Preserving the Past, Empowering the Future: connecting communities and collections in Bangladesh
A lecture by Professor Shahnaj Jahan - University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
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Performers from the indigenous Santal community opening the inaugural Heritage Festival at the Varendra Research Museum (Durham UNESCO Chair).
Museum collections and heritage sites are at risk globally from natural and human-caused hazards, ranging from climate change to political unrest and unchecked development. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, with intensified flash flooding linked to cyclones and an increasingly erratic monsoon, as well rising sea levels threatening the low-lying land of the Ganga Delta that covers much of the country. Rapid urbanisation, as well as recent social and political pressures, as seen during the June-August 2024 Student-Peoples’ Uprising, further potentially cause risks to Bangladesh's diverse and rich heritage.
This lecture will explore how public engagement strategies can be transformed into sustainable action plans that place custodians and communities at the heart of the safeguarding and preservation of archaeological sites and museum collections in a programme sponsored by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Professor Shahnaj Jahan is Professor of Archaeology, the Director of the Center for Archaeological Studies and Head of the Department of General Education at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). She has been excavating the archaeological site of Bhitargarh in Bangladesh since 2008 and developed a blend of strategies, including heritage festivals, to stimulate public interest in archaeological heritage preservation, management and co-curation.
Professor Jahan joined Durham University's UNESCO Chair in its Cultural Protection Fund capacity strengthening programme at the Varendra Research Museum and co-designed and co-developed the Varendra Research Museum's inaugural Heritage Festival, as well as the exhibitions ' A History of Bangladesh in 25 Objects' and 'Preserving the Past, Empowering the Future: connecting communities and collections in Bangladesh', at the Oriental Museum.
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Pricing
Free