Empowering Action for Climate through Collections-based Institutions in LMICs
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Institute of Archaeology
Abstract
Climate action continues to be insufficient in most countries and sectors, coinciding with worsening climate impacts. Culture, heritage and public participation relate to the all-of-society aspect of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and Paris Agreement (2015), known as Action for Climate Empowerment. The current programme for this agenda is called the Glasgow Work Programme on Action for Climate Empowerment, adopted at COP26 in 2021 and running until 2031.
Museums and similar collections and cultural institutions are specifically referred to in the Glasgow Work Programme, but it is not currently well known or mainstreamed into the cultural or heritage sectors. This project aims to progress understanding, uptake and action for the Programme in LMICs, by building the capacity of collections professionals to plan and take adaptation action related to collections. This will (1) progress climate adaptation in those institutions (strengthen the institutions and sector from climate impacts), (2) support climate adaptation locally through collections-based activities, and (3) help these institutions and the sector demonstrate their key roles in the Paris Agreement.
The project will:
Co-develop a series of capacity-building activities (delivered via online webinars and workshops) with two separate cohorts of collections-based professionals from LMICs in different time zones (East of GMT and West of GMT);
Promote inclusion of heritage collections and adaptation actions in local and national monitoring and reporting for climate action;
Develop a train-the-trainer component for participants with roles or aspirations to further support climate adaptation in their LMIC country/adjacent regions through working with further collections professionals; and
Gather evidential material from participants of past and present activities and future plans (especially those relating to the micro-grants), to form a body of material as evidence of heritage-based adaptation activities. This body of material will be used to develop case studies and a policy briefing document/documents for ICCROM, IUCN and ICOMOS and as a technical paper for the United Nations Foundation on the role of collections-based institutions in the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience (which contributes towards the Global Goal on Adaptation).
It will deliver benefits not only to the individual LMIC-based institutions involved and their publics, but will also highlight the key role of heritage research and policy making in facilitating Action for Climate Empowerment and Global Climate Adaptation and Resilience.
Museums and similar collections and cultural institutions are specifically referred to in the Glasgow Work Programme, but it is not currently well known or mainstreamed into the cultural or heritage sectors. This project aims to progress understanding, uptake and action for the Programme in LMICs, by building the capacity of collections professionals to plan and take adaptation action related to collections. This will (1) progress climate adaptation in those institutions (strengthen the institutions and sector from climate impacts), (2) support climate adaptation locally through collections-based activities, and (3) help these institutions and the sector demonstrate their key roles in the Paris Agreement.
The project will:
Co-develop a series of capacity-building activities (delivered via online webinars and workshops) with two separate cohorts of collections-based professionals from LMICs in different time zones (East of GMT and West of GMT);
Promote inclusion of heritage collections and adaptation actions in local and national monitoring and reporting for climate action;
Develop a train-the-trainer component for participants with roles or aspirations to further support climate adaptation in their LMIC country/adjacent regions through working with further collections professionals; and
Gather evidential material from participants of past and present activities and future plans (especially those relating to the micro-grants), to form a body of material as evidence of heritage-based adaptation activities. This body of material will be used to develop case studies and a policy briefing document/documents for ICCROM, IUCN and ICOMOS and as a technical paper for the United Nations Foundation on the role of collections-based institutions in the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience (which contributes towards the Global Goal on Adaptation).
It will deliver benefits not only to the individual LMIC-based institutions involved and their publics, but will also highlight the key role of heritage research and policy making in facilitating Action for Climate Empowerment and Global Climate Adaptation and Resilience.
Technical Summary
Heritage, natural heritage, cultural heritage, world heritage, collections, museums, climate change, action for climate empowerment, adaptation, citizen empowerment, cultural policy
| Description | Capacity building for 30 international collections and museums based staff and contributions to ICCROM's Our Collections Matter SDGs and collections toolkit |
| First Year Of Impact | 2025 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | Series of 6 workshops delivered to collections practitioners in partnership with ICCROM |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Each participant developed a project or initiative which directly addresses climate action or one or more SDGs to be undertaken over the coming 12 months as part of these worksshops. |