New UNESCO Publication Challenges How Authenticity Is Defined in African Heritage

African heritage experts are widening the meaning of authenticity

A new UNESCO-supported publication is challenging narrow interpretations of authenticity in African heritage management by asking whether living traditions, community relationships and cultural meaning should carry as much weight as original physical materials.

The publication, Heritage Authenticity in Theory and Practice in Africa, was launched on 23 July 2026 during the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, Republic of Korea. It grew out of the International Conference on Cultural Heritage in Africa held in Nairobi in May 2025.

Why the debate matters

Conservation systems have often treated authenticity primarily as the preservation of original fabric, form and material. African scholars and heritage professionals have argued that this can be too restrictive in contexts where heritage remains alive through use, ritual, oral knowledge, spiritual meaning and community practice.

UNESCO’s own explanation of authenticity recognises a wider range of attributes, including use and function, traditions, management systems, language, spirit and feeling. The new African publication develops that conversation further by placing community practice and African scholarship more firmly within the World Heritage debate.

From preservation to living heritage

The central issue is not whether physical conservation should be abandoned. It is whether heritage policy can protect material evidence while also recognising that communities adapt, reinterpret and sustain cultural meaning over time.

That distinction matters for African states seeking new World Heritage inscriptions, managing existing sites and designing conservation policies that support local participation rather than treating communities as external to heritage management.

Sources

• UNESCO: When Heritage Lives, Towards an Evolving Understanding of Heritage Authenticity
• UNESCO: Redefining Cultural Heritage and Authenticity
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre: 48th session of the World Heritage Committee
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Authenticity explained