Securing cultural heritage? Understanding the law for our monuments, artworks, and archives today (original) (raw)

The role of cultural heritage-that complex of tangible and intangible testaments to our common civilization-has pervaded our common consciousness for centuries. As our communities have remained in place, gone to war with one another, lived in peace, or encountered unexpected challenges and forces of nature, questions surrounding our heritage have played an important role. Today, as the first ever G20 ministerial meeting dedicated to cultural heritage in July 2021 clearly demonstrated, cultural heritage stands at the center of global postpandemic recoveries, strategies for sustainable growth, and cooperation and dialogue across communities and governments that are meant to support the flourishing of our individual and collective identities. 1 With cultural heritage's prioritization, however, comes an increased need to address the questions it inevitably presents. What heritage defines us and what does it teach us about our past? What heritage truly embodies our traditions and identity? Where does that heritage belong and how do we access it, or even understand it? How are we to recognize and valorize our heritage in times of crisis? What heritage, if any, do we give up and what heritage do we keep? Since the turn of the twenty-first century and the rise of technology's use to preserve and disseminate our cultural heritage, the questions cultural heritage poses to us have become ever more pressing and significant. Cultural heritage is distributedboth tangibly and intangibly-across territorial borders outside its original context, to become part of new narratives, thereby participating in the reconstruction of