Understanding various stakeholders is an important step when it comes to good governance in heritage preservation, said a history instructor during the fourth online session of Grupo Kalinangan’s Pamana Talks for the National Heritage Month on May 22, 2020.

Ateneo de Manila University lecturer, Prof. John Ray Ramos, stressed that heritage preservation should be treated as public interest because the state is mandated by the 1987 Constitution to “foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture.”

Moreover, Prof. Ramos explained that sustaining efforts towards heritage preservation and maintaining good governance in this aspect entail identifying and understanding various stakeholders and reconciling the conflicting interests among them.

Prof. Ramos identified eight major stakeholders of heritage, namely, national cultural agencies, local government units, cultural workers, cultural property owners, the community, civil society and nongovernment organizations, the private sector, and creative enterprises.

He explained that each stakeholder has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the others have to understand in order to negotiate their conflicting interests and eventually create a consensus among them.

To view the recording of this Pamana Talks session, click here.