Building Peace at Sites of Memory

Community Relationships with Unesco World Heritage in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Bibliographic Data

ID18985686
AuthorsA Bolin (0000-0003-1639-8976, American Association for the Advancement of Science, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume18
Issue2
Pages163-185
Publication date2025-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHeritage & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2159-032X • E-ISSN: 2159-0338
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/2159032x.2025.2506132
OpenAlexW4411017777
LanguageEN
References cited56

In 2023, Rwanda inscribed a set of genocide memorials on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, based in part on the memorials’ value to peace. Considering the importance of communities to the sustainability of heritage-based peacebuilding projects, this article examines the management plan for the newly listed Rwandan sites in terms of its framework for community engagement and participation. It argues that while the plan for these sites reflects a shift toward a closer relationship between heritage and communities than has generally been seen in Rwandan heritage management, it retains significant constraints on community participation. These constraints derive from the challenges of narrative inclusivity in a post-conflict context, Rwanda’s internal politics around genocide memory, and the influence of the international World Heritage regime. The management plan for Rwanda’s newly inscribed sites, then, demonstrates the tensions between peace, participation, and politics at World Heritage sites, even those inscribed partly on the basis of their value to peace itself

Archaeology · Environmental ethics · Genocide · Geography · Political science · World heritage · Cambodian History and Society · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy

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