Course on Promoting People-Centred Approaches: Engaging Communities in the Conservation of Nature and Culture
Place: Lake Ohrid region (Albania/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Partners
Background
This course is aimed primarily at Albanian and Macedonian experts from partner institutions working on the UNESCO-EU project “Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region” funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Albania. However, the opportunity is also provided to participants in the region who demonstrate that they are in the process of engaging communities in heritage management and that they wish to share their experience and strengthen their approaches. The course follows the model of the first course on ‘Promoting People-Centred Approaches: Engaging Communities in the Conservation of Nature and Culture’ implemented in October 2015.
Engaging communities in all processes of World Heritage has been emphasized by the World Heritage Committee through recognizing the engaging of ‘communities’ amongst its five strategic directions. This also strengthens article 5 of the Convention, which explicitly refers to the recommendation that State Parties should adopt a general policy aiming to give cultural and natural heritage a ‘function in the life of the community.’ In addition, the adoption of the policy on sustainable development by the General Assembly of State Parties to the World Heritage Convention underlines that engagement of concerned communities is mandatory to achieve sustainable development.
The above-mentioned ICCROM course aims at providing the knowledge, skills and awareness necessary for engaging communities in managing heritage, and in particular for integrating them into all aspects of the World Heritage process. Another unique feature of this course is the integration of natural and cultural heritage sectors, in order to share synergies and provide opportunities for practitioners from both sectors to interact. This aspect has been overwhelmingly endorsed by all participants.
Engaging communities in conservation and management of heritage is considered a key component within the people-centred approaches promoted by ICCROM. While debate on this issue has been taking place for some time, involving community members is still a real challenge at many heritage places. However, there is increasing awareness that a people-centred approach brings recognized benefits to heritage, to those working in the heritage sector, and to communities. While there is no simple recipe, there are many examples that can be explored to understand the range of possible approaches and to inspire adapted approaches elsewhere.
This course aims to bring practitioners together to share their experiences and learn from others, so as to move the practice forward. Taking a people-centred approach is not simply a suggestion for increasing participation within a management system. It is about addressing a core component of heritage management – the people who are connected to heritage – and ensuring that they are an integral element of conserving that heritage. Heritage should be seen as having the potential to play an active role in communities and to bring benefits to people, thereby demonstrating that heritage is meaningful to society and thus gaining society’s support for its on-going use and protection. Engaging communities is about strengthening their ability to participate meaningfully in the process of making conservation and management decisions for themselves and their heritage. Although genuine community engagement in heritage remains a huge challenge, significant experience has already been gained in some heritage places with publications and other tools available that share approaches and offer guidance.
The course is primarily aimed at Albanian and Macedonian experts from partner institutions of the UNESCO/EU project ‘Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region’ to strengthen their knowledge and provide tools to work more effectively with communities through existing management systems. However, the course is open to practitioners from the region. This course will also be used as an opportunity to create a forum for participants to share their experiences from both the cultural and natural heritage sectors, learning from each other and other heritage practitioners who are actively involved with communities. The course will consist of lectures, interactive sessions on sharing experiences and practical exercises based on a real-life case study. The working language will be English.
Participants
The course is designed for a maximum of 20 participants. Ten positions will be allocated to those directly engaged in the project “Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region.” The remaining 10 positions will be open to heritage practitioners from the cultural, natural and environmental protection sectors who wish to share their experiences and strengthen their knowledge, skills and application of tools. Applicants should demonstrate either their involvement in on-going community activities or a strong need and desire to engage communities in their work.
Venue
The course opening and closing will be in Tirana. The remainder of the course will be held at different locations around the Lake Ohrid region in Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Travel, Accommodation and Living Expenses
Participants are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from sources such as governmental institutions, employers and funding agencies. Cost of accommodation and food will be about 1000 Euros, and travel costs should be foreseen additionally.
Subsidised places for those who would otherwise be unable to attend will be competitively assessed together after the deadline of 17:00 CET, Wednesday 10 August 2016. Places will be awarded on the basis of merit and financial need for up to 10 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia holding local or regional positions in heritage management.
Applications
Please fill in the Application form_PCA16 and send it together with the documents listed below:
- A full professional curriculum vitae (in English);
- A description of a community engagement project you are currently involved in or a planned project where you will be working with communities (max. one page).
Application materials should be sent to pca16@iccrom.org
Application deadline: 10 August 2016