condition of historic Ministry of Culture's proposal to launch a project on the environ- and cultural monuments in their regional environmental reports. mental monitoring of cultural heritage, as they saw the possibili- ty of finally increasing management efficiency in this sphere. Even The success of the environmental monitoring of cultural heritage the initial publications in official government reports of data on project proves that practical implementation of this type of the impact of environmental, natural and anthropogenic factors monitoring is one of the best ways to create a cultural heritage on historic and cultural monuments have unexpectedly shown the management sphere. Highly efficient and yet simple methods true scale of the phenomenon and its national relevance. have been worked out and put into practice within a very short period, both nationally and regionally. The project has drawn The data published in government reports have allowed a better the attention of professionals, politicians and the general public insight into environmental risk factors for cultural heritage in to cultural heritage preservation throughout Russia. order to make a general assessment of the situation, reveal its dynamic tendencies and elaborate the appropriate policy at fed- A major offshoot of this project has been the formulation of a eral level. However, these data do not show the internal distinc- compensatory principle of financing cultural heritage conserva- tions in heritage conservation issues in the regions due to the tion which, given appropriate political and administrative variations in natural conditions and their anthropogenic load. resources, may provide another independent and stable channel For this reason, from 1999 onwards the Heritage Institute began for financing the cultural sphere. to spread its best practices of environmental monitoring of cultur- al heritage properties throughout the Federation. Environmental risk factors for cultural heritage and its geography Given the current Russian political and economic situation, her- 2001 saw considerable progress in the elaboration of methods itage conservation policies may achieve their desired goals only for systematic monitoring of heritage. The Heritage Institute has by moving their “centre of gravity” directly to the regions which prepared, published and disseminated Methodical Recom- are hardest hit by full or partial heritage loss and, therefore, mendations on Environment Monitoring of Cultural Heritage require heritage preservation. It was proposed that the regions Properties in the regions. should develop environmental monitoring of cultural heritage properties on a regular basis as a multipurpose regional policy Using these methods, the monitoring system identifies and traces tool and to subsequently reflect this data in annual environmen- the following main forms of negative environmental impact on tal reports submitted by the Federation constituents. cultural heritage: The initiative of the Heritage Institute was backed by the Ministry Natural factors of Culture and Goskomecologia. In 1999, the heads of both • endogenic processes (earthquakes, epeirogenic movements federal departments – the Culture Minister V. Yegorov and the of the Earth's crust); 246 • exogenic processes (seashore abrasion, landslides, ground government reports reflect the actual state of affairs in the region motion, weathering, gullying, river meandering, flooding, under consideration. In particular, there were at least 1,200 climate change, etc.); historic heritage properties irrevocably lost between 1996 and 2008. The same data show that today hundreds of other her- Anthropogenic factors itage properties are in danger of being lost. Among them are the • disturbance of the geological environment (flooding and renowned historic centres of Russian cities such as the Kremlins waterlogging, quarrying, construction of roads and other in Novgorod, Nizhniy Novgorod and Astrakhan. There is also facilities, etc.); the white stone architecture in the White Monuments of Vladimir • pollution of community air; and Suzdal, the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery in the Vologda • contamination of surface and ground water; region and many others that have been inscribed on the • physical disturbance of the soil cover (ploughing, farming, UNESCO World Heritage List. water and wind erosion, improvement of soils, etc.); • chemical contamination of soils; According to official data received from the Federation con- • vegetation degradation (deforestation, ploughing of virgin stituents, about 19,000 historic and cultural monuments have lands, pasture digression and recreational pressure, civil recently been affected by the negative impact of environmental construction, etc.); factors including more than 6,000 under the effect of natural fac- • noise, vibration and other disturbances of natural physical tors and the other 13,000, excluding archaeological monu- parameters of the environment. ments, due to anthropogenic factors. The last few years have seen the rapid emergence of new The annual ratio of historic and cultural monuments lost in Rus- factors of environmental risk to Russia's historic and cultural sia is rather insignificant and remains at more or less the same monuments and natural sanctuaries, specific to the current level – about 0.15 per cent. The fact that merits special atten- transition period of the country's development, including: tion, however, is that this figure shows the real absolute decrease in the country's cultural potential – a major part of its • environmentally unregulated privatization of cultural heritage national wealth. At the same time, it should be noted that con- properties; current with the absolute decrease there is a relative decrease • squandering of land under the pretext of privatization or in in cultural potential due to the impact of environmental risk any other covert form; factors on a large share of cultural heritage properties – 20 per • weaker state environmental control, decreased efficiency of cent of the country's total number of monuments. the nature protection infrastructure of social production; • mass rural and cottage construction in breach of objective Thus many thousands of cultural heritage properties have been environmental restrictions and in violation of the aesthetic lost or are under threat of destruction. Most of these losses are merits of the visual environment. practically irreplaceable and subsequently especially painful for a society that frequently reacts to such losses with slower sustain- It is obviously very difficult to draw a complete picture of the able development. effects ecological risk factors may have in relation to cultural her- itage in Russia as a whole. Nonetheless, the data published in 247 The current situation as regards historic and cultural monuments is However, this encouraging prognosis can be applied to few characterized by a full-scale display of the negative effects of envi- spheres of life in modern Russia. Experts forecast the severe ronmental factors. The environmental situation in Russia as a impact that fast-growing climate change might have on the coun- whole and in most of its regions has recently been no more try's flora and fauna and natural heritage. The ongoing habitat aggressive than before. But the cumulative impact of environmen- transformations may lead to the failure of these species to adapt tal effects on the monuments is beginning to show more and more to new conditions and eventually result in their degradation and as quantitative changes become qualitative. The acuteness of this even extinction. The fate of the iconic species of northern fauna situation for the whole of the country has been in many respects – the polar bear – is symbolic of the consequences of the caused by a sharp fall in the amount of maintenance work carried unprecedentedly sharp warming over the last few centuries, out on the monuments (repairs, restoration, etc.) in the last decade, which is already placing so much stress on the Russian Arctic together with a growing tendency to abandon them and a fall in regions. No less dramatic may be the fate of some migrating the general efficiency of state and public control in this area. bird species and sea mammals. Analysis of the data obtained in the last few years concerning There is a still greater risk to historical heritage because of the the impact of environmental factors on cultural heritage leads to unprecedented rapid changes in the physical parameters of the the following conclusions: environment that are occurring today. This concern has been repeatedly raised by experts in several countries. • The process of historic and cultural monument losses under the effect of environmental risk factors is occurring almost We support our colleagues' stance in the belief that we need to everywhere; identify the cause and effect relationship between the state of his- • A considerable part of the cultural heritage in the regions toric and cultural monuments and the natural dynamic. It is and the country as a whole is affected by natural and equally important to identify the true scale and scope of environ- anthropogenic environmental risk factors; mental risks to heritage properties. We believe that these issues • The number of risk factors to heritage properties is constantly can be addressed by developing a system of environmental on the rise; alongside the traditional natural and monitoring of heritage. anthropogenic risk factors (waterlogged areas, air pollution, vibration, etc.) there are new impacts such as visual In effect, it is possible to build some additional elements into the (pollution) disturbance of historic landscapes, monitoring mechanism evolved in Russia, including a subsystem environmentally unregulated privatization, etc. that takes into account the consequences of climate change fac- tors for historic and cultural monuments. In this connection, the Evaluation of climate change effect on heritage recent monitoring tasks suggest that experts should trace the Russia's geographical location places it among the world's effect of climate change factors using all available means. Unfor- northernmost, “coldest” countries. For this reason alone, climate tunately, most of these proposals remain unheeded by respon- change in the form of global warming may have a positive effect dents in the Russian regions. The reason is obvious: the observers on the development of the country as a whole. The first tentative participating in the monitoring process are not, as a rule, famil- estimates of progress in various branches of the national iar with the appropriate methods to