Samenvatting - Heritage: Global and European frames

Summary Heritage: Global and European frames

PART 1 — INTRODUCTION & EXPANSION OF THE CONCEPT
OF HERITAGE
1. Expansion of the Semantic Field of “Heritage”

The meaning of heritage has expanded dramatically:

 From:
o Immovable heritage
(monuments, landscapes, World Heritage sites)
 To:
o Movable heritage
(museums, archives, libraries)
o Digital heritage
o “Intangible” heritage

Key historical moments:

 1980s in France
o 1981: Year of Heritage
 Translation of “heritage” into:
o official and powerful texts:
 laws
 decrees
 UNESCO conventions and recommendations
 Council of Europe,…

Emergence and recognition of a network of institutions
 Appropriation by and recognition of:
o communities
o volunteers
o non-state actors
 Rise of:
o cultural brokerage
o mediators and facilitators
o online platforms
 Heritage enters:
o policy agendas
o Subsidiarity

The academic world responds with:

 the emergence of (Critical) Heritage Studies
 increasing emphasis on: “significance” for “society”
 21st century framing: “Cultural heritage” as a dynamic social process


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,2. Subsidiarity, the dynamics above and in Belgium

Heritage operates on multiple, interconnected levels:

 Global level (UNESCO)
o 1972: World Heritage Convention
o 2003: Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention
 European level
o European Union
o Council of Europe
 National level (Belgium)
o FWI’s/ National Scientific Institutions
 Regional level
o Monuments
o Landscapes
o Archaeology
 Community level
o Museums
o Archives
o Libraries
o Intangible cultural heritage
 Provincial level
o Immovable heritage (onroerend like monuments, landscapes,…)
 Local level (Cities & Communities)
o immovable
o movable
o digital
o intangible
 Role of CGIs (Cultural Governance Institutions)

This layered structure reflects:
 decentralisation
 participation
 shared responsibility
 subsidiarity

3. A Definition of Heritage (Council of the European Union, 2014)

Conclusions on Cultural Heritage as a Strategic Resource for a Sustainable Europe
(Brussels, 20 May 2014)
The counsil of the European Union recognising that:

“Cultural heritage consists of the resources inherited from the past in all forms and aspects – tangible,
intangible and digital (born digital and digitized), including monuments, sites, landscapes, skills, practices,
knowledge and expressions of human creativity, as well as collections conserved and managed by public
and private bodies such as museums, libraries and archives.

It originates from the interaction between people and places through time and it is constantly evolving.

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,These resources are of great value to society from a cultural, environmental, social and economic point of
view and thus their sustainable management constitutes a strategic choice for the 21st century.”

The slides repeat this definition with critical questions: (slide 16-21)

 Future(s)?
 Belgian / Flemish interpretation since the 1980s?
 Natural and “spiritual” heritage?
 Only collections? CGIs?
 Objects? Animals / nature? Gods and spirits? Cyberspace? Things out of space?
 Agenda 2030 – Sustainable Development Goals → Is culture a 4th pillar?

4. Participation & Leverage

The Council emphasizes:

Participation
Cultural heritage plays an important role in creating and enhancing social capital because it
has the capacity to:

 inspires and fosters citizens’ participation in public life
 enhances quality of life and well-being
 promotes diversity and intercultural dialogue
 reduces social disparities
 facilitates social inclusion
 supports intergenerational dialogue and social cohesion
 offers possibilities to develop:
o skills
o knowledge
o creativity
o innovation
 is an effective educational tool:
o formal
o non-formal
o informal
o lifelong learning

Leverage
Cultural heritage has an important economic impact, including as an integral part of the
cultural and creative sectors, because, among other things, it:

 has important economic impact
 is part of the cultural and creative sectors
 constitutes a driving force for:
o inclusive local and regional development
o sustainable cultural tourism
 supports:
o sustainable rural and urban development

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, o regeneration
 generates:
o diverse types of employment


PART 2 — JANET BLAKE & THE FOUNDATIONS OF
HERITAGE LAW
1. Cultural Heritage as a Legal and Conceptual Problem

Janet Blake opens her work with a crucial observation:

“Cultural heritage is a portmanteau term with a myriad of possible meanings and interpretations.”
This means that “heritage” is not a fixed or self-evident concept. It is:
 historically shaped
 culturally contingent
 politically negotiated
 legally constructed

Her book International Cultural Heritage Law is structured around three main axes:
1. Valuing and protecting cultural heritage
2. Terminological questions
3. Universal, national or local heritage

Blake’s central message is that:
 Heritage is never neutral.
 What counts as heritage depends on:
o power
o law
o politics
o culture
 Heritage law evolves together with society.


2. Valuing and Protecting Heritage: From Ancient Times to the 19th Century

Blake stresses that valuing heritage is not a modern invention:

“Placing a value on monuments and artefacts which reflect the cultural and religious expressions of a
society is by no means a modern impulse.”

Historical examples illustrate this continuity:

 Babylon (6th century BCE)
o Princess Ennigaldi created an early “museum” in the city of Ur.
o Objects were accompanied by clay labels in three languages.
o This shows early practices of collection, interpretation, and memory.
 Rome (73 BCE)
o Cicero condemned the looting of artworks by Verres in Sicily.
o Cultural destruction was already framed as morally and politically wrong.

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