Patrimonio, comunità, partecipazione. il ruolo degli Ecomusei nella valorizzazione dell’’eredità culturale’

Worldwide trends such as globalisation, technological revolution, migration, transnational and transcultural communication, international travel, and the global economic crisis are driving swift and constant social changes. In this scenario, the need to place communities at the centre of design processes considering the conservation of our heritage as an economic and social driver, generates an evident conflict. This paper is about the new approaches of ecomuseums in a globalised world and their concrete implications with respect to the needs of communities. Ecomuseums consider themselves as participatory processes that recognize, manage and protect the local heritage in order to facilitate a sustainable social, environmental and economic development. They are specific projects through which to reconnect techniques, cultures, productions and resources of a homogeneous territory so as to relate to the cultural heritage of the area. They develop creative and inclusive practices aimed at the cultural growth of the local communities based on the active participation of people and the cooperation of organizations and associations. The question that arises is whether and how these new institutions are managing to positively govern change, through proposals aimed at safeguarding the past but, above all, at planning a possible future.