identify such effects. economy have already been made. 248 The lack of statistics does not however signify the absence of the subsequently and quite naturally, to historic buildings, including undoubted impact of climate change on heritage properties. monuments of wooden architecture, as found in Karelia, the Here are just a few graphic examples that have emerged from Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and in other areas of the environmental monitoring in Russia. Russian north and Siberia. In recent years much concern has been caused by the problem Many similar examples could be listed but the general conclu- of flooding in places where historic and cultural monuments are sion is clear. Global climate change is, in most cases, not a risk located along the Caspian Sea coasts. Among them is the factor per se to the historical heritage. Nevertheless, in today's complex of citadel, ancient city and fortress buildings in Rus- reality it may intensify and increase natural (exogenic processes) sia's most ancient city of Derbent, a UNESCO World Heritage and anthropogenic risk factors to the point where they assume a site. The problem stems from the stable rising of the water level scale and scope which are dangerous and even catastrophic for in this landlocked sea, reflecting the streamflow caused by historic and cultural monuments. climate fluctuations in the Caspian Sea basin as a part of global changes. This conclusion is applicable to the heritage of many countries, not only Russia's. In this connection, the question of adjusting the One of the most acute environmental problems that historic cities global system of environmental monitoring of cultural heritage in the Volga region (Samara, Saratov, Nizhniy Novgorod, Vol- properties by identifying and assessing climate change effects gograd and many others) face is the rising level of groundwater. becomes highly relevant. The waterlogging of their land leads to excessive water satura- tion of the foundations of historic buildings and, subsequently, to Development of heritage monitoring system in their degradation or collapse as well as the movable heritage Russia and the world as a whole properties inside. The rising groundwater level in this and some The environmental monitoring system for historic monuments other regions has much to do with the growing humidity also which has evolved in Russia in the past fifteen years allows us to caused by climate change. provide a sufficiently reliable information basis for drawing up government policies. The resulting system has however some The increase in rainfall in Central Russia (e.g. over 20 mm per substantial shortcomings, including the following: year in the last twenty-five years in Moscow) results not only in the waterlogging of the land but also threatens landslides which • Incomplete coverage of the territory. Twenty-five to thirty-five in turn may accelerate the destruction of the river and lake Federation constituents fail to submit yearly data on their shores on which historic properties are built. The latter problem cultural heritage condition; is typical of the Russian Arctic regions where rare and thus • Occasionally poor quality and unreliability of official data particularly valuable monuments are located almost exclusively on both the number and condition of monuments; in coastal areas. • Instability of the monitoring system itself which largely exists thanks to the enthusiasm of individual workers (experts and Russia's northern regions show record monthly and annual mean heads); lack of a reliable support mechanism and a weak temperature growth rates. In recent years this growth has great- legislative base. ly increased the fire risk in the forests, tundra vegetation and, 249 Under the present conditions the main strategic guidelines for ment in Russia. We believe that a similar process is also possi- streamlining the cultural heritage monitoring system should be as ble at global level and suggest that it should be looked into by follows. the expert historical heritage management community. • To work out departmental rules and specifications regulating Conclusion the organization and implementation of cultural heritage Over a rather short period Russia has managed to create both monitoring; federally and regionally what is in effect an innovative system • To further develop the methodical base for monitoring for environmental monitoring of its cultural heritage properties respective areas; and to provide a procedural framework that has stood the test of • To enhance the responsibility of federal, regional and local time. Based on this monitoring, decision-making on environmen- cultural heritage management for quality monitoring, for tal and cultural policies can minimize the inherent risks, the rate regular, timely and complete reporting the results to and acuteness of which are bound to increase in future due to appropriate agencies; the global climate change problem. • To improve the collection and analysis of cultural heritage monitoring data at all territorial levels and to provide access The streamlining of the cultural heritage monitoring system is of to data for all interested parties; great interest to Russia and should be followed by the formation • To upgrade professional skills of staff and retrain experts in of a new subsystem to identify and take