[Archport] WAC IC, Jamaica: "Localising the global"

["Rui Gomes Coelho" <ruigomescoelho@gmail.com>]

Via World Archaeological Congress:

We are inviting participation (paper abstracts) for a session to be held in 
the WAC Inter-Congress in Kingston, Jamaica May 20-7 2007.

Session abstract: "Localising the global". Archaeological resource 
management: participatory processes and ethical codes of conduct

For people working in the cultural heritage sector in a post-modern 
environment there are a large number of questions posed by the nature of 
archaeological work and the management of cultural resources. Ideas have 
been advanced that participation is an appropriate remedy for political (and

other forms of) exclusion, with participatory approaches to community 
building, policy-making, and sustainable development becoming increasingly 
popular. However, the transition from theory to practice has been marked by 
lip-service and tokenism. The continued primacy of conservation ethics in 
the agenda of many international organisations, the continued failure to put

genuine capacity-building at the heart of international projects, the 
pressures to find sustainable economic development, and concerns of 
globalisation and declining cultural diversity, are some of the wider 
symptoms - to be found in different lands and various contexts.
More broadly, participatory processes have been challenged, even by people 
who are committed to the principle that people should not be excluded from 
debates and decisions that have significant effects on their lives. The 
nature of stakeholder power in Cultural Resource Management has been oft 
avoided. Many of these issues are common to post-modern theory, and 
especially the tensions between global theory and local practice: the 
challenge of successfully implementing the "think globally, act locally" 
mantra.
We are inviting participants to discuss case studies in CRM from around the 
world: examining the strategies employed, and the theories and policies they

reflect. Specific interest will be given to the organisation of 
archaeological research and management (by whom and for whom?) and the 
involvement of the communities (communication, participation and power). The

debate will conclude with discussion of a Code of Ethics for the engagement 
of heritage professionals in CRM work.
The structure of the session: a number of papers (8-12), with integral 
discussion sessions, occupying one day, followed by a round-table 
presentation of a draft Code of Ethics for debate.
Keywords: Modernity; Local & Global; Cultural Resource Management; Public 
Archaeology; Local communities; Participatory planning; Capacity building; 
Ethics.
Session organisers:
Tim Williams, Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Site Management, Institute 
of Archaeology, University College London. Email: tim.d.williams@ucl.ac.uk
Stelios Lekakis, PhD Candidate, University of Athens. Email: 
lekakisste@hotmail.com


If you are interested in participating please contact the session 
organizers.

Information about the conference could be found here: 
http://www.asjam.com/introduction.php


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Stelios Lekakis, MA, PhD c.
Archaeologist
University of Athens