Heritage Now: Relevance and Community

‘Heritage Now: Relevance and Community’ draws from and develops key themes explored during the 2022 international conference of the same name. Each event brings together voices from around the world, to share experiences and to collectively discuss pressing topics related to heritage preservation.

Heritage now 1 Webinar

Heritage Now: Relevance and Community – Community Ownership (1/5)

In this, the first of five sessions, we examine who ‘owns’ heritage? Exploring ideas around ownership and influence, we discuss how communities and heritage organisations navigate these concepts, in collaboration or in opposition. Bringing together a multidisciplinary group of professionals working with heritage, we ask; who makes the decisions? How do we prioritise? What are the impacts of such actions?

Heritage now 2 Webinar

Heritage Now: Relevance and Community – [Re]Interpreting Relevance (2/5)

In this session, we investigate what happens when heritage sites and stories no longer hold relevance within communities. Drawing together speakers who have worked to adapt and evolve heritage spaces and their narratives, we discuss topics such as truth and trust, meaningful co-production and how we can tell multi-dimensional stories to open up engagement opportunities.

Heritage now 3 Webinar

Heritage Now: Relevance and Community – Youth-Led Strategies for Climate Action (3/5)

In this session, we bring together an international panel of professionals working on youth-led strategies for tackling the climate crisis through heritage. Understanding that the health of people, wildlife and the environment are all deeply intertwined, this conversation focused on nature-based solutions and community-led climate efforts, exploring the potential of the heritage sector to respond to the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

Heritage now 4 Webinar

Heritage Now: Relevance and Community - Making Places (4/5)

In the aftermath of any crisis, the rethinking, reshaping & reconstruction of our built environment requires the careful balancing of many rival interests and priorities. In this session, we explore how decisions made within these processes can impact a sense of place for the communities who live there.

We compare what can be lost when culture and identity are forgone in favour of redevelopment interests, versus the opportunity heritage presents to build places that reflect and serve the communities that live within them.

Heritage now 5 Webinar

Heritage Now: Relevance and Community - People, Purpose, Place (5/5)

In this, the fifth and final session in the series, we reflect on the central themes of People, Purpose and Place within heritage preservation; exploring how the heritage sector currently works with these entwined areas of focus today.

We take stock of the key findings of the series so far, discussing how heritage and its relevance evolves in constant dialogue with communities; asking how can we go forwards with an understanding of these values and give purpose to our actions?