Publication: Cultural Heritage and Modern Governance (March 10, 2025)

The Sundar Singh Institute was pleased to share the recent release of Cultural Heritage and Modern Governance by Professor Helena von Strauss, a UNESCO published report. This far-reaching endeavor was a step in the development of an interdisciplinary connection between cultural heritage research and the governance realities of the state. Professor von Strauss determined that cultural heritage conservation activities served as both a retrospective endeavor of memory and a proactive pursuit for regional/international identity, political cohesion, and immediate and long-term sustainable development goals—all the more necessary in an increasingly contentious South Asian political climate.

Using comparative case studies from the subcontinent and beyond, ethnographic fieldwork, and a comprehensive governance evaluation research agenda, the report makes theoretical contributions and pragmatic applications for various participants from the micro municipality to the macro international development agency. By denoting cultural heritage as a component of modern governance—urbanization, war and peacebuilding, citizen engagement, disaster relief, etc.—the report is timely to inform those with the power to change the world that cultural heritage is not merely a secondary need of humanity; rather, in the 21st century, it must be taken seriously as one of the most essential aspects of an innovative governance arsenal.