Decolonizing the UNESCO criteria for world heritage sites: An evaluation of UNESCO world heritage sites in the Philippines through a post-colonial lens

• Main Authors: Abino, Catherine Denise D., Diehl, Charisse Bianca P., Reyes, Dylan O.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: World Heritage areas > Philippines; World Heritage areas > Evaluation; Cultural property—Protection > Philippines; Asian Studies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdb_intlstud/8; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=etdb_intlstud
• Institution: De La Salle University

The UNESCO World Heritage Program aims to protect the heritage of different cultures by providing official recognition to the important role certain landmarks hold within a nation's history and provide legal protection and heritage conservation management expertise to ensure these sites endure as a testament to the cultures on Earth and a reminder of its natural beauty and intellectual history. However, the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites falls short of its objective to preserve cultural heritage sites as its criteria for considering which heritage sites become acknowledged on the List take influence from European values and favors European countries, particularly countries with imperial backgrounds. Approximately 30% of the World Heritage Sites named on the List come from Western Europe, and sites from other countries that are heavily influenced by European architecture and art or come from a period of European colonialism. As such, this research argues that the criteria for UNESCO World Heritage Sites reflect colonial mechanisms that benefit former imperial countries while placing formerly colonized countries at a disadvantage. The research uses orientalism alongside critical realism to examine the criteria for UNESCO World Heritage Sites, placing emphasis on the role of Western institutions gaining primacy of representation over non-western states, as a means of maintaining power. This research utilized expert interviews in gathering data to analyze the heritagization process within the Philippines.