In discussion surrounding the destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflict, one often hears two important claims in support of intervention to safeguard heritage. The first is that the protection of people and the protection of heritage are two sides of the same coin. The second is that the cultural heritage of any people is part of the common heritage of all humankind. In this article, I examine both of these claims, (...) and consider the extent to which they align with the current practices that they are intended to justify. (shrink)

In the third issue of the J. Paul Getty Trust Occasional Papers in Cultural Heritage Policy series, authors Helen Frowe and Derek Matravers pivot from the earlier tone of the series in discussing the appropriate response to attacks on cultural heritage with their paper, “Conflict and Cultural Heritage: A Moral Analysis of the Challenges of Heritage Protection.” While Frowe and Matravers acknowledge the importance of cultural heritage, they assert that we (...) must more carefully consider the complex moral dimensions—the inevitable serious consequences to human beings—before formulating policy to forcefully protect it. -/- A number of writers and thinkers working on the problem of preserving the world’s most treasured monuments, sites, and objects today cite what Frowe and Matravers call extrinsic and intrinsic justifications for the protection of cultural heritage. These are arguments that maintain that protecting heritage will be a key means to achieve other important goals, like the prevention of genocide, or arguments that heritage deserves to be forcefully protected for its own sake. Frowe and Matravers deconstruct both types of justifications, demonstrating a lack of clear evidence for a causal relationship between the destruction of cultural heritage and atrocities like genocide and arguing that the defense of heritage must not be treated with the same weight or urgency, or according to the same international policies, as the defense of human lives. -/- By calling for expanded theory and empirical data and the consideration of morality in the crafting of international policy vis-à-vis cultural heritage protection, Frowe and Matravers present a thoughtful critique that enriches this important series and adds to the ongoing dialogue in the field. (shrink)

The current environmental crisis can be approached, through many perspectives, as a civilizational crisis. Alternatives of human transcendence are identified in the Inca civilization to compensate for the malaise that characterizes the actual crisis. There is a multicultural dimension to the manifestations of Hoasca occurring in Amazonian countries. As employed by the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal in a religious context, it can contribute to the reconstruction of buen vivir, which served as the principle of the civilizations that preceded (...) the colonization of the Americas by Europeans. Today, the State openly confronts the manifestation of the constitutional principles of buen vivir, religious freedom, and the protection of this cultural heritage. Here, the implications of the civilizational crisis and ways of overcoming it are approached from the standpoint of deep ecology, but the implications also reflect the doctrinal vision of the UDV to which the authors are affiliated. (shrink)

New technologies provide great opportunities for cultural heritage to become more widely accessible and for cultural experience to be more meaningful. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the strengths and vulnerabilities of the cultural heritage sector and the need to accelerate its digital transformation to make the most of the opportunities it provides. The Commission Recommendation on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation (2011/711/EU) concluded that there is an urgent need (...) to protect and preserve European cultural heritage, and, in particular, endangered cultural heritage is still present. However, the diversity of legal approaches to cultural heritage by the Member States discourages the creation of a common European data space for cultural heritage as the European Commission recently proclaimed. In Greece, there have been significant efforts in recent decades to digitise and digitally preserve cultural heritage goods. However, the attention was not drew upon the accessibility and reuse of the digitized cultural heritage content. According to the relevant regulatory framework the existing rules on the use of digital technologies for the reproduction, use and preservation of cultural heritage content is obviously outdated. According to the paragraphs 4 and 5 of article 46 of the Greek Code for the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage in general (Law 4858/2021), a previous permission granted by the Ministry of Culture is required for the production, reproduction and dissemination to the public of impressions, copies or depictions of monuments belonging to the Public Sector, or immovable monuments that are located within archaeological sites and historical places or are isolated, or movable monuments that are kept in museums or public collections, in any way and by any means whatsoever, including Information Communication Technologies. Such permission is granted to natural or legal persons for a fee paid to the Hellenic Organization of Cultural Resources Development (HOCRED) upon the decision of the Minister of Culture, while the decision also specifies the temporal validity of the permission, the terms on which the permission is granted and the fee that must be paid. The production, reproduction and use of the aforementioned goods for other purposes, such as artistic, educational or scientific purposes, is again allowed for a fee paid to HOCRED, however, the fee can be waived upon the decision of the Minister of Culture. This Paper will examine the existing Greek legal framework and will attempt to propose an appropriate framework that will ensure open access to the digitized cultural heritage assets, enhance the recovery and transformation of the cultural heritage sector and support cultural heritage institutions in becoming more empowered and more resilient in the future. (shrink)

In our research project, we will elaborate Charles Sanders Peirce’s three philosophical categories, and show how these categories operate at the levels of Protection, Regulation and Identity in the process of sign-meaning and sign-making within Cultural Heritage, Law and Discourse. The process of semiosis comprises a triadic dimension between signs, their functions and interpretations, operating on four axes within our special issue: Theoretical Cultural Heritage Issue, Cultural Heritage and Postcolonialism, Intertwined Notions of (...) class='Hi'>Heritage and Culture, and Protection of Cultural Heritage. (shrink)

Drawing on debates about Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) safeguarding at the local and international level, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development: Inside a UNESCO Convention, explores the theoretical and practical implications of the intertwinement between these policy fields. Considering how Sustainable Development (SD) priorities are influencing representations of ICH, the volume questions how they are expanding the frontiers of the heritage realm and unsettling accepted understandings of the social uses of heritage. The contributing authors, (...) who hail from a variety of different contexts and disciplinary backgrounds, explore these issues from a unique vantage point as both scholars and actors of the processes they analyze. Playing different roles in the implementation of the Convention, their positioning as insiders allows for a unique analytical perspective that is based on first-hand engagement with the practices of the Convention. Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development: Inside a UNESCO Convention sheds light on the complexity, potential and consequences of combining ICH and SD at the policy-making level and in heritage practices on the ground. It will be of interest to academics and students working in heritage studies, development studies, anthropology, archaeology, international law, political science, international relations and sociology. (shrink)

