GHN Overview - Feb2013

Global Heritage Network (GHN):

Threat Monitoring and Collaborative Solutions for Heritage Sites in the Developing World

Round-table Discussion February 2013

Global Heritage Network: An Overview http://ghn.globalheritagefund.org History The idea of Global Heritage Network (GHN) has been around since early in GHF’s existence and was envisioned as an online platform to allow experts from around the world working in heritage preservation and related fields to collaborate and exchange views, practices, etc. with a specific focus on GHF Projects. The first iteration of GHN was created by Josie Thompson as an invitation-based, password-protected system that included project data, discussion forums and meeting scheduling. This platform is still used in a slightly modified form as GHF Internal to share non-public documentation related to, for example, projects and board meetings.

The second iteration of GHN began in 2008, envisioned as a public platform for early warning and threat monitoring of endangered heritage sites in the developing world built around Google Earth. Development began in January 2009, and the first working version was completed in July of that year. The site database totaled over 1000 sites and included all World Heritage Inscribed- or Tentative List cultural heritage sites in the developing world. It was also a very open structure, so that it was possible for members to add new sites to the database as long as a certain amount of information was added, e.g. photographs and site overview (including significance, threats and current/past onsite research).

Following a major review, it was decided to redesign the main interface to maximize use of Google Earth and to include a social networking component; the ability of members to add sites to the database freely was also removed. Work began in early 2010 and continued for approximately one year. The site was launched publicly in March 2011 and remains in the same format today.

Current Structure GHN is comprised of three integrated components: • GHN Sites – a database of 650+ sites presented using the Google Earth plugin • GHN Community – a social network of site-based and thematic discussion groups • GHN Library – a collection of preservation- and site-related electronic documents The GHN Sites component is the main interface, providing documentation, photos, videos, satellite imagery, maps and other data concerning the sites in the database – ranked as Destroyed (black), Rescue Needed (red), At Risk (orange) and Stable (green) – and accessible through the Site Panel or directly in Google Earth via clickable georeferenced icons detailing site significance, threats and conservation efforts. A further feature of GHN Sites is extensive high resolution satellite imagery donated by (and to a lesser extent purchased from) DigitalGlobe, a leading operator of commercial satellites.

All site documentation is stored in the Library, which also contains hundreds of additional documents from many sources. The GHN Community is where members can contribute their own knowledge and resources by participating in discussion groups or by starting their own groups around specific sites in the database or general thematic topics.

Members can get more deeply involved by volunteering to be a Site Coordinator for one or more sites and taking responsibility to flesh out the related site profiles with documentation, photographs, etc. Another role is that of a Site Monitor, an individual with the necessary experience to complete a Site Conservation Assessment report detailing all current aspects of a site – including its state of preservation, level of protection and tourist infrastructure – to provide a current baseline for monitoring.

Goals The stated goals of GHN have been to: • Act as an early warning and threat monitoring system for endangered cultural heritage sites in the developing world • Enable the collaboration of experts and conservation leaders to mitigate the threats that those sites face • Facilitate a holistic Preservation by Design® process of planning, conservation, community development and partnerships to preserve the sites Approximately one year ago, ‘Early Warning’ was dropped from the GHN strapline as it was felt that this was essentially a component of threat monitoring. While the GHN team that existed during 2011-12 did their best to update site profiles with information on threats faced, it was beyond their means to adequately monitor all sites in the database. It was originally envisioned that this would fall mostly to a large team of Site Coordinators, but in practice this did not turn out to be the case, in part due to the fact that no member of the GHN team was able to focus on sourcing and mentoring such volunteers.

With regard to enabling collaboration among experts to address threats at heritage sites in the database, the GHN Community does provide a quite strong networking capability based on the level of detail provided in members’ profiles, andsite-based discussion groups create a space where collaboration can occur, but to date this has not occurred to any great extent. One example in this vein, however, is the case of the Plain of Jars in Laos, where the site group members expressed interest in doing something to preserve the Jar sites, and a project investigation was initiated by GHF in consultation with group members and UNESCO Bangkok staff (past and present). This was intended to serve as a model for GHN-based site preservation which other members could replicate.

