THE CHALLENGE

Heritage is now in the midst of a series of far-reaching yet contradictory transformations. 

In some places, unprecedented levels of public and private funding have been applied to the cause of heritage conservation, yet in other places, the scale of physical destruction, looting, and vandalism has never been so great. 

Everywhere academic departments of archaeology, history, and anthropology are under unprecedented budgetary pressure, yet at the same time increasing numbers of the general public are involved in cultural tourism and historic reenactments and are fascinated by historical novels, documentaries, and films. 

While government culture ministries and antiquities services are slashing their budgets in favor of outsourcing, private heritage management firms and locally-inspired heritage development projects have created alternative structures for cooperation. 

Not least important, at a time when the “outstanding universal values” are stressed by UNESCO and other international heritage organizations, the quest for local and community identity — in an era of globalization — provides another source of strong public support for heritage commemoration and development.

How will these contradictory heritage trends resolve themselves in the coming generation?  How will we see and understand tangible and intangible remains of the past in the next 20-25 years?

As part of their continuing program of public discussion and reflection on the role of heritage in contemporary society, the Department of Culture of the Province of East-Flanders and the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation are organizing a three-day colloquium in March 2007 to examine the future of Heritage scholarship, administration, funding, and public involvement in Europe and throughout the world.

THEMES

How will governments and heritage administrations view their responsibility toward tangible and intangible heritage in the coming generation?  What are the major trends now affecting the development of public policy?  What role will universities, NGOs, and international organizations play?

How will the combination of public and private funding sources and of state and private management of heritage sites and museums evolve?  With the continuing reduction of public culture budgets and increasing reliance on independent income generation, what economic strategies can be most effective in preserving the integrity of cultural heritage sites?

How can emerging technologies contribute to the long-term preservation, documentation and public interpretation of heritage resources?  In which contexts are they sustainable and/or affordable?  What is their social and intellectual impact on the public perception of heritage itself?

Do heritage sites belong only to a nation, to regional and local administrations, to the communities that produced them, or to the specialists that study and conserve them as “universal” heritage?  What is the role of the general public?  What kinds of innovative programmes can most effectively enhance education and community identity?