Purpose: Despite various comparative studies in the field of cultural heritage protection in the world, there is still a significant lack of comparative research on policies related to the legal system of countries' governance. The purpose of this study is to address the comparative policies in Iran and Italy, with a particular focus on the results of the executive experiences of two different types of policies in the cities of Oroumieh (North-West of Iran) and Turin (in North-West (...) of Italy). Design/methodology/approach: Utilising the comparative, analytical, bibliographic and descriptive historical research methodology, which is based on the study of the local, national and international comprehensive review of regulations and policy-making of cultural heritage preservation policies in Iran and Italy. In this research, the related documents in three languages (Persian, Italian and English) have been examined to compare profoundly and comprehensively the policies and regulations adopted in these two countries to be able to analyze the national and transnational regulations and local policies in the cultural heritage sector. Findings: In addition to many cultural similarities and numerous commonalities, especially in the multiplicity of urban cultural heritage in historical centers, the results suggest that the legislation structure in Iran is much more centralized than in Italy. Also, the findings suggest that Italy focuses on aligning its previously centralized national legislative system in line with contemporary European heritage and preservation policies. Originality/value: The paper outlines how to use historical and cultural similarities through comparative study to benefit the experiences of two historical countries in urban heritage conservation and policy-making part despite their differences. (shrink)

Faced with this divergence of views, the studies in this book therefore focus on the broader issue of whether archaeologists and other cultural heritage experts should ever work with the military, and if so, under what guidelines and ...

The cultural heritage of the Chinese stone rubbing artistry is found in countless religious inscriptions of classic Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist texts. These religious artefacts are placed in temples or monuments as steles representing a blend of religion and society. A very scant attention has been paid on the role of campus clubs in the sustainable development of China's intangible cultural heritage, particularly in the context of traditional Chinese stone rubbing artistry. This study aimed to bridge (...) this gap by studying the case of the Nanjing Forestry University’s Traditional Chinese Stone Rubbing Artistry Club, which has achieved remarkable results in the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese stone rubbing artistry. The study adopted a qualitative research design with a single case-based method. The data was collected through literature review, a single case-based study, and semi structured interviews. The sample comprised three subject experts, four student inheritors, and 15 intangible cultural heritage artisans, all of whom offered unique insights and perspectives on the subject. The study utilized the big data platform to conduct an in-depth analysis of opportunities and challenges encountered by Artistry Clubs in preserving the intangible cultural heritage sites. The study found that traditional single-family mode of inheritance is no longer suitable in current times, and there is a need to explore new methods of inheritance and innovation in traditional Chinese stone rubbing artistry. The study recommends a greater intervention of the campus art clubs for protecting and developing intangible cultural heritage in the new era. Future research can employ digital technology to promote traditional Chinese stone rubbing artistry. (shrink)

Considering that culture is the product of creative and human processes, it is believed that intellectual property is a legal tool that allows for its protection given that it helps conserve, safeguard and preserve its tangible and/or intangible assets. In the case of digital heritage, which is made up of digital elements that should be preserved due to their cultural value, some challenges have arisen regarding their legal protection. One of these challenges is the lack of (...) clarity about how the elements that comprise it should be protected, giving rise to doubts about how intellectual property should help solve this conflict. This article presents the discussion regarding the protection of digital heritage in Colombia, how copyright is becoming an instrument that contributes to its legal protection, and the challenges to further develop it in the country. (shrink)

Intangible cultural heritage is an invaluable treasure for human being and China is a country endowed with rich ICH. Among all the measures of safeguarding ICH, intellectual property tools are effective while controversial. As China started relatively late in the legal protection of ICH, the gap between legislation and judiciary needs to be filled in. This study examines the IP protection of ICH in China based on the current laws and regulations and then provides a semiotic (...) approach to the relevant legal evolution in China. This study, taking in some experiences outside China, goes further to provide recommendations for improving the IP protection in China. (shrink)

After the WHS inscription of the Historic Centre of Macau in 2005, the relationship between citizens of Macau and their heritage is not distanced. Most of these monuments remain functional for religious and social purposes and are actively engaged in public commercial activities such as the annual Macau Light Festival. Several historic houses have been transformed into either a permanent library or a museum where people can experience various events. With such frequent interaction, these monuments are more than just (...) heritage to locals; they are the venues where people’s daily lives are attached. However, this familiarity will cause a paradox in preservation since losing the distance might mean being unable to deliver the message of protection. It would be difficult to find a balance between preservation and reuse of heritage. This paper will use the Historic Centre of Macau as a case study to discuss the types of adaptive reuse in Macau and propose potential risks of these approaches. (shrink)

The lantern exhibition at the Lantern Festival is an important traditional festival in Taiwan. Visitors play an important role in the promotion and sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage. In recent years, the involvement of digital technology in traditional lantern design and shows has contributed to the protection, inheritance, and promotion of ICH, there remains less research on using augmented reality with ICH tourism. In this study, AR is used for ICH lantern exhibition to discuss the learning (...) experience in lantern tourism and the relationship between technology acceptance and satisfaction from the perspective of visitors, as well as evaluate what AR has on improving visitors’ awareness and learning experience. Then, primary variables of the technology acceptance model are combined with generic learning outcomes to integrate ICH, education, and technology to expand TAM, building a new model to study the ICH learning experience. A questionnaire and observation are used. Respondents are visitors participating in the AR lantern exhibition in Taiwan, which is designed by the author. There is a total of 200 questionnaires collected in the end. The result shows that knowledge and understanding, attitudes and values, activity, behavior, and progression, and enjoyment, inspiration, and creativity from GLOs have a positive effect on technology acceptance and actual use. Therefore, visitors are satisfied with innovative and interesting technology learning experiences, enhancing learning interest and results. Besides, the interaction of the AR system improves visitors’ learning motivation, which shows the combination of AR technology with ICH tourism helps improve cultural awareness. (shrink)

