“Look at heritage as the witness of our humanity” (Nahla Emam, Egypt)

Emotionally powerful and inspiring presentations opened spaces of dialogue, highly appreciated by all participants. Grace Malie, a youth representative from Tuvalu movingly described her island’s struggle to preserve its heritage in the face of climate change, underlining the importance of capacity-building and community-based digital inventories.

Suzanne Ogge addressed challenges communities face when engaging with colonial heritage and shared a solution from Fiji, where traditional vanua-based protocols—including forgiveness rituals—have helped local communities participate more meaningfully in heritage site management. Similarly, indigenous Arctic archaeologist Kirstine Møller proposed the “Eight Principles for Research in the Arctic Circle,” aimed at fostering confidence and self-determination as foundations for sustainable local development.

Laura Lieto, Deputy Mayor of Naples, emphasized that heritage is always contested. That is why the city launched the “Napoli Ascolta” (Naples Listens) initiative to create spaces for dialogue and representation of the city’s diverse heritage practices.

Collectively, these insights reinforced the urgent need for greater community involvement in heritage-related decision-making. They also prompted a call to rethink and redefine the concept of “community” within the frameworks of both the 1972 and 2003 Conventions. Rather than seeking universal best practices, we should instead embrace diverse approaches that are adaptable to specific contexts—recognizing that what works for one community, group, or individual may not be appropriate or effective for another.

A key highlight of the Conference was the adoption of a renewed action framework emphasizing human‑centred conservation approaches and the synergy between tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The outcomes will feed into the upcoming MONDIACULT 2025 World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development.

The ICH NGO Forum is thankful to the Living Heritage Entity for the invitation and opportunity to learn and share their experiences.

Tamara Nikolić Đerić, Chairperson

ICH NGO Forum