Local to Global: Co-defining resilience thresholds with UNESCO Sites in Estonia and the UK

The objective of the workshops was to encourage greater synergies between multiple UNESCO-designated sites across the UK’s nations and regions and form new participatory and local networks. This brand-new approach to network building aims to increase reliance on local knowledge and devolved decision-making amongst UNESCO Sites and is informed by contemporary best practice in citizen assemblies and open government from organisations including DemocracyNext and OECD.

We kicked off with six workshops in the UK:

• South West England – Tuesday 21 May – hosted by Exeter UNESCO City of Literature
• Wales/Cymru– Friday 14 June – hosted by Fforest Fawr UNESCO Global Geopark
• London & Southeast England – Monday 17 June – hosted by Tower of London UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Scotland – Thursday 20 June – hosted by New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Midlands and Northern England – Tuesday 25 June – hosted by York UNESCO City of Media Arts
• Northern Ireland – Monday 22 July – hosted by Belfast UNESCO City of Music

Horizon scanning workshops

At each workshop, participants were split into mixed designation groups – Biospheres with World Heritage Sites, Creative Cities with Geoparks, etc. They each discussed an array of different phenomena they were experiencing at a site-level, across social, technological, economic, environmental, and political themes. The group then populated a central “horizon scanning radar” with their phenomena written on post it notes.

Participants then mapped areas of confluence and, using the “Most Significant Change” method, democratically selected 3-5 challenges that they would like to address collaboratively.

At each workshop, practical and realisable solutions were co-designed to collectively manage threats and realise opportunities. Thanks to continued support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, UKNC will soon be distributing a series of community grants to test and catalyse some of the ideas that emerged from the workshops, beginning in January 2025.

Estonia

The UKNC was invited to Tallinn in October 2024, by VisitEstonia and the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO, to showcase their award winning Scotland UNESCO Trail and National Value methodology with VisitScotland, Scottish Government and the network of UNESCO sites. This was seen as an ideal opportunity by the UKNC to run and trial the resilience tools with their national network of UNESCO Sites.

Comparing the results of the UK and Estonia workshops, there were some observable cultural differences. Most notably, the threat of war was understandably far more present in the minds of those working in Estonia. Furthermore, the integration of tangible and intangible heritage within the Estonian network added richness and depth to discussions – it was a pleasure to observe haabjas boat building specialists in the low-lying land of Soomaa finding common ground with the West Estonian Archipelago Biosphere Reserve. This is something the UK stands to learn from, and can look forward to, since ratifying the 2003 UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage in March 2024.

Across the Estonian and UK networks, there were also key similarities. Both countries are experiencing an extended period of economic challenges since 2020, which has revealed stark consequences for cultural organisations caught in a stagnating fundraising landscape. Yet, there is a real desire to reach out, collaborate and share knowledge, skills and resources – not only among UNESCO Sites but in wider society too: across education, civil society, technology, and climate science sectors.

At UKNC, we are committed to supporting the organisational resilience of our network as well as cultivating a more resilient ecology for UNESCO sites. As the Founding Director of the Global Resilience Institute and Professor at Northeastern University, Stephen Flynn said at the Council on Foreign Relations in 2022: “There is no point being an island of resilience in a sea of fragility.”

How can National Commissions play a role in supporting the ecosystem that UNESCO-designated sites are a part of? How can we optimise initiatives like UKNC’s Local to Global to support greater connectivity and adaptive resilience in local and global networks? These are questions we continue to grapple with at UKNC and welcome the contribution from the wider UNESCO family.

If you would like to share your thoughts, or are interested in UKNC delivering a horizon scanning workshop for your community, please reach out to Local to Global Programme Lead, Liam Smyth: [email protected]