Latin American Forum on People-Centered Approach for Heritage at Risk

All heritage conservation specialists agree that the mainstay for the protection of a people’s cultural assets is the ability for citizens and institutions to value the preservation of those assets. At an international level, ICOMOS has therefore made documents available to raise awareness of the situation of heritage assets that are in danger through ‘Heritage Alerts’ and other tools.

This Latin American forum aims to address cultural heritage at risk in Latin America from a perspective focused on communities. More specifically, it seeks to find continuous and politically sustainable ways to safeguard these assets.

Methodology

Addressing cultural heritage at risk requires an inclusive approach that does not overlook the diversity of viewpoints and rather enriches the conceptualisation of the situation. It implies guiding new comprehensive actions from all possible stakeholders. Special emphasis will accordingly be placed on the processes of mediation and reconciliation of interests to ensure the right of individuals and communities to enjoy their heritage as a tool for sustainable development.

Logistics

The Latin American Forum on People-Centered Approach for Heritage at Risk is intended to be a permanent tool to help visualise, disseminate and guide actions for the prevention, intervention and conservation of endangered Latin American cultural heritage.

• The forum will be divided into chapters around specific cases from Latin America presented by the corresponding National Committee withrelevant stakeholders. This aims to give the greatest possible diversity of views, opinions and feelings (academia, social organizations, local, regional, national authorities , citizenship, among others)
• Moreover, ICOMOS specialists will be involved in each chapter to provide a technical and global perspective which will facilitate the conceptual framework and guide action.
• There will also be a presentation session and a roundtable discussion involving as many actors as possible to ensure a diversity of views.
• Each chapter will conclude with recommendations for approaching the case in a realistic and integrative way.
• The conclusions of each chapter will be recorded in writing for inclusion in a future ICOMOS general publication and will be sent to the vice president of the region.

Expected outcomes

• Raise awareness on the importance of protecting endangered heritage.
• Launch a work methodology on wealth at risk on a Latin American level.
• Foster capacities for a holistic approach to cultural heritage at risk in the various actors involved.
• Strengthen networks of local cultural heritage stakeholders.
• Get to know new networks of local stakeholders in order to have a documented record.
• Keep a written trace of the actions taken to draft an ICOMOS document gathering cases from Latin America.
• Influence future actions and interventions that can respect and summarise expectations and possibilities for cultural heritage.