Rethinking Heritage Conservation through Local Knowledge

New GloCo Blog Post by Cécile Mendy

What if the future of heritage conservation does not lie in established Western models, but in local knowledge systems?

In a new blog post, Cécile Mendy reflects on her recent research stay in Senegal (February–March 2026), where she combined fieldwork, archival research, and participation in key academic events. Moving between Dakar, Gorée Island, and Saint-Louis, her work focused on endogenous conservation practices and their relevance in the context of restitution.

Engaging with discussions at the symposium “Sovereignty and the Restitution of Cultural Property” and the study day “Repairing Absence,” she highlights the need to rethink conservation beyond the transfer of external models. Instead, her reflections point towards approaches grounded in local social, cultural, and historical realities.

Drawing on research conducted in institutions such as the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire, Gaston Berger University, and the House of Slaves on Gorée Island, the blog post emphasizes conservation as not only a technical process, but a deeply political and cultural practice.

The post invites us to consider how more just and sustainable forms of restitution might emerge when local knowledge takes center stage.