Culture is vital in preserving history and continuity of traditions, and that is why cultural practices should be protected and supported. It is important to understand young people's participation in these activities first because they are the key to sustaining the efforts in the future. This study examines the impact of young people's involvement in cultural heritage (CH) through four key variables, knowledge (KNW), engagement in activities (EIA), interest in participation (IIP), and impact perception (IP). The data (...) were administered through a structured questionnaire, which was distributed among 300 students from schools and colleges. Several statistical tests were conducted such as reliability tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-Square tests, and descriptive analysis using SPSS version 20. The results of the reliabilities of the scales showed that KNW and IIP are very reliable and EIA and IP are comparatively slightly less reliable. The outcome of the ANOVA revealed differences in the variables with a notable F-value signifying variability in responses. Results of chi-square tests showed that KNW and IIP were significant at p < 0.05 while EIA and IP were not significant. The mean score for all the variables was determined using descriptive statistics, and results showed that IIP had the highest mean score meaning that youths were willing to participate in cultural heritage activities. The study also identifies KNW and IIP as key elements that affect youth engagement in the preservation of cultural heritage. It indicates or rather underlines the possibility of harnessing this, interest to improve further on cultural heritage programs. (shrink)

Emergent digital technologies provide cultural heritage spaces with the opportunity to reassess their current user journey. An immersive user experience can be developed that is innovative, dynamic, and customised for each attendee. Museums have already begun to move towards interactive exhibitions utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IOT), and more recently, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has become more common in cultural heritage spaces to present items of historical (...) significance. VR concentrates on the provision of full immersion within a digitised environment utilising a headset, whilst AR focuses on the inclusion of digitised content within the existing physical environment that can be accessed through a medium such as a mobile phone application. Machine learning techniques such as a recommender system can support an immersive user journey by issuing personalised recommendations regarding a user’s preferred future content based on their previous activity. An ethical approach is necessary to take the precautions required to protect the welfare of human participants and eliminate any aspect of stereotyping or biased behaviour. This paper sets out a human-centred manifesto intended to provide guidance when inducing smart digital immersion in cultural heritage spaces. A review of existing digital cultural heritage projects was conducted to determine their adherence to the manifesto with the findings indicating that Education was a primary focus across all projects and that Personalisation, Respect and Empathy, and Support were also highly valued. Additionally, the findings indicated that there were areas with room for improvement such as Fairness to ensure that a well-balanced human-centred system is implemented. (shrink)

Cultural heritage management is essential for protecting the historical and cultural significance of sites while contributing to economic growth. This study's objective is to ascertain and evaluate modern management techniques for heritage sites that maximize economic benefits while ensuring sustainable protection. It seeks to discover methods that effectively stabilize heritage conservation with economic development goals. This study investigates the relationship between Economic benefits, Cultural preservation, Public Engagement, Community Impact, Sustainability of Management Practices, and (...) Innovative approaches to managing cultural heritage utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). A systematic questionnaire with a Likert scale rating was used to collect data from 450 populations. The measurement model assessed the validity and reliability of latent constructs, while the structural model analyzed the relationship between constructs based on the proposed hypotheses. The structural model revealed that EB, CP, and SMP are positively connected to the IMCH, between cultural heritages for economic benefit. (β = 0.55,0.50,and 0.56,p < 0.05), providing well support for hypothesis 1, 2, and 5. The result shows there are no significant changes to managing cultural heritage for economic benefit. (shrink)

The earthquakes which struck Nepal’s capital in 2015 were humanitarian disasters. Not only did they inflict tragic loss of life and livelihoods, they also destroyed parts of the Kathmandu Valley’s unique UNESCO World Heritage site. These monuments were not just ornate structures but living monuments playing central roles in the daily lives of thousands, representing portals where the heavens touch earth and people commune with guiding deities. Their rehabilitation was also of economic importance as they represent a major source (...) of tourist income and employment. Unfortunately, the social and political desire for rapid reconstruction resulted in the swift removal of many traditionally constructed foundations and their replacement with modern materials without assessments of whether they contributed towards the collapse of individual monuments. These actions, combined with the wholesale removal, mixing and dumping of modern and historic debris, contributed to a second, equally destructive, cultural catastrophe – irreversible damage to Kathmandu’s Medieval fabric, in a process which frequently excluded local communities and custodians. This case study draws from our collective reflections and lessons learned from our attempts to enable equitable and ethical research partnerships between UK and Nepali colleagues as well as local communities in the debris of the Kasthamandap, Kathmandu’s eponymous monument. After briefly describing the potential of mobilising archaeologists in post-disaster contexts and outlining the challenges of undertaking research in such a setting, our case study utilises the TRUST Code to assess the character and success of our multidisciplinary collaboration in a time of crises. (shrink)

Enhancing national cultural self-confidence involves promoting and strengthening the protection and utilisation of traditional national villages. Studying how to protect and inherit the resources of these villages, as well as utilising existing resources in a sustainable manner, poses a challenging issue. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of regional culture on residential buildings in the mountainous areas of the Yao people in Guangxi, and to explore how traditional architectural elements can preserve their cultural essence using (...) modern artistic language. The project aims to: 1. Examine how regional culture influences Yao ethnic minority houses in Guangxi's mountains; 2. Evaluate existing challenges and implement contemporary design for improvement; 3. Create sustainable and culturally significant Yao mountain dwellings. The research collected qualitative data from six towns using a combination of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and reviewing internet and print news sources. The residential structures in Yaochi Mountain District, Guangxi exhibit unique regional cultural traits, although they also have deficiencies in several areas. This study find that the beauty of the natural environment remains constant but the architectural vestiges and cultural history show remarkable variance, both of which greatly contribute to sustainable development. This study found that traditional villages in Guangxi share a number of characteristics, including a severe deficiency in clean energy and a poor rate of carbon utilisation, during our investigation of the sustainable development of the spatial dimension of the ecological legacy of these communities. According to a weight analysis performed at the sub-index factor level, the variety of building uses is the most important indicator of the spatial sustainability of traditional villages in Guangxi. The outcomes of this study provided a valuable empirical evidence and practical suggestions for areas and nations involved in the preservation of cultural heritage and the investigation of sustainable rural development. (shrink)

For many years, scientific heritage has received attention from multiple actors from different spheres of activity—archives, museums, scientific institutions. Beyond the heterogeneity revealed when examining the place of scientific heritage in different places, an authentic patrimonial configuration emerges and takes the form of a nebula of claims and of accomplishments that result, in some cases, in institutional and political recognition at the national level, in various country all around the world. At the international level, the creation of the (...) international committee dedicated to University Museums and Collections within the International Council of Museums certainly testified from this raising interest in academic heritage and the existence of a specific community concern with it.This article presents numerous initiatives for the preservation of scientific heritage in France, with the goal of analysing the relationship scientists have with their heritage. We argue that scientific communities have a special relationship with heritage, which is characterized by a number of ambiguities. We show that such ambivalences allow analysis of identity, discipline, professional, and social issues operative in defining heritage and being redefined by heritage. To explore these dimensions, we have chosen to present three different case studies. The first traces the institutional uses of heritage by a scientific institution, the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique, through the transformation of the first French atomic reactor into a museum. The second example describes the initiatives of French astronomers from the mid-1990s to construct a national programme for the protection of astronomy heritage. Lastly, we recount the case of universities, with the example of the Université de Strasbourg. (shrink)

The development of local ethnic music culture is affected by the impact of foreign music culture, the establishment of the teaching system of music culture knowledge, understanding of history, culture, social background to mobilise the sensory mechanism, based on the popular elements of ethnic music innovation, as well as enrichment of the regional ethnic music and cultural activities, and active promotion of the protection of the local ethnic music culture of the five factors. The five factors relationship value (...) are 0.440, 0.517, 0.541, 0.498 are all greater than 0, and there is a significant relationship between the factors. The path coefficients of the refinement factors on the protection of local ethnic music culture are all greater than 0, and p=0.000. (shrink)

The purpose is to help college students start their own businesses and protect and develop China’s intangible cultural heritage. The entrepreneurship of college students in the field of intangible culture is studied from the perspective of entrepreneurial psychology. First, the related characteristics, main content, and research status of college entrepreneurship education are described in detail. Entrepreneurial psychology is divided into entrepreneurial cognition, entrepreneurial emotion and entrepreneurial will. Then, the concept and development status of intangible cultural heritage (...) are briefly summarized to illustrate the importance of inheriting and developing intangible cultural heritage. A questionnaire is designed based on intangible cultural heritage development mode to interview local college students randomly. Finally, the results are analyzed by descriptive statistics. The results show that massive students do not understand the entrepreneurial policy, and only 16% of them know it very well. More than 30% of the students think that entrepreneurship will improve personal responsibility. Nearly 50% of the students believe that entrepreneurship can increase their life experience. Almost 50% of the students have the psychological quality of persistence and courage in entrepreneurship. The final results show that there are great differences in entrepreneurial cognition among students of different grades. Regarding entrepreneurial emotion, there are obvious differences among students of different genders, disciplines, and grades. Regarding the entrepreneurial will, there are only differences among students with different grades. In entrepreneurship education, different teaching methods should be adopted for different ages to comprehensively improve the effect of entrepreneurship education for students of all grades and help them obtain good entrepreneurship results. This exploration provides technical support for the inheritance of material and cultural inheritance and contributes to the entrepreneurship education of college students. (shrink)

A Rural Sanctuary is defined as an area where farming activity creates habitats for a diverse assemblage of species that find a broad spectrum of resources along the season. A Rural Sanctuary is proposed as a new model of land management to protect nature inside a framework of cultural identity and agro-forestry sustainability. A Rural Sanctuary has a dual mission: to provide immaterial and material resources for people, and to guarantee living spaces to a large assemblage of species. A (...) Rural Sanctuary represents an ecosemiotic agency in which human eco-fields and animal eco-fields interact. This reflects a model that is rooted in the Mediterranean region, where for long time people and nature have harmoniously lived in strict contact and inter-dependence. An example of a Rural Sanctuary from this region is proposed to demonstrate the amazing diversity of living beings observed on only few hectares of farmland. A Rural Sanctuary offers possibilities to educate people about a more sustainable approach to nature, and it represents a unique place to investigate animal perception. Finally, between the different approach to certify the validity of a Rural Sanctuary, sound recording is suggested as one of the less invasive methods for ecological investigation and long-term monitoring. (shrink)

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized that “everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits”. As a result, cultural rights have been understood as inseparable from human rights and require protection mechanisms within particular international legal systems. The European continent is proud to have developed one of the most effective mechanisms of the human rights protection (...) by establishing the Council of Europe and adopting the European Court of Human Rights. The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 reformulated many concepts of access to human rights and possibilities to enjoy freedoms. Even if access to culture has been available online for many years, it is the time of globally occurring lockdowns that forced people to stay home and found themselves in a situation when all of a sudden online access to culture became the only way of access to culture. The article aims to analyze the current situation in Europe by asking questions if and how online access to culture is recognized and protected under the Council of Europe’s mechanisms with special emphasis on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in this field. (shrink)

The destruction of cultural heritage in war is currently attracting considerable attention. ISIS’s campaign of deliberate destruction across the Middle East was met with widespread horror and calls for some kind of international response. The United States attracted criticism for both its accidental damaging of Ancient Babylon in 2015 and its failure to protect the Mosul Museum from looters in 2003. In 2016, the International Criminal Court prosecuted its first case of the destruction of heritage as a (...) war crime. While the destruction of heritage is widely condemned, there has also been condemnation of calls to mobilize our resources for the sake of heritage protection when human beings face threats to life and limb. Such issues are both philosophically rich and personally significant to a wide range of people. And yet they have been largely neglected by academic philosophers. This book makes a substantial contribution to developing this new philosophical territory. The contributors are a mixture of internationally recognized authorities in their fields and early-career researchers working in this area. Their eleven original essays investigate a variety of philosophical and ethical issues arising from the phenomenon of heritage destruction in war, including conflicts between protecting heritage and protecting people, how we ought to respond to heritage that is damaged in war, the nature of the harm caused by such damage, and the morally appropriate treatment of sites of war and conflict that have themselves become heritage sites. (shrink)

