Heritage Authenticity in Theory and Practice in Africa

This Open Access book draws on the expertise of scholars, heritage experts, government officials, community representatives, and NGOs to redefine heritage authenticity from an African perspective. Exploring the interplay between tangible and intangible heritage, spiritual and sacred traditions, and the values of African communities, the book offers a dynamic and inclusive vision of cultural heritage. This timely volume responds to a critical moment in the evolution of world heritage theory and practice following the Nairobi Outcome Document on Heritage and Authenticity (2025). As longstanding calls for a more representative World Heritage List intensify, the chapters in this volume address the persistent structural imbalance whereby African heritage sites currently account for only about 8% of all inscribed World Cultural Heritage properties as of 2025. This volume attributes this disparity to a deeper concept misalignment in which prevailing evaluative frameworks continue to privilege materially fixed, monument-centred understandings of authenticity. This volume posits that many African heritage systems are instead grounded in continuity of practice, ritual renewal, ecological interdependence, and community custodianship. In such contexts, heritage authenticity is sustained through dynamic social processes and evolving relationships among people, place, and beliefs, allowing evolution and transformation across form, space and time without loss of cultural legitimacy. This volume explores these processes through a wide range of examples drawn from across the African continent in order to delve into the challenges of heritage management, the role of local communities, and the need for governance systems that reflect Africa's unique cultural contexts. It also critically examines global heritage conventions and charters, highlighting the need to decolonize heritage practices and foster a more balanced representation of African sites on the World Heritage List. This volume not only enriches the global discourse on heritage authenticity but also serves as a catalyst for empowering African communities to define and safeguard their cultural legacy. With its rich collection of case studies, theoretical insights, and practical recommendations, Heritage Authenticity in Theory and Practice in Africa will be an essential resource for academics, researchers, students, heritage experts, conservation practitioners and policymakers with interests in African heritage, decolonising knowledge, Indigenous and minority communities, and global development.

George Okello Abungu is Emeritus Director General of the National Museums of Kenya and Founding Professor of Heritage Studies at the University of Mauritius, and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University. He served on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and ICOM Executive Board. A specialist in archaeology and restitution, he has received international honours and recently co-edited Restitution from a Global Perspective.

Masanori Nagaoka is Regional Advisor for Culture at the UNESCO Regional Office in Nairobi. Since 2004, he has served with UNESCO across Asia and Africa, contributing to major heritage recovery and conservation initiatives at sites including Angkor, Bamiyan and Borobudur, among others. He is Editor-in-Chief of The Future of the Bamiyan Buddha Statues (2020) and recipient of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (Cambodia, 2022).

Shadreck Chirikure is Edward Hall Professor of Archaeological Science and Director of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at the University of Oxford. He is a British Academy Global Professor, Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He authored Metals in Past Societies (2015) and Great Zimbabwe (2020).

Webber Ndoro is Director of the Heritage Centre in the Islamic World at ICESCO, Rabat, and former Director-General of ICCROM (2018–2023). Previously Executive Director of the African World Heritage Fund, he is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and a leader in heritage conservation. He co-edited major Routledge volumes on restitution and African heritage management.

Albino Jopela is Executive Director of the African World Heritage Fund and Research Fellow at Eduardo Mondlane University and the University of Cape Town. He has served as Chairperson of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists and as advisor to ICOMOS on World Heritage. His work focuses on heritage conservation systems, rock art, World Heritage and liberation heritage in Africa.

Ishanlosen Odiaua is Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank. She previously served at the World Heritage Centre and the Centre for Heritage Development in Africa, leading Africa’s Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting and contributing to the Second Cycle. Her expertise focuses on implementing the World Heritage Convention. She is co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Critical African Heritage Studies (2024).

Hamady Bocoum is an archaeologist and former Director of Cultural Heritage of Senegal. He served as Director of IFAN Cheikh Anta Diop and the founding Director General of the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar. During his tenure, several Senegalese properties were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage and Intangible Heritage Lists. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications.