Building culturally sustainable communities. Community museums and transmedia storytelling

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) identify heritage practice as a means to develop culturally sustainable communities. Cultural sustainability enables the continuity of cultural identities and facilitates social inclusion. It is, therefore, of great importance for communities. Museums, as institutions that carry material and immaterial traces of history, serve as important conduits in the communication and preservation of culture. This paper examines the role of community museums in the development of culturally sustainable communities and explores how the process can be enhanced by the implementation of Transmedia Storytelling techniques to engage community audiences. It takes as a case study the collaboration between a Sino-foreign university, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), and a local community museum, the Ningbo Bang Museum. Students studying at UNNC had the opportunity to create transmedia narratives about the individuals featured in the museum, with a focus on community engagement.