TY - JOUR KW - UNESCO KW - intangible heritage KW - World heritage KW - East Asia KW - Interpretation KW - Memory of the World KW - Post-conflict heritage KW - Presentation KW - Reconciliation AU - William Logan AB - Purpose: Despite being the intellectual foundation on which the notion of heritage is built and a critical element in all programmes aimed at heritage protection, interpretation as a concept and practice is not well understood or used. Design/methodology/approach: The paper explores the reasons for and consequences of heritage interpretation as a concept and practice not being well understood using case studies within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage arena in East Asia. Findings: The paper shows how heritage interpretation impacts both positively and negatively on nation-building within states and the shaping of international relations between states. It identifies heritage interpretation approaches that might help to achieve reconciliation between peoples recently engaged in international conflicts. These concerns are not confined to East Asia but apply across the world. Originality/value: The discussion draws together the three principal forms of heritage in UNESCO s global project: heritage places, protected under the World Heritage Convention; living or embodied heritage, safeguarded under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention and documentary heritage preserved under the Memory of the World Program. Suggestions are made as to how the organizations and agencies charged with heritage protection should and could modify their interpretation policies and procedures to help remediate existing negative impacts and avoid creating new tensions in future. BT - Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development DA - jan DO - 10.1108/JCHMSD-05-2021-0081 LA - English M1 - 1 N1 - Publisher: Emerald Group Holdings Ltd. N2 - Purpose: Despite being the intellectual foundation on which the notion of heritage is built and a critical element in all programmes aimed at heritage protection, interpretation as a concept and practice is not well understood or used. Design/methodology/approach: The paper explores the reasons for and consequences of heritage interpretation as a concept and practice not being well understood using case studies within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage arena in East Asia. Findings: The paper shows how heritage interpretation impacts both positively and negatively on nation-building within states and the shaping of international relations between states. It identifies heritage interpretation approaches that might help to achieve reconciliation between peoples recently engaged in international conflicts. These concerns are not confined to East Asia but apply across the world. Originality/value: The discussion draws together the three principal forms of heritage in UNESCO s global project: heritage places, protected under the World Heritage Convention; living or embodied heritage, safeguarded under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention and documentary heritage preserved under the Memory of the World Program. Suggestions are made as to how the organizations and agencies charged with heritage protection should and could modify their interpretation policies and procedures to help remediate existing negative impacts and avoid creating new tensions in future. PY - 2022 SP - 5 EP - 18 T2 - Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development TI - Heritage interpretation, conflict and reconciliation in East Asia: global issues in microcosm UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85108621556&doi=10.1108%2fJCHMSD-05-2021-0081&partnerID=40&md5=1ec29e2504f543c964d44df4b0a9d35f VL - 12 SN - 20441266 (ISSN) ER -