The Dong costume patterns in Qiandongnan have a long history and distinctive regional cultural characteristics, and their patterns contain high cultural and emotional values. Nowadays, the development of traditional patterns and cultural symbols of Dong costumes is facing many new challenges, which require expanding the application carriers of the patterns and giving them a new life. This is the value of inheritance, revitalization, and innovation of costume patterns, as well as a new direction for the development of (...) Dong traditional costume patterns. In this thesis, the origin, connotation, and cultural symbols of Dong costumes in Qiandongnan are studied in depth, aiming to explore their role in Dong's cultural inheritance. Through the historical tracing and cultural connotation analysis of Dong costumes, we find that they are not only a decorative tool but also a vivid expression of Dong culture relying on the profound historical background. Through the comprehensive study of Dong costumes, the cultural heritage of traditional patterns of Dong costumes not only provides strong support for the cultural inheritance of the Dong people but also provides useful inspiration for the protection and inheritance of other ethnic cultures. By strengthening the cognition and dissemination of cultural symbols, we are expected to promote exchanges between different cultures and realize communal development. (shrink)

To improve the personalized service of cultural tourism, anticipatory calculation has become an essential technology in the content design of intelligence navigation system. Culture tourism, as a form of leisure activity, is being favored by an increasing number of people, which calls for further improvements in the cultural consumption experience. An important component of cultural tourism is for tourists to experience intangible cultural heritage projects with local characteristics. However, from the perspective of user needs and (...) the content adaptive system, there are few suitable intelligent navigation and user demand anticipatory systems for intangible cultural heritage content. Purple clay culture is one of the first batches of national intangible cultural heritage protection projects in China. Therefore, taking purple clay culture exhibition as an example, this paper attempts to analyze the personalized information demand of tourism consumption experience in intangible cultural heritage communication activities with affective computing and meaning-driven innovative design method, by taking the content design in the navigation system as the research object. This paper uses the theory of planned behavior to calculate the relationship between tourists’ attitude, experience behavior, and display information demand. The findings indicate two issues. First, tourists’ demand for the entertainment and leisure attributes of intangible cultural heritage is greater than the demand for educational function attributes. Second, the meaning elements of information can change tourists’ beliefs in intangible cultural heritage and affect their attitude and behavior toward such heritage. According to the research results, strengthening the meaning elements of specific group information can improve people’s cultural identity and tourism satisfaction. The research results provide the basis for the content design direction of future museum intelligent navigation systems. (shrink)

Medical humanities have a unique role to play in combating biopiracy. This argument is offered both as a response to contemporary concerns about the ‘value’ and ‘impact’ of the arts and humanities and as a contribution to ongoing legal, political, and ethical debates regarding the status and protection of medical heritage. Medical humanities can contribute to the documentation and safeguarding of a nation or people’s medical heritage, understood as a form of intangible cultural heritage. In (...) so doing it can fulfill a unique service in protecting indigenous cultural heritage which potentially makes it of enormous economic benefit to national governments. I use the Indian Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a case study of the value of medical humanities in challenging biopiracy. If my argument holds, then the value of medical humanities to current intellectual property debates can be demonstrated, and its pertinence to legal and economic interests made clear. However, there are some dangers in this strategy, and my paper closes with a discussion of them. (shrink)

‘The heavens’ are among the oldest and most enduring heritage of human cultures: a scene of ancient myths and modern space opera. That something is part of somebody’s cultural heritage implies that there may be ethical duties to conserve it or otherwise treat it with respect, and space is no exception to this principle: recent work by Tony Milligan asserts that the cultural significances of the Moon may count against any prospect of lunar mining on a (...) significantly destructive scale. Current literature on the ethics of cultural heritage, however, tends ordinarily to be suited to more familiar sorts of heritage: artefacts and places contested by terrestrial governments and settled ethnic groups, rather than the distant worlds above us. So long as space exploration is conducted by those same terrestrial governments and their agencies, current international agreements about protection of ‘the common heritage of mankind’ may seem adequate as a guiding light for their ethics in space. Private space exploration, however, introduces further difficulties. -/- Private individuals and corporations often have complex cultural affiliations of their own; and expansion into space may foster the development of identities not strongly grounded in the national and regional cultures of Earth. To look up and observe space is part of the heritage we share as human beings, whilst the names of the ‘heavenly bodies’ we perceive and the stories we tell about them are hallmarks of particular terrestrial cultures; but what responsibilities are borne towards this heritage by people who go out to explore and inhabit and exploit it? This essay considers in what ways, and to what extent, the roles which space has played within the cultures that have developed on Earth might place moral constraints upon private explorers of space. I argue that space qua heritage is best conceptualised as an intellectual resource: explorers will not find legendary heroes or crystal spheres, but it has been possible (for example) for human cultures to feature Moon Goddesses by virtue of the fact that there is a Moon. Drawing on ideas of stewardship which have been influential in archaeological ethics, I develop an account of how duties of conservation might put practical constraints upon the exploitation of this resource. (shrink)