into account climate monitoring organization and implementation, including change effects, with their specific scientific, organizational and natural, immovable cultural heritage; financial aspects. Russia has preconditions for a successful • To implement the compensatory principle for financing solution. At the same time, we believe that the success of cultural heritage conservation (to offset any damage to modernization of national cultural heritage monitoring along historic and cultural monuments due to anthropogenic the above guidelines may depend in many respects on the impacts, using environmental pollution charges levied in efficient international integration of heritage experts. accordance with state legislation). Integrating the activities of heritage workers from various coun- Special attention should be paid to the study of the phenome- tries and international heritage organizations will allow us to put non of climate change effects on cultural heritage properties in perspective the still underestimated global climate change fac- and practical recommendations should be made to improve tor for historical heritage conservation by setting up a monitor- management in this sphere at every territorial level, from ing system that meets the needs of the times. Clearly, monitoring global to local. by itself does not minimize the environmental risks but it is equally clear that without it there can be no long-term, strong The inclusion of the section Impact of Environmental Factors on and effective environmental policy on historic and cultural Cultural Heritage Preservation in the structure of the annual gov- monuments in Russia and the rest of the world. ernment reports offers an important additional opportunity to attract national attention to the country's historic and cultural her- itage preservation. This opportunity can and must be used in an effective way to substantially improve cultural heritage manage- 250 References EEA. 1995. Europe's Environment: The Dobris Assessment. State of the Environment Report No. 1. Copenhagen, European Environment Agency. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/92-826-5409-5 MNR. 2009. On the State and Protection of the Environment in the Russian Federation. Annual government reports published since 1994. Moscow, Ministry for Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. RICNR. 2001. Methodical Recommendations on Environment Monitoring of Cultural Heritage Properties. Moscow, Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage. 251 Thomas Raab, Alexandra Raab A number of studies have demonstrated that humans were not driving forces in the evolution of fluvial environments before the Impacts of Early Land Use and onset of the Holocene Epoch in 9700 BC (Starkel et al., 1991; Mining on River Landscapes Brown, 1997; Bell and Walker, 2005; Lewin et al., 2005; Thorndycraft and Benito, 2006). The first anthropogenic impacts How do river landscapes develop and what roles on floodplains are seen from the Neolithic Period inwards, start- do (pre)historic human activities play? ing in Central Europe about 7.500 years ago. At this time intro- River landscapes develop within hundreds to millions of years duction of agriculture, the so-called “Neolithic Revolution”, was by exogenic (e.g. climate) and endogenic (e.g. tectonics) connected with woodland clearance for use as arable fields, processes (Hantke, 1993). Following the last glacial maximum which triggered soil erosion and subsequent alluvial deposition (c. 18.000 BP) with the global climate amelioration and the refor- on the floodplains (Starkel, 2005; Macklin et al., 2006). estation of Central Europe, the present river systems evolved. River floodplains are naturally characterized by dynamic process- Apart from the “Neolithic Revolution”, the development of metal- es such as changes in water discharge, sediment load or flood working is one of the most important cultural changes in early events. Hence, under the natural conditions of the Earth's history, human history. For good reason, the traditional three-age system different types of floodplain have developed (Figure 1). for periodization of human prehistory is named according to their predominant tool-making technologies (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age). Mining has a long history, a wide spatial expan- sion of activities and in some manner affects almost all land- scape components (substrata, landforms, soils, water and vege- tation).Therefore during the Late Holocene mining has to be considered as a persistent and important factor influencing the environment and specifically river landscape development. Fig. 1: Different types of floodplain, British Columbia, Canada. Left: braided-river system. Right: meandering river system. (Photos: authors’ archive) What is the basis of mining and what were the Historically, floodplains have always attracted human habita- spatial dimensions of early mines? tion. This is because rivers are ideal for fishing, alluvial soils are Mining activities start with the excavation of the raw materials easy to cultivate, and riparian settlements guarantee access to which are found in the very upper layers of the lithosphere. Both drinking water. The water can also be harnessed for power. In ores (e.g. iron, copper, and silver) and non-metallic deposits addition, rivers