“Strong heritage governance begins with strong community leadership.”
Across the Kalahari, stories of the ǂKhomani San people live not only in the ancient landscape, but also in the languages, traditions, knowledge and cultural practices passed from one generation to the next.
Yet safeguarding this extraordinary heritage raises an equally important question: who gets to shape the decisions that determine its future?
At the ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape, UNESCO is working with communities and partners to ensure that the people who have safeguarded this heritage for generations are equipped to participate meaningfully in decisions about its management, conservation and future.
This was at the heart of a community governance strengthening workshop convened by UNESCO through the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture: Promoting Culture and Heritage-Based Sustainable Tourism project. The engagement brought together members of the Community Property Association (CPA), SANParks, governance specialists and UNESCO for dialogue, shared learning and collective reflection on strengthening community governance at the ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape.
Community representatives are often expected to make decisions on complex issues ranging from conservation and tourism development to legal compliance and financial management, without always having access to the knowledge, institutional systems or governance tools needed to fulfil these responsibilities effectively.
Recognizing this challenge, UNESCO, through the Africa–Europe Partnerships for Culture project, is supporting an approach that places community governance at the centre of sustainable heritage management.
Strengthening community governance is a key component of the project, recognising that sustainable tourism depends not only on destination development and visitor experiences, but also on inclusive, accountable and effective local institutions capable of guiding the long-term management of heritage sites. By convening diverse stakeholders around one table, UNESCO is helping to foster dialogue, shared ownership and collaborative decision-making that place communities at the heart of heritage management.
Rather than focusing solely on strengthening institutions, the project is investing in people.
Throughout the workshop, participants engaged in facilitated discussions and collaborative dialogue, reflecting on a simple but important question:
What does it take for communities to participate meaningfully in decisions about their own heritage?
The conversations revealed that effective participation is not simply about being represented at meetings. It is about having the confidence to contribute, understanding governance responsibilities, communicating with the wider community and being accountable to those whose interests are being represented.
As discussions unfolded, governance shifted from being viewed as a technical concept to something deeply personal.
It became about trust.
It became about leadership.
It became about ensuring that every decision made around the management table reflects the voices, aspirations and rights of the community.
Communities cannot influence decisions if they are not empowered to participate confidently. Building governance capacity means building the ability of communities to shape their own future.
Mr. Frans Van Rooyen – SANParks Site Manager: ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape
The dialogue also highlighted that strong governance creates benefits far beyond institutional effectiveness.
When community representatives understand their roles and responsibilities, collaboration with site management authorities improves. Decisions become more transparent. Community members are better informed. Partnerships become stronger. Ultimately, heritage conservation and sustainable tourism become more inclusive because the people who live alongside the heritage are active partners in its management.
The workshop also demonstrated the value of bringing different institutions together in a spirit of dialogue. By creating space for open discussion between the CPA, SANParks, governance specialists and UNESCO, participants were able to collectively identify both challenges and opportunities for strengthening community leadership and long-term governance.
One of the most significant outcomes of the engagement was the joint identification of practical actions that will strengthen the CPA over the long term. These include reviewing governance instruments, strengthening leadership and management skills, improving accountability mechanisms, expanding resource mobilization capacity and creating clearer pathways for community participation in site governance.
These are not simply administrative improvements. They represent investments in the people responsible for safeguarding one of Africa’s most significant cultural landscapes.
The initiative also demonstrated an important lesson that can inform heritage governance beyond the ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape.
Effective heritage management begins long before decisions are made in governance structures.
It begins by investing in the capacity of communities to participate as informed, confident and equal partners.
For UNESCO, this represents a shift from managing heritage for communities to managing heritage with communities.
As the next phase of support includes strengthening governance systems, developing leadership capacity and improving institutional sustainability, the foundation has been laid for a stronger partnership between the community and site management authorities.
Because when communities are empowered to govern, heritage does more than survive. It thrives.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/building-stronger-community-governance-sustainable-heritage-management-khomani-cultural-landscape?hub=701
