The UK has a vibrant cultural heritage sector, which has a substantial international footprint too. It is well-reputed for providing the world with a number of best practices when it comes to cultural heritage protection and conservation. Furthermore, it has greatly benefitted inbound tourism, the UK’s international diplomacy, and knowledge sharing and exchange.
The international involvement of the UK heritage sector has largely concentrated on activities that have reasonably low barriers to entry, such as projects that have low cost, a narrower scope, or shorter durations. However, there is a significant minority that do take part in more demanding and resource-intensive international heritage projects. Knowledge sharing seems to be at the forefront of international activities; from taking part in international conferences to providing consultancy, training, and sharing digital resources with international peers.
The heritage sector has also been involved in a number of practical heritage conservation projects abroad. Some have even taken up cultural exchange through international youth exchange programs.
All of these activities allowed an exchange of heritage by showcasing the cultural heritage from abroad to local UK audiences and vice versa.
The geographical areas or countries the sector has been involved in have depended on factors such as strategic goals of the organisation, the stakeholder’s or audiences’ wishes, congruency of goals with the partnering organisation abroad, personal choice of the leadership, and at times, financial opportunities.
There are a number of benefits that a heritage sector organisation can hope to derive from its international engagements; learning opportunities being the most sought after. The potential for strengthening skills and developing or discovering best practices is huge. The diversity of approaches and viewpoints makes it possible to come up with solutions that couldn’t have been possible otherwise. There are universal challenges facing every country when it comes to heritage conservation and other areas; international collaboration allows learning from foreign experts who have overcome these challenges. Furthermore, it enables co-working, cultural exchange, and can always serve as a tool for international diplomacy.
From a business standpoint, it allows organisations to reach a greater audience as well as diversify their audience base. Moreover, it boosts inbound tourism, which also means more revenue and more visitors.
There are serious opportunities that the UK heritage sector can capitalise on through its international engagements. Collaboration around the theme of sustainability, both financial and otherwise, has great potential for cooperation. The need to involve and engage local communities in cultural heritage projects is another area that should be focused on. It can be conveniently linked with social development in most less-developed countries. Furthermore, international engagement will make the sharing of technical skills possible.
However, to be able to make the most of these collaboration and learning opportunities, some capacity building may be required, especially along the lines of foreign language learning and incorporating a commercial ethos and marketing knowledge within the heritage organisations.
