International Law Association Committee on Participation in Global Cultural Heritage Governance - Final Report (2022)

A group of over 50 scholars and practitioners in the field of cultural heritage law from all continents came together under the umbrella of the International Law Association (ILA) and, between 2017 and 2022, dedicated themselves to the topic of participation in global cultural heritage governance. The Committee’s focus on participation served to address broader issues of heritage governance, seen through the lenses of the conceptualization and implementation of participation. We urge you to consider this report’s recommendations in relation to your own work, and remain at your disposal for further discussion and to organize any events with your organization that you might desire to publicise and discuss our findings. In its work, the Committee surveyed over 40 international and regional organizations around the world, as well as over 30 domestic jurisdictions on all continents, to query current practices in the field of participation, its possibilities and pitfalls. The phenomenon of trying to map and understand participation in governance is not restricted to heritage, nor is heritage restricted to UNESCO. Therefore, the Committee has looked more broadly at how a range of regional and universal bodies, in and beyond heritage, engage with affected participants.