Localising the Global: Archaeological Resource Management-Participatory processes, ethical conduct and sustaining communities

Saturday 19 April, 2008 (9.30am-6.30pm) & Sunday 20 April, 2008 (10.00am-4.00pm)
Room 612, UCL Institute of Archaeology

Conference theme

For people working in the cultural heritage sector in a post-modern environment there are a large number of questions posed by the nature of archaeological work and the management of cultural resources. Ideas have been advanced that participation is an appropriate remedy for political (and other forms of) exclusion, with participatory approaches to community building, policy-making, and sustainable development becoming increasingly popular. However, the transition from theory to practice has been marked by lip-service and tokenism. The continued primacy of conservation ethics in the agenda of many international organisations, the continued failure to put genuine capacity-building at the heart of international projects, the pressures to find sustainable economic development, and concerns of globalisation and declining cultural diversity, are some of the wider symptoms - to be found in different lands and various contexts.

More broadly, participatory processes have been challenged, even by people who are committed to the principle that people should not be excluded from debates and decisions that have significant effects on their lives. The nature of stakeholder power in Cultural Resource Management has been oft avoided. Many of these issues are common to post-modern theory, and especially the tensions between global theory and local practice: the challenge of successfully implementing the “think globally, act locally” mantra.

Participants from around the world will discuss case studies in CRM: examining the strategies employed, and the theories and policies they reflect. Specific interest will be given to the organisation of archaeological research and management (by whom and for whom?) and the involvement of the communities (communication, participation and power).

The debate will conclude with discussion of a Code of Ethics for the engagement of heritage professionals in CRM work.

Registration free

But please register in advance through Anastasia Sakellariadi (a.sakellariadi@ucl.ac.uk) to ensure attendance.