Date of Award
6-2022
Document Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (Research)
Department
Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism
First Advisor
Fiona Tobin
Second Advisor
Dr Sophie Price
Abstract
In recent years, the role of communities in the stewardship of World Heritage (WH) sites has been recognised and encouraged by UNESCO. Communities have formally been included in all WH processes from nomination to inscription on the WH List. This case study documents a community-led approach to Ireland’s first industrial WH nomination; The ‘Valentia Transatlantic Cable Ensemble’ (VTCE) on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry. Objectives of this project have been fulfilled through a comprehensive literature review and a qualitative research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Valentia Island community and other stakeholders. Examination and analysis of the data revealed a number of key factors that impact upon and influence a community-led WH nomination, such as determining the motivations for WH designation, the importance of understanding and trust, critical support and assistance required, the internal functioning of a community and the benefits and limitations of the process. The learnings and insights obtained contribute to the development of a framework to support and inform the VTCE and future community-led nominations both in Ireland and abroad. There is limited literature in relation to communityled WH nominations and a significant gap in relation to community-led, industrial heritage nominations. This study will therefore build on the literature by filling that lacuna.
Recommended Citation
Baxter, Elizabeth, "Communities and World Heritage Nomination: The Journey of the Valentia Transatlantic Cable Ensemble" (2022). Theses [online].
Available at: https://sword.cit.ie/allthe/824
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Access Level
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
