The essays in the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth collection approach the topic of cultural heritage and sustainable development from diverse perspectives and each author presents conclusions and recommendations for their area of focus. There are also some common threads that run through the essays and which bind the collection together and distinguish it as a contribution to the literature on the subject. In this general conclusion, we pick out these common threads and present overall conclusions and recommendations, primarily that:
• Cultural heritage is at the heart of human development;
• Cultural relations create conditions for human development;
• Alongside the evidence for what works, analysis of how it works is critical to the spread of good practice.
Cultural Heritage is not simply a representation of how life was lived in the past, but also about what we value in our present and how we could and should live in the future. A community’s cultural heritage is the collective inheritance which it wishes to carry forward, adapt and use creatively as the basis of its self-determined development.
The development value of cultural heritage is often assessed in terms of its narrow instrumental worth relating to particular objectives, such as economic development though tourism, craft production and the cultural and creative industries; improvements in people’s mental and physical health; or action on climate change and biodiversity loss. This is an important consideration and – as noted in the introduction to this collection – there is now widespread recognition of the role of heritage in addressing particular development goals. However, when cultural heritage – and the communities it belongs to – are seen solely in terms of their instrumental value, they are reduced to ‘tools’ for development, the goals and targets of which are often set from the outside. Narrowly conceived understandings of the value of cultural heritage are a barrier to the full integration of heritage into sustainable development. The essays in this collection recognise the instrumental values of heritage but, collectively, they promote another view which centres on the place and role of cultural heritage in human development.
The human development approach is embedded in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but it has yet to be realised fully in development practice around the world. This approach seeks to advance human wellbeing and dignity and it holds ‘that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country’. In relation to this topic, four interlinked themes emerge from the essays: cultural heritage and a rights-based approach to development; cultural heritage and self-determination; cultural heritage and community development and; cultures of inclusion and exclusion.
Recommendation 1
Cultural life – including cultural heritage – is essential to human development. Development policies and programmes should, in their design and implementation, ensure that everyone’s cultural rights are protected, respected and progressively fulfilled. Integral to this, they should support communities to sustain and dynamically transmit the cultural heritage which they value and to use it creatively for their development.
Recommendation 2
Cultural heritage is at the root of cultural diversity; it shapes people’s values and sense of who they are, their understanding of the present and how it came about, what they believe the future should look like and how they feel change should be achieved. The free pursuit of cultural development is intrinsic to the right of self-determination. As a matter of self-determination, development policies and programmes should support communities to sustain their cultural heritage and pursue culturally diverse visions of the future and of the change which is needed to get there.
Recommendation 3
People’s ability to lead and deliver positive change is, in no small part, shaped by their cultural inheritance, which includes diverse ways of knowing the world, ways of life, social institutions and relationships with nature. Greater support should be given to ensuring inclusive participation in this collective heritage and enabling people to use it creatively as a means of community development.
Recommendation 4
The character of cultural life is not fixed but constantly evolving. Where cultural heritage is a source of inequalities, exclusion or oppression, change is needed to address this and to ensure that everyone can fulfil their cultural rights and take part in the processes and benefits of development. Development policies and programmes should identify and address cultural barriers to human development, with the full and equitable participation of all those likely to be affected.
Recommendation 5
Development typically involves – and often requires – the interaction of different communities, organisations and institutions across national, social and cultural boundaries. A deep understanding of and respect for cultural diversity is required for those relationships to flourish and for interactions to be equitable. To achieve this, cultural relations should be embedded in development polices, strategies and programmes and adopted as a starting point for international development.
Cultural relations – activities which bring people, organisations and institutions together within the space of culture and civil society – serve sustainable development by creating trust, mutual understanding and sustained cooperation, and by promoting conditions of peace, justice and tolerance. By building reciprocal and sustained relationships with external parties, people are better able to fulfil their cultural rights and realise community development. By anchoring these networks in a shared understanding of cultural diversity, people are empowered to lead on development which meets their own needs and aspirations, while protecting and advancing the rights of others and contributing to action on global environmental and humanitarian challenges.
Recommendation 6
Human development is by its nature context-specific and it cannot be assumed that successful examples can simply be scaled up and replicated elsewhere. However, analysis of how positive change has been achieved in particular circumstances can generate learning which is of wider relevance. Rather than rigidly copying particular models for embedding cultural heritage in human development, institutions, organisations and practitioners should clarify the underlying principles and processes and learn how to implement them in context. For many, this will involve reflecting on their purpose and transforming what they do and how they do it.