can be used for transport, becoming main routes (e.g. flint stones, loam and gravel) were used as raw materials. of prehistoric and historic migration, and lifelines of early trad- Depending on their origin, bedding, and depth below surface, ing. Therefore, it is obvious that properties, development and the the raw materials could be exploited either by surface or by character of fluvial landscapes are crucial for any cultural evolu- deep mining. tion. As a direct consequence, however, fluvial landscapes have themselves become altered in the course of settlement, cultiva- Deposits formed by sedimentological or pedogenic processes tion, land use and many other anthropogenic processes. such as placers, glacial debris, weathering crusts or bog iron ores (see Figure 2), occur near the surface in the pedosphere 252 (the outermost layer of the Earth, composed of soil). They are information about the dimension of prehistoric mining is rare. often soft and easy to exploit. Prehistoric mining of these For example, the shafts of the Bronze Age copper mines at deposits are known for example from North Germany (Steuer Great Orme's Head in North Wales reached a depth of about and Zimmermann, 2000). In contrast, the exploitation of ore 40 m (Craddock, 1995). In addition, from the silver mine at Lau- veins in crystalline bedrock is much more difficult and has to be rion in southern Attica (Greece), exploited by Greeks and carried out mainly by underground mining (Figure 2). Mining of Romans at least since 1500 BC, it is known that the shafts were such deposits during prehistoric times was generally restricted up to 120 m deep (Healy, 1978; Shepherd, 1993). to surface or shallow deep mining and required both strong equipment and the knowledge of specific mining techniques The depth of the mining shafts was above all limited by the prob- such as fire-setting. Evidence for pre-Roman mining of ore veins lem of groundwater and the insufficient drainage capacities. Evi- and especially iron, copper and zinc have been found in Wales dence of a remarkably early attempt to drain the pits at the Copa (Mighall et al., 2002) and the Alps (Eibner, 1989). During his- Hill mines (Wales) suggests the utilization of a 3,800 year-old toric times and especially from the beginning of the thirteenth alder trunk (Timberlake, 2003). Since the High Middle Ages and century until the end of the Middle Ages, opencast pits and Early Modern times, technological development enabled the deep mining were established in several European countries deeper drainage of mines (Agricola, 1980). Archival data from and formed the basis for the prosperity of entire regions the Freiberg mining region (Ore Mountains, East Germany) high- (Craddock, 1995). light that due to the use of hand winches in the mid-twelfth century, the maximum depth of shafts was still only 45 m and exceptionally up to 100 m. Following the introduction of horse- capstans during the fifteenth century, the shaft depths are seen to increase up to 250 m and with the invention of the waterwheel (Wasserkehrrad) in the mid-sixteenth century, the shaft depths even reached 550 m (Wagenbreth and Wächtler, 1986). Due to the limited shaft depths of prehistoric and historic mines, the shortcomings in mining technology were compensated by the spatial expansion of the mining area. Mines typically con- sisted of tens to hundreds of shallow shafts covering areas of up to several square kilometres. Examples of extensive mines are Fig. 2: Different types of ores. Left: mined vein in crystalline bedrock and entrance to a historic silver mine, Black Forest, Germany. Right: soil pit with bog known from several areas of Europe and from all cultural peri- iron ore (red aggregates), North German Lowland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. (Photos: authors’ archive) ods from the beginning of the Metal Ages onwards and espe- cially from the Middle Ages. Strong evidence for the large With regard to the spatial dimension of the mines, the primary extension of early mines has been provided by the excavations affected area has grown since prehistoric times. With preindus- of the Neolithic flint mine near Arnhofen in Bavaria (Figure 3). trial technologies, the vertical and horizontal extension of the At this site, hundreds of shafts were excavated and 10,000 to shafts and galleries of the underground mines was restricted to 20,000 more shafts are estimated to cover an area of about some hundreds of metres (Craddock and Lang, 2003). Detailed 10 ha (Rind, 2000). 253  (Figure 5). This occurred especially in regions with a long-lasting and continuous prehistoric settlement history, where flood loams built up the major part of the Holocene alluvial stratigraphy (Brown, 1997). Fig. 3: Filled shafts from the Neolithic flint mine near Arnhofen, Lower Bavaria, Germany. (Photo: authors’ archive) How does mining affect river landscapes? From research on prehistoric and historic mining it becomes Fig. 4: Linear forms of soil erosion induced by land use on slopes, Vils River val- ley, Upper Palatinate, Germany. Left: parallel stripes of shallow hollow ways. obvious that even the primary land consumption caused by min- Right: 5 m deep, V-shaped gully. (Photos: authors’ archive) ing activities must have been enormous. However, besides min- ing itself, a variety of preceding and downstream