The development of the Niujiao Qin for contemporary cultural transmission in Aba Prefecture, China, is a multifaceted task that includes cultural heritage protection, adaptation, and rejuvenation. Significant changes in the structure, tuning system, and musical performance of the Niujiao Qin occurred between AD 618 and 1980, reflecting the region's rich cultural context. These transformations contributed to cultural contacts, artistic manifestations, and larger socio-cultural tendencies. Since 1980, significant progress has been made in Tibetan music (...) culture, academic trends, and instrument reform, demonstrating efforts to revitalize traditional heritage while incorporating new ideas. The Niujiao Qin's evolution demonstrates the complex interplay of tradition, innovation, and globalization in Aba Prefecture's cultural scene. The challenges include preserving the instrument's cultural core, combining tradition with modern demands, and rekindling enthusiasm among younger generations. By embracing tradition and innovation, encouraging collaboration, and engaging in education and outreach, stakeholders can effectively manage these hurdles and ensure Niujiao Qin's continued life and relevance in the cultural environment of Aba Prefecture. (shrink)

Scientific heritage can be found in every teaching and research institution, large or small, from universities to museums, from hospitals to secondary schools, from scientific societies to research laboratories. It is generally dispersed and vulnerable. Typically, these institutions lack the awareness, internal procedures, policies, or qualified staff to provide for its selection, preservation, and accessibility. Moreover, legislation that protects cultural heritage does not generally apply to the heritage of science. In this paper we analyse the main (...) problems that make scientific heritage preservation so difficult to address. We discuss the concept and present existing preservation tools, including recent surveys, legislation, policies, and innovative institutional approaches. We briefly analyse two recent initiatives for the preservation of scientific heritage, at the Universities of Lisbon and Cambridge. (shrink)

This study examines the contemporary status and cultural preservation of Salar vocal folk music within the Salar Muslim community in Qinghai Province, China, highlighting its role in sustaining cultural and spiritual identity. The research aims to understand the impact of modernization and cultural integration on these traditions and explore strategies for their preservation. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered through fieldwork in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, including participant observations, semi-structured interviews with local musicians and cultural (...) practitioners, and document analysis of preservation policies. Audio-visual recordings of performances further supported the thematic analysis of challenges and strategies for preserving this music. Findings reveal that while government initiatives contribute significantly to preservation, greater community engagement, educational initiatives, and the use of modern technology are essential to bridge generational gaps in cultural appreciation. The study underscores the need to integrate cultural preservation into educational and religious frameworks aligned with community-centered approaches. Recommendations include targeted educational programs, innovation in media to engage younger generations, and the establishment of legal protections for intangible cultural heritage. These findings offer implications for ethnomusicologists, policymakers, and educators, supporting broader cultural preservation efforts in multi-ethnic contexts. (shrink)

introduction to the theme issue of Environmental Values on Rewilding in cultural layered landscapes. Rewilding projects, especially in culturally saturated landscapes, are often being opposed by those who deeply care about the old cultural landscapes (for cultural or ecological reasons). Indeed, some proponents of rewilding today fall back on the language that was developed by the early proponents of wilderness preservation, starting off from an opposition between wild nature and culture, and claiming that nature needs to be (...) protected against human domination, while also claiming the importance of wild nature as an antidote to the historical dominance that humans have had over the natural world. However, seeing cultural landscapes merely as ‘disturbed’ by humans fails to do justice to the way that human history and these landscapes are intimately intertwined. Therefore, other rewilding advocates feel that rewilding in cultural landscapes requires a fundamentally different approach. Rather than seeking to restore a situation of the past, for them, rewilding is fundamentally oriented towards the future and seeks to introduce wildness back into society. Despite these attempts to reconcile rewilding with concerns over landscape history, cultural identity and cultural heritage, clear tensions remain. The papers in this theme issue attempt to find connections between different perspectives on landscape and nature protection and contribute to the ongoing debate about the meaning and value of wildness and history in layered cultural landscapes. (shrink)

On 25 September 2015, the seventieth session of the General Assembly in the United Nations approved new Sustainable Development Goals building upon the vision of the original Millennium Development Goals. I argue that this post-2015 agenda still neglects fundamental qualities of cultural sovereignty that are key to maintaining sustainable practices, values and lifestyle habits. No single goal emphasises the need to protect local ecological knowledge, cultural heritage and alternative economic practices – nor their interrelation with biodiversity – (...) as a pathway to sustainability. The factors that threaten sustainable lifestyles remain a conspicuous absence in the goals. The article presents a thought experiment to provoke the addition of the ‘inextricable link’ of biological, cultural and linguistic diversity to the Sustainable Development Goals: the recognition and affirmation of biocultural heritage. (shrink)

Industrial heritage has become a very matter of debate among experts as the most significant reminder of the industrial era, it also is of great examples of 20th-century heritage. Nowadays, industrial heritage sites are suffering from intense physical conditions and are being intruded by massive economic projects since they are located in favorable places of towns and possess vast spaces. Conservation methods have mostly been limited to the surroundings of industrial heritage sites and have not considered (...) the extended areas connected to the site. The resolutions should be sought throughout these questions: How do outstanding values of an industrial heritage site affect its buffer zone mapping? Or what should a buffer zone map encompass to protect specific values of an industrial heritage site? During this research ample of evidence is seen which firstly depicts the appreciation of industrial heritage and the tendency to conserve them among the host countries. The main result concluded is a guideline based on the similarities and differences between various types of industrial heritage and their impacts on determining boundaries and zones. In case of increasing the number of case studies, the results of this paper can aid in charge organizations to take more effective measure in developing plans to determine boundaries and zones for different types of industrial heritage sites. The data gathered for this paper was collected through library resources about industrial heritage and basically from academic and universal management manuals of buffer zones. The information chiefly is adopted from registration files received by the world heritage committee of UNESCO. The method of this research is case study research and the method for analysis is descriptive-analytical. (shrink)

