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Paper short abstract:

The role of cultural leadership and heritage narratives in addressing sustainable development in Scotland, Norway, Estonia, and the Czech Republic. It examines how culture integrates into sustainability discourses, highlights leadership challenges, and identifies pathways for future action.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the critical role of cultural leadership and cultural heritage narratives in addressing sustainable development across four European UNESCO sites: Scotland, Norway, Estonia, and the Czech Republic. Grounded in findings from the JPI-AHRC-funded CULTIVATE project and a Clore AHRC fellowship, the research highlights culture as both a driver and a reflection of sustainability challenges.

While the culture/nature divide is well established in academic discourse, our research shows that place-based cultural narratives—shaped by socio-economic, historical, and ecological contexts—are vital for addressing sustainability. However, integrating these narratives into broader sustainability discourses faces challenges, including resource limitations, technological disruption, erosion of local identities by global cultural homogenisation, and the reinforcement of existing power structures through cultural practices.

The research also identifies the potential of cultural leadership to mediate these challenges by reframing sustainability in ways that resonate with local communities. However, findings reveal that cultural leadership often prioritises the preservation of identity over proactive engagement in sustainability transitions. This paper argues that cultural leaders need to harness heritage as a transformative tool for envisioning sustainable futures. By connecting cultural practices with the pressing issues of local and place-based sustainable development, this study offers new insights into how cultural heritage can serve as a foundation for localised yet globally significant sustainability strategies.