Browsing FUUH Newsletter Issue 49
Newsletter of Forum UNESCO-University and Heritage (FUUH)
The latest issue of the FUUH Newsletter was recently released, as ever it is an amazingly packed affair, and far too much to have digested in the last few days since it was released. Through an initial browsing however there were a couple of things I found highly interesting and worth making mention of.
PROJECTS:
www.nowandthen.net.au/
One project that I think is AMAZING is the ‘Now and Then Wiki’, which I am very jealous of, because it is EXACTLY the sort of website I have been dreaming about… It’s a pilot project from the Collections Council of Australia, who are to be congratulated for this exploration of public centric intangible conservation. I have been wondering how such a site might work, what it might look like, and then to find someone else has already put one together! Wow!
“The Now and Then website, which uses wiki technology to enable communities to share information about their cultural heritage. With funding from the auDA Foundation, the Collections Council of Australia has worked in partnership with the Mallala and Districts Historical Committee and its Museum in regional South Australia to develop this community heritage wiki.”
BOOKS:
Witnesses to History
FUUH always advertised a lot of books, here are a couple that I thought looked interesting. The first book that I thought looked interesting is a recently publication from UNESCO, entitled: Witnesses to History Documents and writings on the return of cultural objects.
“Witnesses to History is literature appropriate for students and the general public, and a reference book for specialists, scholars and decision makers. It is a landmark publication from UNESCO that bears testament to the ways in which peoples have lost their entire cultural heritage and analyzes the issue of its return and restitution by providing a wide range of perspectives on this subject. Soon available in English in the UNESCO Bookstore. Chinese, French, Korean and Spanish translations in preparation. Witnesses to History – Documents and writings on the return of cultural objects, Edited by Lyndel V. Prott ©UNESCO 2009.”
It can be purchased here.
Pluralising Pasts
Another book that grabbed my attention was entitled:
Pluralising Pasts – Heritage, Identity and Place in Multicultural Societies.
Gregory Ashworth, Brian Graham, and John Tunbridge
Pluto Press, October 2007 – ISBN: 978-0-7453-2285-8
“The heritage industry is big business. From museums and the preservation of old buildings to broader questions of community and identity, heritage is now a political issue. This book explores what heritage means and how it is used to encourage people to identify with particular places and ‘traditions’. The authors show how contemporary societies use heritage in the creation and management of collective identities and, most especially, the different ways in which it is involved with the questions of multicultural societies. The resources that are poured into heritage mean that questions of identity are widely discussed at a policy level: what does it mean to be American or British, or a minority in any society? This book shows how heritage is used politically and commercially to shape the ways people represent them selves, and are represented, in diverse and hybrid societies.”
It can be purchased here.
Underwater Cultural Heritage
One other thing I love about the FUUH newsletter is that it always advertises fascinating free online publications that I am sure I would never otherwise hear about. One such publication is this one;
“MUSEUM International N°240 “ Underwater Cultural Heritage”
Exploration and Preservation
• Submerged cultural sites: opening a time capsule David Nutley
• The impact of commercial exploitation on the preservation of underwater cultural heritage
Tatiana Villegas Zamora
• Preservation in situ: “the preferred option” Martijn Manders
• Conservation of underwater cultural heritage: characteristics and new technologies Jean-Bernard Memet”
The publication can be found online here.
CONFERENCES:
www.iucn.org/
Another interesting publication was the Online publication – The 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress, Resolutions and Recommendations. These are profoundly interesting in light of statements I have previously made within this blog, and the possible shifting emphasis within conservation towards wanting a conservation voice within the conservationist field.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event. Held every four years, the Congress aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic development.
Within the policies section, I found the mention of culture to be particularly interesting, statements such as the following will demonstrate how I think material culture conservation has an essential role to play in collaborative efforts with environmental conservation and constituent communities:
“CONCERNED that cultural diversity, like biological diversity, is seriously threatened around the world, and that this leads to the collective impoverishment of humanity and the diminishment of knowledge and practice that contribute to living in ecologically sustainable ways”
The many, many, statements and policies that came out of this conference I found fascinating, and intellectually stimulating. How they managed to get through so much in one conference is astounding.
…There’s a load more stuff within the magazine, much of which I still haven’t gotten around to reading, but, I can only suggest you check it out for yourself, you are bound to find things to interest, inspire, intrigue and amaze you.
