Towards heritage community assessment: Indicators proposal for the self-evaluation in faro convention network process

Abstract

The Faro Convention introduces an innovative concept of cultural heritage by recognising the importance of the community that is formed around the cultural asset to be enhanced. This concept is consistent with the New European Agenda for Culture, especially the European Year Cultural Heritage (EYCH) Initiative 9 “Heritage for all: citizen participation and social innovation”, that promotes a broader understanding of heritage, placing people and communities at the centre and involving them in making decisions about heritage valorisation. The cultural heritage acquires the meaning of common good and has been configured as “cultural commons”, expression of values shared by the heritage community and of the process activated to enhance it. In this perspective, the paper presents a proposal for the integration of the evaluation process identified by the Faro Convention, explaining the appropriate indicators useful for analysing the specificity of the valorisation processes and making them comparable. The methodological proposal was tested for the experience of the Friends of Molo San Vincenzo Heritage Community, activated in Naples, Italy.