Building consensus
Conflicting values, interests and priorities can stop even the best designed heritage plan. Most heritage professionals found themselves into the midst of conflict, and many of us don’t have the training, experience and tools to respond effectively. Recognising this, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Consensus Building Institute held a workshop in Los Angeles in December 2009. The aim was to explore the potential benefits of applying methods for consensus building, negotiation and conflict resolution in the management of heritage places. Invited participants were asked to prepare a case study that illustrated the challenges posed by different types of conflicts and to consider ways in which the conflicts might have been avoided or resolved. Chris Johnston was delighted to be one of the invitees, and developed a case study based on a number of Lake Condah projects that she had been involved with since the early 1990s.
As an outcome from the workshop, GCI is planning to publish a book and a toolkit to help bring consensus building concepts, strategies and expertise to heritage place management.