Evaluating cultural and environment complexities, nuances of heritage for different communities, and how local paradigms can support a resilient and positive future of communities.
The relationship between people and their environment is more and more affected by global challenges and local dynamics. Climate adaptations, pandemics, and deep changes in our economic systems are morphing once more the way we think of our built and natural environments, such as cities, villages, farmlands, or wetlands. While we focus on equipping our communities to face an extremely complex future, we cannot forget the legacy of history and how to incorporate memories from our past in the new narratives for the present millennium. From a placemaking point of view, the intangible ambience of place is as important as the tangible components. While it is generally easy to preserve artifacts, restore buildings, and rejuvenate suburbs, ensuring the intrinsic character of place is preserved, maintained, and enhanced has proven to be quite challenging. Cities that have tried to capitalise on their traditions, often for touristic purposes, have suffered a deep transformation of their society and their image. Practices that used to be productive and effective in providing ambience to a village, have been deformed to become a tourist attraction that, in the long term, has emptied these practises of their traditions and meaning. Communities that have neglected their heritage, on the other hand, often face an identity crisis trying to artificially re-create the sophisticated daily rhythms that have unformed our social life for the past millennia.
The discourse about heritage is dominated by theories, experiences, and tools mainly developed in specific geographical areas. These tools have then been extended to other regions in some cases clashing with the local socio-cultural traditions. This short series of webinars aims to start a discussion about tangible and intangible heritage in the Asia-Pacific region. Evaluating our cultural and environmental complexities, we evaluate the nuances of heritage for the different communities in the region, and how local paradigms and knowledge can support a resilient and positive future for our communities.
Schedule
- 5 November, 2020 – 5pm AEST
- 19 November, 2020 – 5pm AEST
- 3 December, 2020 – 5pm AEST
- 17 December, 2020 – 5pm AEST