activities were involved which in turn exhibit different consequences for the adjacent landscape. First, the exploitation of raw materials affects the pedosphere directly. Mining destroys or replaces the natural soil, alters soil properties but also produces completely new soils on mine Fig. 5: Process chain of soil erosion spoils. In addition, mining-related activities such as vegetation and floodplain sedimentation. Above: soil erosion on arable land and woodland clearances, to provide mine timber and to pro- and subsequent sedimentation on grassland. Centre: Vils River without duce charcoal, are additionally responsible for changes in soil (left) and during (right) a flood; the distribution and soil characteristics. floodwater contains high amounts of eroded soil particles browning the river water. Below: a sheet of flood Following the extraction, ores had to be transported to rivers, loam was deposited after a flood event and remains on the flood- where the ironworks were situated to allow for ore processing plain. (Photos: authors’ archive) with water power. In addition, for the processing of ores (roast- ing, sorting, crushing), there was a great demand for energy Mining must be considered as a significant accelerator of Late which was covered by charcoal production. The charcoal kilns Holocene floodplain sedimentation (Lewin and Macklin, 1987; were located in adjacent woodlands on the valley slopes close Tylecote, 1987; Timberlake, 2003). Therefore, in almost all the to ironworks. For the production of charcoal, large forest areas important prehistoric and historic mining regions of Europe, were cleared causing extensive devastation of the landscape investigations of floodplain sediments have been carried out and the initiation of soil erosion (Figure 4). As a consequence of proving the impact of mining on alluvial deposition (Matschullat this soil erosion on valley slopes, eroded material was et al., 1997; Foellmer, 1999; Hudson-Edwards et al., 1999; (re)deposited in the river bed and by floods on the floodplains Pirrie et al., 2002; Raab, 2005). 254 A large number of studies refer to the consequences of prehis- Impacts of pre-modern mining on river landscapes toric and historic mining caused by the emission of metals dur- – Vils River Case Studies ing the processing and smelting of ores leading to contamination During the fifteenth century, East Bavaria was one of the leading of air, water and soils. Well documented are preindustrial heavy mining regions of Europe (Fettweis, 2004, p. 141) and pro- metal enrichments of the atmosphere, which can be reconstruct- duced about 9,000 tons of iron per year (Lutz, 1941). Mines ed by the analyses of geoarchives such as glacier ice, lake sed- near the historic towns of Amberg and Sulzbach delivered ore iments or peat bogs (Renberg et al., 1994; Headley, 1996; to more than 200 ironworks which were distributed all over East West et al., 1997). Bavaria. The Vils River developed into the lifeline of this historic iron industry and in the river valley itself twenty-four ironworks According to Renberg et al. (2001) heavy metal analyses of lake were situated along the short 87 km river course (Götschmann, sediments and peat deposits in Sweden and other regions in 1985). Mining of ores and the production of iron in this area Europe, as well as from the ice cores of Greenland, suggest syn- had direct and indirect consequences for the environment of a chronous changes in past pollution histories with three time inter- more or less enduring character. vals of large-scale atmospheric lead enrichments occurring dur- ing the last two millennia: The first interval concerns Roman From 2001 to 2005 research was carried out within the scope times, when due to increasing use of lead, a first atmospheric of the DFG-funded Junior Research Training Group 462, lead-pollution fallout occurred over Europe, dated to the period “Paleoecosystem Research and History” (DFG-Graduiertenkolleg between 100 BC and AD 200. A second lead peak in the 462 “Paläoökosystemforschung und Geschichte”) to investigate geoarchives is dated to AD 1000 to AD 1200, which corre- the causal connection of mining and landscape change (Raab sponds to the intensification of medieval mining activities. A and Hürkamp, 2008). To detect mining-caused or mining- third peak in lead pollution that occurred in the 1970s is con- induced changes to river landscapes, interdisciplinary methods nected with the rapidly increasing emissions caused by alkyl- and techniques were applied, for example the chemical and lead additives in gasoline which were mainly used from the mineralogical analysis of soils and sediments by field and labo- Second World War until the 1970s. ratory methods, the identification and classification of landforms by terrestrial surveying, or the analysis of historical maps With regard to heavy metal pollution, mainly affected were the by Geographical Information System (GIS). The main environ- rivers on which processing and smelting of ores took place. With mental impacts which were revealed by these Vils River Case the increasing use of water power in the Late Middle Ages, allu- Studies (Raab, 2005; Richard, 2005; Beckmann, 2006; vial landscapes were affected dramatically because metal-rich Hürkamp, 2006) provide an idealized view of the legacies of residues from the ironworks