Documentation and dissemination of results

Partnership strengthens stakeholder linkages for Sustainable Growth

Start of Kinondo bank's construction in 2015

KMFRI

Ongoing construction of Kinondo Bank

KMFRI

Measuring the building during construction

KMFRI

Partnerships with KMFRI and other relevant county departments have enabled the proposal development by the association to be review regularly and more effectively in order to submit a clear and non-ambiguous proposal to the World Bank and other funders. Handholding by partner agencies such as KMFRI, WWF, National Bank, Base Titanium, etc. has been essential in enhancing the knowledge on tendering, procurement of construction material, furniture and equipment.

Recognition that the project is addressing the need of the entire community.
Presence and participation of stakeholders from various sectors is providing effective technical knowledge and know how, as well as opening career opportunities for the youth.
Participation of community members in the activities of various stakeholders is creating job opportunities.

Appropriate timing for engagement of the local communities is crucial for success – the day, place and time of engagement must be agreeable to all otherwise the partnership will be skewed and might appear to be imposed.
Respecting and appreciating community culture and traditions is critical for smooth implementation of project activities e.g. ceasing to work during prayer time, or rescheduling to attend meetings (Known as Baraza) hosted by area Chief or Government representatives.
Culture of saving part of the income earned from daily activities is possible through discipline and good planning.
Antagonizing the community against fellow partner agencies should be avoided at all time.
All partner agencies working with the communities must stick to their roles and responsibilities at all time.
Sustainability of the community project is the most crucial aspect that will ensure the project doesn’t collapse once the champions exit or move on. New members must therefore be recruited constantly and trained on the ideals of the project through an internship programme.

Resources for decision making

Field team on Soqotra

Soqotra Heritage Project

A key component of the Soqotra Heritage Project is the ability to access information about the heritage of Soqotra to allow for decision-making. This was realized by incorporating all documented tangible and intangible heritage in the Soqotra Heritage Database implemented through the Arches Project. Although maintained externally, and although internet connections on Soqotra prevent access to such resources in any meaningful way, the local team have access to all information through the Arches Collector App which can be used to visualize information, and also to collect and add information in the field.

Updates can be verified and enabled at regular meetings at the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage until a sustainable internet provision is enabled on Soqotra.

This has allowed stakeholders on Soqotra to access information for planning purposes, and to raise awareness with stakeholders about the importance of considering heritage components in development activities.

The building block required adequate provision and maintenance of the central database at a secure location as well as the ability to regularly update and access information.

Online solutions are not appropriate for Soqotra while the internet connections and availability is unsustainable and of low quality. This applies to ALL sustainable solutions on Soqotra and is not confined to heritage programmes.

Provision of an offline App is the first step, but requires routine updates that can only be accomplished at the expense of international travel and availability of flights.

Review phase

Museum network and cultural itineraries

Museum activities

Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO

Museum activities in the Dolomites region

Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO

The network is an opportunity to explore the Dolomites’ cultural richness in connection to its Outstanding Universal Value, though a series of multilingual (including minorities) museums located in mountain communities and cultural itineraries made to explore the Dolomites and its people and history. As museum play a key role in the life of local communities and they support the recording of local history and experiences through time, these places are also fundamental for communicating the values of the Dolomites through several natural and cultural perspectives.

Museums and cultural itineraries play a key role in raising awareness on the life of local communities and the experience lived by these territories from prehistory, through the two world wars until today, through events that have deeply shaped the cultural and social communities of this areas. The network of museums is a key platform for the direct interaction with local communities and for these communities to share their knowledge about the Dolomites and the historical events that have shaped its landscapes.

Last but not least, the offer a chance for people with physical disabilities to explore the Dolomites in an accessible way

The existence of several museums across the territory of the Dolomites which were interested in working together to raise awareness on natural, cultural and historical aspects of these areas and their communities.
These territorial museums have a role in the life of local communities and they have a purpose in the education of visitors exploring the Dolomites both at a high and low altitude.

The strong and comprehensive network of institutional and informal stakeholders that is managed through the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation

Raising awareness on the Dolomites and its natural values requires the understanding of their natural, social and cultural setting. As the Dolomites extend across an area of great cultural richness which is both source of unique cultural values and mirror of a complex mosaic of local identities of communities that are culturally and socially diverse.

Museums, with their strong local declination and their deep permeation in the social and cultural tissues of different areas of the Dolomites, are a great platform to be actively and meaningfully engaged in the lives of communities and to allow them to share their knowledge and memories, which are valuable information for the effective management of the Dolomites and its multilayered values

UNESCO Dolomites museums

Participatory research in cooperation with scientific institutions

Participatory research is essential when historical records lack and new concepts are introduced. The research in Yakou included three phases. The first phase aimed to understand the site and its significance. As a typical village with a well-preserved landscape of “forest-village-terrace-water system”, Yakou was selected to represent the landscape pattern of Laohuzui Area. Fieldwork was conducted both by the nomination team (Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage) and the scientific research team (Yunnan University). The second phase focused on the restoration of Yakou’s irrigation system. Semi-structured interviews to locals, fieldwork and restoration were conducted. According to research results, the traditional water management system and related knowledge emerged as key elements in Yakou. Ditches, canals and water-woods were repaired to ensure its long-term use, and traditional ceremonies and inspection system were established by the elders. The third phase focused on the enhancement of the water management, where researchers conducted spatial research of the settlement patch distribution pattern and hydrological analysis using Geographic Information System followed by the replication of the experience in other villages.

