Leveraging Cultural Heritage Conservation for Inclusive Growth with Communities
Around the world, there is growing recognition that cultural heritage can do more than preserve the past. When communities are empowered to care for and shape their heritage, it can become a powerful catalyst for social well-being, environmental resilience and sustainable economic development. Yet understanding how this potential can be translated into practice remains an important challenge for the heritage sector.
Leveraging Cultural Heritage Conservation for Inclusive Growth with Communities: A Learning Document Based on Cases from Southeast Asia, developed by ICCROM with the support of the British Council and regional partners, contributes to this international conversation. It explores how people-centred and community-led heritage practices can foster more equitable development and create lasting benefits for local communities while strengthening the heritage they sustain.
Drawing on experiences from across Southeast Asia, the publication demonstrates that inclusive growth is not achieved through predefined models, but rather through locally rooted processes that enable communities to engage with, influence and benefit from the heritage that gives meaning to their everyday lives. In doing so, it presents cultural heritage as a shared resource capable of stimulating sustainable change through community-led action.
Beyond documenting case studies, the learning document offers practical reflections on translating theory into practice. In highlighting the importance of inclusive approaches that foster community ownership, capacity building, adaptability and partnerships, the resource showcases innovative funding models and sustainable business frameworks that can support the long-term viability of heritage initiatives and their wider social impact.
By consolidating lessons from ICCROM, the British Council, and project partners, the publication contributes to an evolving body of knowledge on cultural heritage for inclusive growth. Through practical insights and emerging frameworks, it can support practitioners, policymakers and institutions in designing conservation and management initiatives that place communities at their centre and generate lasting local benefits.
Ultimately, the publication argues that the transformative potential of cultural heritage lies not only in what it preserves but also in how it is lived, valued, and carried forward by people. Realizing this potential requires participatory approaches to conservation and management processes that ensure communities have a meaningful voice in the future of the heritage they steward.
Reflecting the ICCROM Strategic Plan (2026–2031) and its CARE vision of activating heritage as a driver of positive change and sustainable growth, it demonstrates its capacity to strengthen resilience, inspire collective action, and support development rooted in local values and aspirations. In this way, Leveraging Cultural Heritage Conservation for Inclusive Growth with Communities becomes a catalyst for progress that is both measurable and enduring in its meaning and impact.