contaminated the alluvial soils. How- early human land-use found in Central European river land- ever, floodplains act not only as heavy metal sinks, they also can scapes (Figure 6). As a synthesis some of the main results are be used as archives for distinctive mining episodes and pollution summarized below. histories (Lewin and Macklin, 1987). In vertically accreted flood- plain deposits, lead peaks can be used as stratigraphic markers Due to the mining background and in order to supply hydropow- and therefore provide information of pre- or post-mining sedi- er for the ironworks, the river morphology was modified by con- mentation (Matschullat et al., 1997; Raab et al., 2008). structing weirs and side channels. To reconstruct the historical river course, Richard (2005) used a combined approach 255 comprising archival cartography, geomorphological, of colluvial fans on the floodplain had consequences for the stratigraphical and sedimentological studies and GIS analysis. river, redirecting the river course and narrowing the former By comparison of historical maps from the sixteenth to nineteenth floodplain. These results coincide with Richard's (2005) finding centuries with modern maps and aerial photographs, for the of increased floodplain sedimentation during the zenith of larger parts of the Vils River valley, no artificial course ironwork activity at the Vils River and therefore show the causal corrections or meander cut-offs were found until the seventeenth connection of mining-related slope processes with the evolution century. The stratigraphic investigation of seven river of river floodplains. cross-sections, including absolute age determination (radio- carbon dating, luminescence dating) of organic and mineral material as well as the dendrochronological age determination of a oak trunk incorporated in the floodplain sediments, showed that with the onset of the mining activities in the eleventh century the river course was stabilized. Later, the intensification of the mining industry during the fifteenth century corresponded with a changing character of river sedimentation from a sand facies to a loam facies, indicating a tremendous input of eroded soil material. The ironworks of the region had a great demand for energy and ores. To supply the smelters, charcoal and ores had to be transported from the charcoal pile sites and the mines located on the plateaux and slopes to the ironworks along the river valley floor (Figure 6). The transport of the materials on unpaved paths Fig. 6: A synthesis of mining-induced landscape changes according to results from the Vils River Case Studies, East Bavaria, Germany: (i) clearing for charcoal on the valley slopes initiated linear soil erosion and therewith production, (ii) initiation of soil erosion on the slopes, (iii) deposition of eroded soil material on the footslope forming a colluvial fan, (iv) deposition of flood hollow-ways were formed (see also Figure 4). Once the topsoils loams on the floodplain, (v) contamination of alluvial soils by emissions from the were eroded, the shallow paths incised deeper into the subsoils ironworks. and the underlying substrata by the concentration of surface runoff along these lines. These erosion processes resulted in On the upper reaches of the Vils River, lead mining from the gullies up to 5 m in depth (Raab and Völkel, 2005). At the fifteenth to mid-twentieth centuries left behind heavy metal footslope, the eroded material accumulated as colluvial contaminations in the alluvial soils of more than 20,000 mg/kg. sediments and formed alluvial fans. Further transported material This is around twenty times higher than legal thresholds reached the Vils River and was redeposited on the floodplain (Hürkamp, 2006). The lead distribution on the floodplain has a during flood events. Sedimentological analyses of river and strong correlation with the location along the river of former pro- colluvial sediments which were carried out along valley cessing sites hence the causal connection between historical min- cross-sections and across colluvial fans proved that soil ing activity and present lead contamination (Hürkamp et al., sediments eroded from the gullies overlaid alluvial sediments of 2009). Historical mining landscapes are not only characterized the Vils River (Raab et al., 2005). In addition, the formation by the visible relicts of former human activities, such as 256 landforms of soil erosion (e.g. gullies) and soil accumulation Brown, A. G. 1997. Alluvial geoarchaeology. Floodplain (e.g. alluvial fans, flood loams) but may also contain “hidden archaeology and environmental change. Cambridge, UK, legacies” in the form of metal contamination (Figure 6). Cambridge University Press. (Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology.) 