The commission has planned its lines of work by reasoning on current trends regarding the perception of prehistoric and protohistoric cultural heritage, current problems of protection, management, use and valorization of museums and archaeological areas and the need to disseminate scientific information to everyone in an accessible way.
The commission can direct its own work in exchange of experience and models, good practice and solutions on the prehistoric and protohistoric heritage on the following topics:
- What practices can be successfully implemented at both a technical and policy level to prevent as effectively as possible the destruction of archaeological heritage linked to traditional and complex ancient societies?
- How can visitor streams to a museum or archaeological site be managed, ensuring good protection and efficient valorization?
- What good practices at a global level can be transformed into sustainable management standards for heritage, so that public investment in protection is seen as an aid to the related economic spin-off existing around heritage assets?
- What balance between the public and private sectors can be made to work, so that archaeological heritage remains an asset within reach of all citizens?
- How to balance the use of new technologies in the communication and enjoyment of Heritage against the need of making visitors experience and excite them with the materiality of remains left from the past in a prehistoric and protohistoric museum or an archaeological site?
- How can we make citizens aware of their heritage and entice them to actively participate in its protection and valorization by managing the partnership between the member of the public and the heritage specialist, while respecting their respective institutional roles?
- How to communicate scientific research on heritage to the public, maintaining rigour and scientific data, but in a form cognitively accessible to all in an efficient education action?
Commission activities will be based on the sharing of experiences, good practices, models and solutions concerning archaeological heritage policies and management structures at a global level, in thematic sessions at the UISPP World Congresses, with publication of the proceedings in international series, through networking of commission members through circulation of information regarding events, new laws in the various states, through the sharing of projects, publication of papers in the UISPP Journal and, where possible, a colloquium organized by the commission every two years between UISPP World Congresses, through cooperation with APHELEIA (Humanities European Association for Culturally Integrated Landscape Management), and by sharing good practices and experiences in the management of prehistoric museums and archaeological areas that can be included in the use of multidisciplinary tools for cultural management and education.
