Public participation and local community involvement have taken centre stage in heritage practice in recent decades. In contrast with this established position in wider heritage work, public engagement with conservation practice is less well developed. The focus here is on conservation as the practical care of material cultural heritage, with all its associated significance for local people. How can we be more successful in building capacity for local ownership and leadership of heritage conservation projects, as well as improving participative involvement in decisions and in practice? This book presents current research and practice in community-led conservation. It illustrates that outcomes of locally-led, active participation show demonstrable social, educational and personal benefits for participants. Bringing together UK and international case studies, the book combines analysis of theoretical and applied approaches, exploring the lived experiences of conservation projects in and with different communities. Responding to the need for deeper understanding of the outcomes of heritage conservation, it examines the engagement of local people and communities beyond the expert and specialist domain. Highlighting the advances in this important aspect of contemporary heritage practice, this book is a key resource for practitioners in heritage studies, conservation and heritage management. It is also relevant for the practising professional, student or university researcher in an emerging field that overarches professional and academic practice.

15 Community involvement matters in conserving World Heritage Sites: remote cases of Japan -- 16 Researching with the public, conserving with the community: the Martos project workshop, Spain -- 17 SPAB Maintenance Co-operatives: a move towards meaningful community participation? -- 18 Maintaining treasures on Earth: supporting volunteers to care for places of worship -- 19 The devil is in the detail: capacity building conservation skills at the Stone Masons' Lodge -- Index

Communities and Cultural Heritage explores the relationship between communities, their cultural heritage and the global forces that control most of the world’s wealth and resources in today’s world. Bringing together scholars and heritage practitioners from nine countries, this book contributes to the ongoing dialogue on community heritage by analysing impediments to full community participation. The underminin of local communities comes at a high price. As the chapters in this book demonstrate, the knowledge embedded within traditional and Indigenous heritage creates communities that are more resilient to environmental and social stressors and more responsive to contemporary challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, post-disaster recovery and relocation. Cultural heritage practices often fail to capitalise upon local knowledge and traditional skills and undervalue the potential contribution of local communities in finding creative and resourceful solutions to the issues they are confronting. Arguing that the creation of successful community heritage project requires ongoing reflection on the aims, methods, financing and acceptable outcomes of projects, the volume also demonstrates that the decolonization of Western-focussed heritage practices is an ongoing process, by which subaltern groups are brought forward and given a space in the heritage narrative. Reflecting on trends that impact communities and heritage sites across different geographical regions, Communities and Cultural Heritage will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners of cultural heritage,archaeology and anthropology around the world.

International, multi-disciplinary perspectives on the key question of community engagement in theory and practice in a diverse range of heritage settings. Across the global networks of heritage sites, museums, and galleries, the importance of communities to the interpretation and conservation of heritage is increasingly being recognised. Yet the very term "meaningful community engagement" betrays a myriad of contrary approaches and understandings. Who is a community? How can they engage with heritage and why would they want to? How do communities and heritage professionals perceive one another? What does itmean to "engage"? These questions unsettle the very foundations of community engagement and indicate a need to unpick this important but complex trend. Engaging Heritage, Engaging Communities critically explores the latest debates and practices surrounding community collaboration. By examining the different ways in which communities participate in heritage projects, the book questions the benefits, costs and limitations of community engagement. Whether communities are engaging through innovative initiatives or in response to economic, political or social factors, there is a need to understand how such engagements are conceptualised, facilitated and experienced by boththe organisations and the communities involved. Bryony Onciul is Lecturer in History at the University of Exeter; Michelle Stefano is the Co-Director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program for the state of Maryland and Visiting Assistant Professor in American Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Stephanie Hawke is a project manager and fundraiser, working on a range of projects aiming to engage communities with culturalheritage. Contributors: Gregory Ashworth, Evita Busa, Helen Graham, Julian Hartley, Stephanie Hawke, Carl Hogsden, Shatha Abu Khafajah, Nicole King, Bernadette Lynch, Billie Lythberg, Conal McCarthy, Ashley Minner, Wayne Ngata, Bryony Onciul, Elizabeth Pishief, Gregory Ramshaw, Philipp Schorch, Justin Sikora, Michelle Stefano, Helen Tully, John Tunbridge.

The value of heritage for society is increasingly underscored. This goes hand in hand with a growing interest for local communities’ involvement in heritage management plans. Although this shift in discourse is acknowledged, its practical implementation seems often too ambitious and not easy to apply. Therefore, the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC, University of Leuven) considered “community participation in valuing and managing heritage” a relevant and timely topic for its annual international conference, the “Thematic Week”. This volume reports on the lectures and fruitful debates dedicated to this theme during the 2014 Thematic Week, which took place January 22nd-24th. The conference entailed an integral and holistic approach towards community participation. Focusing traditionally on the conservation of the historic urban environment and immovable heritage, the RLICC took the opportunity to involve both the intangible and movable heritage fields which have a more apparent relation with community participation in managing heritage. The contributions by different international authors, including theoretical reflections, policy / discourse analyses and practical case studies, show that a balanced approach is needed. They evidence that more research is required on the success and on failure factors associated with community participation in heritage preservation and management projects. It appears that taking full advantage of public participation requires considering heritage as an economic, social and intellectual resource for local communities. These added benefits can enhance the value a community attributes to heritage and encourages them to maintain it. This publication was developed in context of the UNESCO Chair on Preventive Conservation, Monitoring and Maintenance of Monuments and Sites (PRECOM3OS), established at the RLICC in collaboration with Monumentenwacht Vlaanderen and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Cuenca in Ecuador and financially supported by the Janssen Fund for Preventive Conservation.

Heritage Planning: Principles and Process provides a comprehensive overview of heritage planning as an area of professional practice. The book first addresses the context and principles of heritage planning, including land-use law, planning practice, and international heritage doctrine, all set within the framework of larger societal issues such as sustainability and ethics. The book then takes readers through the pragmatic processes of heritage practice including collecting data, identifying community opinion, determining heritage significance, the best practices and methods of creating a conservation plan, and managing change. Heritage Planning recognizes changing approaches to heritage conservation, particularly the shift from the conservation of physical fabric to the present emphasis on retaining values, associations and stories that historic places hold for their communities. The transition has affected the practice of heritage planning and is important for those in the field. It is essential reading for both professionals that manage change within the built environment and students of heritage conservation and historic preservation.

In the contemporary world, unprecedented global events are challenging our ability to protect and enhance cultural heritage for future generations. Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society examines innovative and flexible approaches to cultural heritage protection. Bringing together cultural heritage scholars and activists from across the world, the volume showcases a spectrum of exciting new approaches to heritage protection, community involvement, and strategic utilization of expertise. The contributions deal with a range of highly topical issues, including armed conflict and non-state actors, as well as broad questions of public heritage, museum roles in society, heritage tourism, disputed ownership, and indigenous and local approaches. In so doing, the volume builds upon, and introduces readers to, a new cultural heritage declaration codified during a 2016 workshop at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada. Offering a clarion call for an enduring spirit of innovation, collaboration, education, and outreach, Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society will be important reading for scholars, students, cultural heritage managers, and local community stakeholders.