Industrial heritage as a relatively recent phenomenon is the production of mid-20th century. The industrial heritage represents the culture, historical situation, processes, technologies and outstanding achievements of each region. Based on the value of contemporary architecture, It is necessary to protect them. Nowadays, the protection of industrial heritage has become an international challenge. One of the prerequisites of the protection of industrial heritage is recognizing their value and their position. Proper protection of industrial (...) heritage needs to study and deep understanding it in a large- scale and recognition of the value of the heritage for conservation process, in a regional scale. However, these kind of buildings, due to the large-scale, locating in the proper point of the city, flexible plans (due to the modular structure) etc. have a great ability to transform into various functions, specially public and urban services. One of the most important values that can be imagined for industrial heritage, is architectural identity of the region. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the effect of this types of structures through survey survey. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the industrial heritage on architectural identity in historic cities. The case study was selected by purpose - Dezful & “The MAKINEH of Flour” of Dezful, which now has become the mainstream of bazaar. The variable which is used in order to define local identity, is using this element in address, which the residents giving to someone else to mention the accurate location of specific place, near the “MAKINEH”. The statistical population are selected from among people who lives in eastern sahrabedar mahallah. The results of the paper shows that the industrial heritage has the value of architectural and urban identity in local level. The results indicate significance of comprehensive approach toward reunderstanding and redevelopment of contemporary buildings and industrial heritage sites. (shrink)

This article explores the ethics of world heritage (WH) through a cosmopolitan lens. It proposes that cosmopolitanism provides fertile ground for the study of WH, in particular if combined with sensitivity to distinct indigenous ethical and political claims. Underpinning my article is the question of whether the politics of WH, despite its peaceful and universalist intensions, obscures local disputes and subaltern voices. The empirical emphasis is placed on the WH site of Laponia in the North of Sweden – a (...) location of Sami indigenous communities and commercial mining interests. I provide a narrative analysis of the inconsistencies between the Swedish ‘good state’ narrative defined by support for human and indigenous rights globally and the protection ambition of WH and its generally favourable attitude towards mining, despite its potentially damaging effects on the WH site of Laponia and the cultural heritage and land rights of Sami people living there. My study also provides an analysis of Sami narratives on Laponia – storylines that are rarely included in the Swedish ‘good state’ narrative. The study seeks to contribute to scholarly understandings of indigenous peoples’ ability to lay claims to the cosmopolitan protection logic that prevails in WH. (shrink)

During the rapid process of deindustrialization in Iran, the term ‘industrial heritage’ has recently emerged as a new subject into public realm. In order to integrate the methodologies for the protection and adaptive reuse strategies, the ‘industrial heritage’ itself needs to be divided into various categories. UNESCO has begun inscribing increasing numbers of local industrial legacies such as railway, mines, factories, assembly plants, agricultural production and manufacturing production in its World Heritage List. However, in the process (...) of their adaptive reuse the question of heritage meanings arises. Over the past century in Iran, powerful corporate and governmental actors have created a broad range of oil imaginaries that changed over time and in line with local cultures. Starting from 1920s and after the nationalization of oil industry in Iran, oil cities such as Abadan and Masjid Suleiman saw massive expansion to house labors and oil-industry specialists who had arrived from the United States, Europe, India, and the Persian Gulf states. This research aims to clarify how the oil industry, in close collaboration with national governments, has materially shaped the oil cities through oil-specific architecture like company headquarters, gas stations, retail and infrastructure buildings. The current legacy of oil industry continues to reshape the industry, society and politics as well. This research uses a critical and analytical problem-based approach to examine the current policies that build a new image and identity through adaptive reuse strategies to promote sustainable local development in Iran’s industrial heritage. (shrink)

After some conceptual elaboration on the topic of the Dialogue among Civilizations, this article will give some examples of UNESCO’s contribution in this domain. DAC is intrinsically bound to the questions of identity and otherness through the role culture and civilization play in composing our identity. We forge our own identity through our culture; those who share this identity are insiders, and those who do not are outsiders. Some understandings of identity conclude in a lack of appreciation for the Others’ (...) identity, which is necessary to being a genuine partner in dialogue. At one extreme personal identity is not conceived as being subject to any changes during an individual’s lifetime; while at the other extreme, post-modernism perceives a person or a social group simply as a node in a network of relations. These definitions both suffer from the lack of a historical dimension and are based on a unitary conception of identity. The solution, as the reality of history also demonstrates, comes with a pluralistic view of identity, which not only solves some theoretical issues but also forms the only framework within which the possibility of dialogue can be assured. The wonderful consequence will then be that if absolute identity does not exist, neither can absolute otherness. We should then search for the shared roots between different cultures. It was a common scientific and philosophical culture, for example, that united Avicenna in Iran with St. Thomas Aquinas in the West; a culture going back to the Greek and Hellenistic thinkers. Globality should be understood as a visionary search for the discovery of the common roots of different cultures, rather than the dominance of any one particular culture or value system. The ethnocentric concept of culture and history can then be overcome. A genuine dialogue comes with the soul’s particular willingness to “convert” itself, to expose and risk one’s own ideas and positions. It brings us the possibility of overcoming trans-cultural dissensus on whether a particular practice violates one or another human right. And as we know from Averroes, the human soul comes from a unified universal soul. Finally, there is an inter-conceptual linkage among cultural diversity, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, sustainable development, human rights and cultural rights. UNESCO, by preserving and protecting cultural heritage, safeguarding cultural diversity, and promoting dialogue among cultures and civilizations, is contributing to its axiomatic constitutional goals, namely the construction of the defenses of peace in the minds of people through moral and intellectual solidarity. (shrink)

Dynamic Consent is both a model and a specific web-based tool that enables clear, granular communication and recording of participant consent choices over time. The DC model enables individuals to know and to decide how personal research information is being used and provides a way in which to exercise legal rights provided in privacy and data protection law. The DC tool is flexible and responsive, enabling legal and ethical requirements in research data sharing to be met and for online (...) health information to be maintained. DC has been used in rare diseases and genomics, to enable people to control and express their preferences regarding their own data. However, DC has never been explored in relationship to historical collections of bioscientific and genetic heritage or to contexts involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.In response to the growing interest by First Peoples throughout Australia in genetic and genomic research, and the increasing number of invitations from researchers to participate in community health and wellbeing projects, this article examines the legal and ethical attributes and challenges of DC in these contexts. It also explores opportunities for including First Peoples' cultural perspectives, governance, and leadership as a method for defining DC on cultural terms that engage best practice research and data analysis as well as respect for meaningful and longitudinal individual and family participation. (shrink)

The Department of Religious Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is among the institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which must develop proposals aimed at preservation, reproduction and protection of the historical and cultural environment in Kyiv, in particular, measures to promote the preservation of cultural heritage objects, including and those who are in the possession or use of religious communities.

