Mobilising World Heritage for Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987).
The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the role that the interconnected sectors of culture, heritage, the creative industries and tourism can play in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While clearly recognising the over-arching need to protect and maintain World Heritage, there is a need to re-imagine and re-structure the way that it is used; not simply as interesting and attractive places to visit, but as highly visible and influential resources that can be used to achieve the SDGs.
In order to achieve this it is crucial to understand the issues and potentials of World Heritage sites by bringing a number of different actors together, involving academics across various disciplines, the relevant stakeholders and most importantly the local communities.
The World Heritage FOR Sustainable Development project aims to establish and build a Network of experienced and new researchers, policy makers and local stakeholders to share research, new ideas and examples of good practice relating to the ways in which World Heritage can be effectively and sensitively mobilised to foster sustainable tourism, cultural and creative industries, related economic development and social cohesion. The Network will provide an international platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration allowing researchers, policy-makers and local stakeholders to share experience in the planning, development and management of sustainable World Heritage Sites.
This re-thinking of World Heritage, and new initiatives to implicate it into the wider sustainable development agenda, raises important issues of social justice, development, governance, cultural economics, tourism, interpretation and management. This reflective process is relevant for academics from across several disciplines and importantly for non-academic site/community-based practitioners.
Learn more about the WH4SD Network.
Project Partners
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage (IIICH), University of Birmingham
World Heritage Research Centre, University of Peking (WHRC)
Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy (CHAMP), University of Illinois
UNESCO-UNITWIN Tourism, Culture and Development
UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme
Events
Workshop 1 | Embedding World Heritage in Sustainable Development | Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage (IIICH), University of Birmingham & Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, United Kingdom | Register
Workshop 2 | Governance and Cross-Sector Partnerships| Hangzhou West Lake World Heritage Site, China | Register
Workshop 3 |Culture and Creativity at World Heritage Sites| Register
Conference | Capacity Building at World Heritage Sites in ODA Countries| Register