Rethinking Heritage for Development: International Framework, Local Impacts

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Improving the lives of disenfranchised people by implementing internationally funded development projects is a global challenge. Models have thus far failed, testified by issues of poverty, inequality and resource depletion, notably in Africa. The potential of heritage (understood as including both tangible and intangible elements) to provide a new model of human development is widely acknowledged (e.g. the five UN Resolutions on culture and heritage for development adopted between 2010 and 2015). The international community called for its inclusion in the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, despite overwhelming support in theory, heritage has been marginalised in the 17 SDGs. One reason for such marginalisation is the lack of critical analyses of international projects on heritage for development funded as part of the implementation of the development goals. Another reason is the lack of analyses of the history of international policies and narratives on heritage for development. Research on this topic tends to focus on a narrow understanding of economic development. This project aims to move beyond this narrow understanding. It will be the first comprehensive historical, multi-scalar (international, national, and local levels) and interdisciplinary project, critically analysing whether and how heritage contributes to the three pillars of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic) within the international development agenda. More specifically, this project will analyse the policies and narratives elaborated by international organisations (UN, UNESCO and World Bank) on heritage for development over the past thirty years. It will then assess how these international approaches have been implemented on the ground. Based on official evaluations, it will provide critical analyses of the successes and failures of all of the projects on heritage for development funded in Africa (Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal) through the Millennium Development Goals. These evaluations have never been analysed, yet they provide the most complete data on the successes and failures of the only heritage for development projects funded within the international development agenda. These projects were also selected because they focus on issues central to the SDGs and the three pillars of sustainability: to ensure the empowerment of women through equal access to vocational trainings (SDG4; target 4.3) and equal rights to decent employment (SDG 5; target 5.a); to develop economic opportunities for marginalised groups (SDG 8; target 8.9) as well as to halt biodiversity loss (SDG 15; target 15.5). Further analyses will be conducted by interviewing participants in the culture for development projects in Mozambique. This ethnographic study will assess the veracity of some of the results from official evaluations. Mozambique was selected because of the projects' ambitious goals, the results achieved and because of the PI's familiarity with this country. This research will identify shortcomings in how heritage has contributed to the international development goals so far and will propose innovative models on how to improve this contribution. The results and recommendations will be disseminated through three policy briefings, the website, and used to influence current and future development agendas through workshops with intergovernmental organisations and selected national ministers of the four African countries considered. The PI has unique access to archives at UNESCO and the World Bank, has already conducted research on the global challenges using similar methodologies, has collected data on international organisations and in Mozambique and has experience of drafting international policies on heritage for development. The interest shown by diverse intergovernmental organisations to take part in the workshop further demonstrates the need for such research.