Theme
The 2010 Symposium will highlight the following themes in its
examination of Social Change:
1. Heritage of Changing/Evolving Communities To what extent does heritage conservation and management retard or accelerate other social processes? How can heritage “sustainability” be defi ned in social terms? Does World Heritage listing create unanticipated pressures on the contemporary communities that surround them? In fact, does World Heritage listing destroy the traditional social context of small living sites? How can heritage “conservation” become a part of future-oriented development? Has traditional heritage practice served to create boundaries rather than bridges between states, regions, and ethnic communities? Should contemporary social changes (demographic, economic, cultural) contribute to evolving concepts of significance?
2. Diasporic, Immigrant, and Indigenous Heritage
In a world of movement, migrations, and cultural diversity, how can monuments and intangible heritage be honoured and appreciated by scattered communities, often in very different cultural contexts? Does the heritage of indigenous and aboriginal communities require special management and interpretive methods? Should the history and traditions of immigrants become part of the heritage of the host country? How should heritage professionals deal with the reality of the major demographic changes now occurring throughout the world?
3. Religious Heritage
The social significance of religious practice is changing: in some places, becoming less a part of daily routines and in other regions very much more. What is the relationship between active religious observance and heritage monuments? Is ritual an obstruction, a privileged activity, or a common human heritage meant to be accessible and viewable by all? Religious traditions are often more visible than ever, and geographically over-lap to an unprecedented degree. As a consequence, religious monuments, places of worship, pilgrimage routes, and sacred places often become both heritage tourist attractions and the objects of conflict and ownership dispute. What role can religion play in 21st century heritage practice? Likewise, can heritage play a constructive role in encouraging coexistence between faiths?
4. The Social Impacts of Global Climate Change
Following up on the earlier Global Climate Change discussions of the Scientific Council, how does climate change affect human settlements and economic patterns in a way that indirectly impacts cultural heritage? The earlier symposium dealt with direct threats posed by Global Climate Change on tangible heritage resources, but here we may deal with its effect on intangible traditions as well. What change in significance does a monument undergo when its environmental context shifts? How can the heritage profession adopt new interpretive and administrative techniques for dealing with an environmentally, economically, and culturally changing world?
There are many questions posed in this discussion, primarily because contemporary Social Change is so complex and far reaching-and it interacts with Technological and Global Climate Change in unpredictable ways. As cultural heritage is created by people and valued by people, the changes in lifestyles, values, and economics will undoubtedly have significant impacts on both the form and significance of heritage.
Through the Scientific Council’s research on Global Climate Change, we have concluded that it is going to produce a heritage of loss. Through the subsequent symposium on Technological Change, we have concluded that technology is a double-edged sword that needs to be approached with caution. The goals of the 2010 Symposium will be to integrate all three aspects of change to begin the formulation of a practical agenda for ICOMOS in the coming years.
