Which Future for Cultural Heritage in Increasingly Diverse European Societies?
Cornelius Holtorf, University of Kalmar, Sweden I am arguing in this paper that the increasingly diverse and multi-cultural societies in Europe make it necessary for the heritage sector to reconsider some fundamental assumptions. Familiar notions of heritage that relate to national pasts and aim at reinforcing the citizens’ common collective identity are unsustainable when significant parts of the population immigrated over the past few decades, as is the case in many parts of contemporary Europe. National heritage is no longer able to unite increasingly diverse populations. By the same token, indigenous perspectives emphasizing the rights of the ‘natives’ to ‘their’ cultural heritage exclude immigrants and risk chauvinism. If we are committed to the important principles of equality and equal opportunities that modern democracies proudly embrace, we must realise that the immigrants’ claims and responses to the common cultural heritage are as valid and significant as those of any other
Related Questions
- How will my interest in museums and galleries, the arts, heritage or other cultural forms be satisfied by the pathways programme?
- What contribution can Norway’s experience of cultural diversity make to the fight against discrimination at the European level?
- Could the future UNESCO convention on cultural diversity jeopardize freedom of expression?