Concerning the third stated goal, documentation within the Site Panel is organized under Preservation by Design headings, and, further, information on the Preservation by Design approach to site preservation is provided via a button on the top navigation bar in the main GHN interface.

Audiences The primary audience envisioned for GHN from its inception has been professionals working in cultural heritage preservation and related fields, and this is indeed the case based on the stated professions of GHN members (90% or more). This group can be expected to both contribute data and use data added by others.

Other audiences – not specifically targeted to date – include students and travelers or tourists with an interest in cultural heritage. These groups can be expected to be primarily passive users of the site as it is currently constructed.

Finally, GHN has been seen as providing the initial step in a “pipeline” leading to GHF Project selection by serving to identify potential projects that match GHF’s Project Selection Criteria.

Statistics Below are some brief statistics on GHN, as of 20 February 2013: GHN Community • 1170 Members • 101 Countries Represented • Top 5 countries by number of members: US (338), UK (91), India (86), Peru (59), Turkey (37) • USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland & New Zealand account for 43% of total members • 102 Site-based and Thematic Groups Started • Top 5 groups by number of members: Cultural Tourism (77), Banteay Chhmar (50), GIS / Remote Sensing (47), Ciudad Perdida (44), Timbuktu (38) GHN Sites • 285 Sites with Satellite Imagery (444 images total) • 80 Completed Site Profiles • 30 Site Coordinators • 20 Site Monitors • 15 Completed Site Conservation Assessments GHN Library • 600+ Heritage Preservation-related Documents • 800+ Articles and other documents in the Save Our Vanishing Heritage Database Most Common Professional Fields of GHN Members 1. Archaeology / Anthropology 6. Heritage Management 2. Architecture / Historic Preservation 7. Business / NGO / Non-profit 3. Conservation 8. Journalist / Writer / Photographer 4. Academic / Researcher / Teacher 9. Sustainable Development/Tourism 5. Consulting 10. Museology

Previous & Current Ideas • Increase membership through outreach to universities/organizations and or targeted invitations to specific individuals • Smartphone App for real-time data collection & posting (could also include SCA) • Create a model for GHN-based collaborative site preservation (Plain of Jars) • Integrate project management tools • Education (online training, classroom tool, webinars) • Focus on getting more Site Coordinators to flesh out database • Integrate fund raising capability, similar to Kickstarter / Kiva

Similar Platforms While we are unaware of any other online platform with the same functionality and purpose as GHN, there are at least two – described briefly below – with similar goals, i.e. the monitoring and/or preservation of cultural heritage. These are not seen as competitors but rather as complementary tools created for different (but related) purposes.

Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA): www.megajordan.org A collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute, World Monuments Fund and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, MEGA-Jordan is a purpose-built geographic information system (GIS) to inventory and manage archaeology sites at a national level.

It has been developed using state-of-the-art technology and requires no more than basic computer skills to enter site and site element boundaries and buffer zones; site details such as condition, threats, and other monitoring updates; and to print out detailed, up-todate reports on Jordan’s vast number of archaeological sites. The system, in both Arabic and English, is web-based and will standardize and centralize data throughout the Kingdom.

Mukurtu: www.mukurtu.org Mukurtu is a free, mobile and open source platform for managing and sharing digital cultural heritage, built for indigenous communities, archives, libraries and museums.

The Mukurtu project began in the remote Central Australian town of Tennant Creek with the creation of the Mukurtu Wumpurrarni-kari Archive. The project was born from the needs of the Warumungu Aboriginal community who wanted an archival platform that allowed them to organize, manage and share their digital cultural materials in line with their cultural protocols. Using new technologies we collaborated to develop a userfriendly and culturally relevant system embedded with Warumungu social and cultural protocols. This solution began and ended with the understanding that technology is meant to bend to human needs, not the other way around. Mukurtu is now in development as a free and open source platform distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (or "GPL").