Ahmedabad University announces the First Edition of International Conference on Heritage Management Education and Practice
Ahmedabad: The Centre for Heritage Management at Ahmedabad University announces the first edition of its annual International Heritage Management Conference series, marking the graduation of its first batch of students of Masters of Management Studies – Heritage Management, as well as welcoming a new group of students. The first-of-its-kind of International Conference on Heritage Management Education at Ahmedabad University is witnessing the presence of speakers from nine different countries along with India while exploring discussions on heritage sites from 15 states of India.
The keynote address of the International Conference will be delivered by Professor Amareshwar Galla, Executive Director, International Institute for Inclusive Museum, Copenhagen. He has worked on culture in poverty alleviation projects at several World Heritage sites including Ha Long Bay and Hoi An (Vietnam) and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (India). He is Editor-in-Chief of three research journals dealing with sustainable heritage development.
The authors presenting at this conference include academicians, researchers, professionals and students from different parts of the country and abroad – USA, UK, Portugal, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The graduating students will also be presenting their theses under relevant themes. Out of around 100 abstracts received, around 55 are scheduled to be presented in the three days of technical sessions under the following thematic sessions:
Heritage Management Education
Theorizing Heritage & Formulating Management Frameworks
Heritage Economics & Livelihood
Challenges in the Museums Management
Intangible Heritage: Crafts, Literature & Cinema
Environment & Cultural Landscapes Management
Historic Urban Landscapes Management
Built and Urban Heritage Management
Participatory Processes in Heritage Management
Policies
The conference shall be a good platform for educational institutions on heritage studies and heritage management, organizations working on different heritage sectors, agencies supporting the cause of heritage research and management, heritage related entrepreneurs, academicians and researchers concerned with the field of heritage, students with interest in heritage, individuals working in different capacities in the heritage sector, government departments and urban local bodies which have to deal with heritage in their frameworks, and anyone with interest or engagement with any aspects of heritage.
Context of the International Conference on Heritage Management Education and Practice:
The discourses and practices on ‘heritage’ are significantly broadened in recent decades, leading towards the holistic understanding of heritage idea and the emerging approaches of heritage management, than just the mere documentation and preservation of heritage. We are at a promising juncture where heritage is no longer confined only to history or material or monuments or unique artifacts, but it is equally about livelihoods, sustainability, social development, innovation, and so on. There is furthermore opportunities of cross-disciplinary research and practice tools that may be relevant to making sense of rich and diverse heritage that we have. Yet, there are much more that we have to learn and master, which is possible only through dialogues, discussion, debates, and sharing of lessons from different contexts.