Community participation in heritage site management: challenges and opportunities the management of Kliptown open air museum, city of Johannesburg municipality, Gauteng province

Abstract

Located in Soweto, Kliptown hosted the Congress of the People event where the Freedom Charter was adopted on the 26th of June 1955. In spite of the historical significance of the site, Kliptown remains an impoverished township, marred by a lack of service delivery from Government. This has had a substantial negative impact on heritage development initiatives in the area. One of these initiatives is the Kliptown Open Air Museum (KOAM) precinct. This Research Report examines the level of community involvement in the management of KOAM and the impact this has had on the development of KOAM as a heritage resource. The dissertation demonstrates the desire of Kliptown local community to be involved in the management of KOAM and the extent to which they are excluded from the management of KOAM. It was found that KOAM does not have guidelines on how they should involve Kliptown community in the operations of the museum. This finding has highlighted the consequences of declared heritage sites operating without proper guidelines on how they should involve their local communities. Overall, this study has shown that community-based heritage management is still a developing concept in South Africa, and Africa in general