Vår felles fortid: Bærekraftig kulturarv og Fotefar mot nord

Abstract

The project “Fotefar mot nord” is comprised of 103 cultural heritage sites in Namdal and Northern Norway. The project started in the 1990's to attract local visitors as well as tourists and thus promote awareness and protection of the sites. Some sites were routinely cared for in the decades that followed, others were not, and the project is currently being regenerated and updated. Sustainability is represented in the project through, for example, sites used as social hotspots and the potential for active visitor management of several heritage sites. However, I conclude that the project contains several lessons on sustainability, summarized as follows: 1) Public outreach is a long-term commitment relying on thorough and detailed planning of the start as well as the continuous operation of the project. 2) Democracy and inclusion are both important and time-consuming. Allocate much time to the processes, include the local community in a range of project contexts, and explore heritage sites as local meeting points. 3) Remember the overarching structure of the project, as familiarity with the project can generate increased interest in it. 4) Resource efficiency and sustainability also applies to skills, knowledge and involvement.