In today’s volatile world, links to the past and to place are becoming more tenuous and contested, and threats to cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – are extremely socially and politically difficult to counter. It is a critical moment to ask what cultural heritage actually means to different people and regions, especially in the digital era, and why it is more important than ever to preserve, enhance and share cultural heritage through all available means.
Part of the long-running Culture, Arts and Society series, this invitation-only program will bring together creative thinkers and groundbreaking practitioners from around the world to reflect on and critique current approaches to cultural heritage, and to explore new frontiers in heritage innovation and collaboration.
By invitation only
The program will be structured along a continuum of inquiry: perceptions of the past, problematics of the present, and potential for the future.
The first area of inquiry – perceptions of the past – will have a philosophical focus, considering both positive and negative associations of cultural heritage. Participants will contrast its positive potential to create a sense of identity, reinforce social cohesion, and advance reconciliation with its negative potential to trigger conflict, perpetuate or reinforce symbols of oppression, and recreate trauma. Taking indigenous, decolonized, non-nationalistic, and non-Western interpretations into full account, they will explore whose culture and whose heritage is the focus of discourse, and how and why the language we use to talk about cultural heritage is changing. Specific questions will relate to shifting perceptions of cultural heritage in recent decades, including new concepts of tangible and intangible heritage.
The second area of inquiry – problematics of the present – will have a pragmatic focus and address ways to tackle the manifold threats to cultural heritage. Looking outwards, these include: unsustainable tourism and “destination thinking” in heritage; the impacts of climate change on tangible and intangible heritage; the destruction of cultural heritage through conflict; the illicit trafficking of cultural objects; the dislocation from roots and history linked to population displacement and rapid urbanization; and the impact of accelerating globalization on a shared sense of identity and belonging.
The third area of inquiry – potential for the future – aims to develop a visionary and transformative agenda for the cultural heritage field, supported by new advocacy tools for a range of target audiences. Participants will seek to better articulate why heritage matters to people today and in the future, and how we can unlock the amazing potential of cultural heritage.
KEY QUESTIONS
PARTICIPANT PROFILE
Participants will include practitioners from the cultural heritage sector, such as museum, library, and archive professionals, as well as representatives of cultural ministries and heritage associations. They will be joined by a cross-cutting mix of technology innovators, social entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, historians and researchers, policymakers, anthropologists and cultural philanthropists.
PROGRAM FORMAT
The highly interactive program will be structured around a mix of thought-provoking presentations, curated conversations, informal interactions, knowledge exchange, and practical group work. The process seeks to combine theory, policy and practice across sectoral silos, opening up new perspectives and intensive learning opportunities. Participants will also work intensively in focus groups, allowing for in-depth group work on key issues.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND IMPACT
This program seeks to:
After attending this program as a participant, Prof. Dr. Amareswar Galla published his reflections in the Amaravati Express.
All images are available for download. Please credit Salzburg Global Seminar/Herman Seidl. Unwatermarked images are available on request.
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