This paper wants to shed light on the way the philosophical school of Stoicsm in Greco-Roman antiquity has dealt with the relationship of men and nature by pointing out to some of the key texts in which these issues are mentioned. Although the modern concept of sustainability or environmental protection did not really exist in antiquity, the Stoa was convinced that individual decisions had a direct impact on this world. Following the concept of environmental humanities, the ancient texts and (...) authors are collected as historical ideas of the multifaceted interactions between nature and men that can be fruitfully mirrored with the arguments of the current Anthropocene discourse and its focus on (post)industrialism. By doing so we might come across helpful approaches deeply rooted in our cultural heritage that we could possibly adopt and find practical answers for our age in terms of individual behaviour as well as management decisions to face the ecological and social challenges ahead. (shrink)

Traditional Qiang culture is the sum of all civilizations created by Qiang people in the long historical development of the national minority, and is an important component of Chinese civilization. However, traditional Qiang culture suffered from the attack of the great 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake in the more and more vigorous process of industralization and globalization nowadays. Based on difficulties and problems encountered in post-disaster reconstruction for cultural preservation and development, this article takes into an overall consideration of Qiang traditional (...) cultural preservation and post-disaster reconstruction, protection of nonphysical cultural heritage and national cultural resources, tries to explore the principle, approach and method of traditional Qiang cultural preservation and development and attempts to present the current situation and analyze problems, and accordingly puts forward some countermeasures, measures and specific projects with the features of scientificalness, maneuverability and development. (shrink)

Traditional folk music refers to customary songs and tunes played since time immemorial in a specific area. As an expression of culture and identity, this kind of music can be deemed as the heritage of the local community in its entirety, and derives from musical practices transmitted orally and repeated over a long period of time by a group of people, who, in so doing, keep their traditions alive. From this point of view, the owner of traditional folk music (...) is not a specific composer, but all the members of a local community. But this clashes with the efforts to copyright traditional folk music expressions, since often copyright acts do not recognize forms of collective ownership on folklore and traditional knowledge. This paper aims to discuss possible solutions to tackle the issues related to the protection of traditional folk music, by considering not only the literature in the field of intellectual property, but also the outcomes of the legal formants and the comparative methodology, taking into consideration the studies of the social sciences involved in this topic, in particular anthropology and ethnomusicology. The final task is to find a place for traditional folk music within the framework of copyright law and verify its level of protection. (shrink)

After a critique of the conservative and speculative approaches dominating the field of the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, the paper introduces a sociological perspective that considers cultural heritage an essential factor of identification and belonging, as well as a mean for the reproduction of life forms. The heritage of the past, in fact, is a living body contributing to the symbolic transmis-sion of the aesthetic, ethical and cognitive values of communities. Rather than (...) the protection of guardians and the exploitation of traders, this heritage needs the ac-tive participation of citizens to its regeneration. The paper then argues for a “secularization” of the cultural heritage, shielding it from the separetedness of musealization and returning the religious sense of bond to its sacredness. The sociological perspective has the task of revealing that awareness and proposing strategies for the construction of integrated networks of rational practices. (shrink)

An investigative reporter documents the destructive impact of the environmental movement in North America and beyond. When journalist Elizabeth Nickson sought to subdivide her twenty-eight acres on Salt Spring Island in the Pacific Northwest, she was confronted by the full force and power of the radical conservationists who had taken over the local zoning council. She soon discovered that she was not free to do what she wanted with her land, and that in the view of these arrogant stewards it (...) wasn’t really hers at all. Nickson’s long, frustrating, and eyeopening encounter with these zealots started her on a journey to investigate and expose the hugely destructive impact of the environmental movement on ordinary people and communities across North America—and the world. What she discovered is shocking. Forty million Americans have been driven from their land, and rural culture is being systematically crushed, even as wildlife, forests, and rangelands are dying. In Eco-Fascists, Nickson explores how environmental radicals have taken over government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. The result? A wholesale sequestration of forest, range, and water—more than 40 percent of North America—impoverishing us all, especially the most vulnerable. This confiscation of America’s natural heritage is a major factor contributing to our current economic decline; until it is acknowledged and addressed, our economy will not recover. Nickson traces the tens of billions of dollars environmental nonprofits marshal every year to promote the notion that our essential natural systems are collapsing, and finds, in a brutal example of self-fulfilling prophesy, that their corrupted science is desertifying the heartland. She visits once-thriving communities that are turning to ghost towns because environmental legislation has forced mines, ranches, and mills to close and has forbidden critical forest, range, park, and wilderness maintenance. Eco-Fascists exposes the major fallacies of the environmental movement—from wildlife protection to zoning to forest-fire management—and introduces us to the individuals who are fighting back. Fast-paced, highly accessible, and sure to be controversial, this is a work that will change the national conversation about environmental protection and its impact. (shrink)

This book identifies a need to move beyond discussions of ownership, power and control in favour of exploring new kinds of partnerships between museums and the peoples or countries of origin, partnerships based on equitability and reconciliation.

The present study aims to assess the restriction of private ownership on the cultural-historical property based on the public interest and evaluate how this restriction is explained and what restrictions the cultural heritage rules and regulations impose on the private ownership. The present descriptive and analytical study seeks to examine the above-mentioned questions using the library method. Based on the results, statute law has defined a large number of restrictions for the owner including the owner restriction in (...) the obligation to declare, implement protection plans, as well as sale and transfer of the cultural-historical property. Theories such as public interest are considered as the basis for the restriction of ownership on historical-cultural property. (shrink)