Towards a new vision of restoration in the context of global change

There is currently much discussion in the UK around skills and other workforce development issues within the cultural heritage sector. This coincides with wider debate within the international heritage community around the meaning and purpose of heritage preservation in the context of globalisation. Issues around representation, access, ownership and diversity, inclusivity and human rights are today associated with concepts of authenticity, values and democracy in a global setting and embodied today, for example, by the United Nations in the concept of intangible heritage-which refers to aspects of living heritage. This paper brings to light, through an assessment of key international heritage charters, declarations and political conventions, how changes in attitudes towards the past have lead to the formal re-constitution of the heritage field in recent times. Attention is drawn to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization s (UNESCO s) guidelines for safeguarding intangible heritage, our current understanding of authenticity, and the influence this has on the practice of restoration. The paper is intended to inform current discussion on skills and other workforce development issues in and beyond the UK.