Understanding Peace & Conflict Helps Protect Cultural Heritage
This fabulous image by Tomislav Marcijus resonates as I wrestled with the complexities of cultural heritage protection.
The single most potent advance to be made is to ensure an awareness of peacebuilding processes and conflict mitigation. An awareness that will improve any project's national peacebuilding synergy, will help expand the social-economic value and galvanise humanitarian activity.
Knowing one’s place, and why you’re a part of, a peacebuilding meta-narrative (processes, values, history and deliverables) seems obvious, perhaps so obvious, that it seems overlooked, even taken for granted.
Moreover, Knowing one’s place in peacebuilding is only half the battle, Knowing how you fit within conflict is the other half, and understanding the conflict that any intervention creates, fuels, or quells is essential in these contexts.
What does conflict mean and at what scale do we perceive that it's relevant within an individual project or a network of projects?
All involved must understand the impact a project (whether meta or granular) has on a troubled and disorientated demographic, there will be friction caused by any intervention. We have to mitigate the risk of new violence (while understanding the various forms of violence there are) and encourage hope, an activity best delivered whilst mindful that it is done within the fragments of what was once familiar.
Over the years, I have had the privilege to assess potential projects relating to cultural heritage protection, HLP and post-conflict memorialisation. I have attended several evaluation/assessment events and this has helped me reflect on my projects in post-conflict conditions since 2016. I can safely say there is incredible work being done to support vulnerable communities and their cultural heritage at risk due to conflict or climate change ( two risk-laden conditions which are entangling with each year that passes). Most of the projects have been diligently delivered in collaboration with donors, specialists, creatives, academics, craftspeople, local communities, architects, NGOs and government agencies from far and wide.
However, peacebuilding and conflict awareness are the most important commonalities within every project (past, present and future) that can be addressed and improved, now and to great effect.
UNIFORM NOVEMBER is a consultancy with Peace and Conflict Studies at its foundation. Contact us to explore ways to support your projects, tenders and evaluations.