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Currently pursuing PhD studies in design and planning at at UNESCO (2000 – 2006) after a career in the same organiza- the University of Colorado Denver (United States), he has been tion as Director of the Division of Cultural Heritage and of the involved in various redevelopment and revitalization projects in World Heritage Centre, and in Algeria, his own country. He is urban and rural areas. director of antiquities, museums and historic monuments in the Algerian Ministry of Culture and Information. Albert, Marie-Theres, Prof. Dr., a university lecturer, has held the Chair of Intercultural Studies at Brandenburg University of Bushell, Robyn, PhD, Centre for Cultural Research, University Technology (BTU Cottbus, Germany) since 1994. Since October of Western Sydney (Australia), is co-chair of the IUCN-WCPA 2003 she has held the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies. As Tourism Task Force and advisor on Tourism and World Heritage; an education researcher she has been involved in a number of IUCN representative to the UNESCO World Heritage Sustain- consultancy and research projects, including stays in Latin Amer- able Tourism Initiative. Her research interests relate to visitation ican and Asian countries. She is also the founder and director of of World Heritage sites. She has been Australian Academic an MA and PhD programme in World Heritage Studies at Co-ordinator of Sharing Our Heritages. Cottbus. Cameron, Christina, PhD, is a professor at the University of Azizi, Shadi, Dr., has been professor of architecture since 2001 Montreal School of Architecture and currently holds the Canada at the Islamic Azad University in Tehran (Islamic Republic of Iran) Research Chair on Built Heritage there. Formerly Director- and chief director of Urban Design Department in NESHA General of National Historic Sites, Parks Canada, she has consulting engineers. She teaches theories and approaches of served twice as chair of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. architecture design and rural development. Capuzzo Derkovi´c, Nadia, Dr., teaches sociology and research- Bandarin, Francesco, architect and planner, has been Director es in the following subject areas: dealing with the past issues, iden- of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre since September 2000 tity and memory, preservation and reconstruction of cultural heritage and became UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture in in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Member of the Research Committee May 2010. He graduated in architecture in Venice (Italy) and in Sociology of Arts and Culture of the Swiss Society of Sociology and city and regional planning at the University of California, Berke- the UNESCO Forum University and Heritage, she is developing visu- ley (United States). Since 1980, he has been professor of urban al methodologies to research in the area of collective memory. planning at the School of Architecture of Venice. He has also worked as consultant for bilateral and multilateral organizations Chiweshe, Stella, is one of the few women playing the male- on city projects. He was involved in two major initiatives, the dominated mbira-based music of the Shona people. Born in Zim- Venice Safeguarding projects and the preparation of the year babwe in the late 1940s, she learned to play the mbira- 2000 celebrations in Rome. He has published a number of dzavadzimu in 1964 and recorded her first hit single, Kasahwa, books and articles, mainly on urban conservation and the urban in 1974. These days she maintains a home in both Zimbabwe environment. and Germany and tours extensively throughout Europe and the eastern United States. 262 Disko, Stefan, MA, has worked for various indigenous peoples' Halsdorfer, Alice, Dr., works at the Senate Chancellery, and human rights organizations in the context of the United Department of Cultural Affairs, Berlin. She has gained various Nations. He holds an MA in ethnology, international law and curatorial and legal experiences in an international context and American cultural history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University her publications cover, among other themes, the 1970 UNESCO Munich and an MA in World Heritage Studies from BTU Cottbus. Convention. Engels, Barbara, holds a diploma in biology and an MA in Hauser, Robert, Dr., studied cultural studies, communications European studies. She is a scientific officer at the German Fed- and media science and religious studies at the University of eral Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and responsible for Leipzig. Since September 2009 he has been scientific assistant UNESCO World Natural Heritage. Since 2005, she has been a at the Centre for Cultural and General Studies (ZAK). His key member of the German delegation at the World Heritage Com- research activities are in the fields of culture and ICT, culture and mittee sessions and also serves the IUCN World Commission of new media, and cultural transmission and new heritage. Protected Areas (WCPA). Herrmann, Judith, MA in World Heritage Studies at BTU Cot- Folin Calabi, Lodovico, PhD in urban history from the School tbus, formerly programme specialist in the Division of World Her- of Advanced Studies in Venice (Italy). Since 2003 he has been itage at the German Commission for UNESCO, freelance World with UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in Paris. His work focus- Heritage consultant, is at present a doctoral student at the es on cities and contemporary development and with the Cities University of Montreal (Canada). team he is currently preparing UNESCO's Recommendation on the Conservation of the Historic Urban Landscape. He is also Heyd, Thomas, Dr., is professor of philosophy / environmental project manager for the coordination of the World Heritage studies at the Univer