Cultural heritage and community engagement : exploring participatory approaches in Nepal

Abstract

Community engagement in Cultural Heritage Management is not a popular practice in Nepal. However, recent political transformations that emphasize inclusive participation in development projects have started to allow local communities to enter into the heritage management process. Within this new relationship, there appear to be two key concerns for local communities: the distribution of revenue generated from heritage; and an ability to participate more fully in the design and management of such enterprises. Using semi-structured interviews with community stakeholders and heritage management authorities at two case study sites in Kathmandu - Boudhanath Stupa and Rani-Pokhari - this research aims to explore whether or not decentralized grassroots engagements with cultural heritage in Nepal provides a more effective and sustainable management strategy. This research is an evaluative study of contemporary policy on cultural heritage management in Kathmandu, and ultimately aims to contribute to heritage debates by offering a new perspective on community engagement specific to the post-disaster, post-development Nepalese context.

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English