Local research institutions are familiar with local conditions. Research requires the active involvement of local people and community to share knowledge and experience, especially oral history and unrecognized knowledge that is significant and need to connect to international and national societies.
Combination of international perspective and local experience.
Cooperation between public service institutions and domestic research institutes.
Collaboration between “research institutes + public service organizations + villager organization.”

The relationship between land-use, society and culture are crucial in landscape studies. Environmental challenges might be the manifestation of social changes and new regulations (e.g. Land and water disputes could be the underlying issue).
In the WH framework, the Outstanding Universal Value can be broad and general, but detailed features can not be neglected because these are the clue to understand the site characteristics. In Yakou, different layers of values research contribute to heritage management before and after inscription as WH. It has improved the knowledge of site managers, locals and researchers, and it is a continuing process.
Lack of historical records and documentation is a big problem for the preservation of the traditional water culture. Too much attention has been give to the landscape views yet not sufficient attention to the nature-human interactions which produced these.
Separate plans can not solve long-term management: Water management, conservation management and master plans should be drawn up in coordination and integrated for implementation.

Using the elaboration of the World Heritage management plan as a space for dialogue

The process for the elaboration of the new management plan for the World Heritage property started in 2017, and several groups have been working on it for three years (2017-2020). The World Heritage Management Board is leading the process, with the collaboration of the cultural heritage manager in Røros, the representative of Sámi Indigenous people, urban planners from the different municipalities and counties within the World Heritage property and buffer zone, and the Director of the Museum of Røros. Hearings and meetings with the municipality boards in the 5 municipalities have been used for establishing this dialogue. More than 40 different parties were invited to the hearings including the counties, municipalities, museums, NGOs, persons involved in the Management Plans, private owners of land within the World Heritage property, and the Sámi Parliament. The Sámi were involved in the same way as the other stakeholders, and counting with representatives both in the World Heritage Board and in the administrative group.

The government requested to all Norwegian World Heritage sites to develop new management plans.
The World Heritage Coordinator was in charge of drafting the former management plan (2010) and had the will and mission to develop a new management plan for Røros.

1) During the hearing of the new Management Plan, many of the parties mentioned that the Sámi culture should be strengthen more than it already was. Most of the suggestions of the different parties were to focus more on reinforcing the Sámi relations and values.

2) Reinforcing the idea to include the Sámi culture as part of the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage site in the next years. Yet, the State Party needs to lead the process. Some municipalities want that some areas currently in the buffer zone (part of the Circumference) be integrated in the World Heritage property (Narjodet, agricultural area, and Dragås-Eidet, which is one of the melters outside Røros).

3) In order to work equally with different parties, there has been no special treatment for none of the stakeholders.

4) To integrate the different stakeholders feedback into the management plan, hearings were organized to consult about the arrangements for drafting the plan and later to consult on the plan itself.

Review phase

Training high-school teachers on traditional knowledge and local culture

Ifugao school teachers harvest traditional rice from the terraces

SITMo

In order to integrate Ifugao culture in the formal school curriculum, teachers need to receive capacity building on the Ifugao culture. Teachers, most of Ifugao origin, have forgotten the value-system of their ancestors due to the modern education system. Some have been trained outside of the Ifugao region. The objective is to train teachers in integrating culture in mathematics, social sciences, and all courses, and design learning materials, modules which include the Ifugao culture as a cross-cutting theme. Teachers’ trainings on local curriculum development and coming up with learning modules are on-going.

The national government had undertaken a change in the education system to allow locally-based curriculums (IPED).

Ifugao culture does not need to be taught as a separate theme, but can be a cross-cutting theme for the whole curriculum.

Review phase

Creation of collaborative research projects on Indigenous and Local Knowledge

SITMo has developed partnership with local scientific institutions like the Ifugao State University, which is working with the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) designation and has established the Ifugao Rice Terraces GIAHS Research and Development Center. Furthermore, connected to this initiative, SITMo is working in cooperation with the Ifugao State University and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Chengchi University of Taiwan in the project “Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development”, where partner institutions are exploring together the sustainable safeguarding and transmission of their Indigenous knowledge through exchange and collaborative research, which would enable local communities to develop sustainably. A long-term partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been established in 2012 to undertake archaeological investigations in the terraces, leading to the establishment of community heritage galleries and publication of scientific articles.

GIAHS designation of the Rice Terraces (2004)
The local Ifugao State University is engaged in research and cooperation focused on the rice terraces, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation
The Department of Education embarked on a major overhaul of the curriculum where Indigenous knowledge and local Ifugao culture is to be integrated in all levels of K to 12. Research on traditional knowledge was required.
Common challenges with neighboring countries and other Indigenous communities

Involving research in the conservation of the Rice Terraces and the engagement of the youth and the community at large in the endeavor are mutually beneficial (for the research institutes and the local communities)
The interface of traditional knowledge learning through community elders and the formal schools through formally trained teachers can be conflicting at times so long-term strategies are to be put in place.
Administrative bureaucracy can be difficult for non-government organizations to work with government agencies and universities but patience is the key to success.

Planning phase

Leadership Training

Yaxcabá Group

Yaxcabá

It is essential that the group has a leader who organizes and inspires young people to join the puppet program. The success of each activity depends on the leader being able to motivate his or her team, constantly innovate and seek growth opportunities for all.

1. Parental support. Some of these children are minors and without parental support it is difficult to form a group.

2. Support should be provided by organizations that are willing to support the leaders of each theatre group. The young people of Yaxcabá have previously participated in personal training programs offered by organizations working in the area.

Age is not an impediment, and in the case of rural communities, children are forced to grow and mature much faster than in cities.