‘Only Foreigners Can Do It’? Technical Assistance, Advocacy and Brokerage at Aksum, Ethiopia

Abstract

This article reflects upon both the explicit and implicit logics of development projects that integrate conservation and management of cultural heritage with economic development. Specifically it questions what role international professionals play amidst multiple actors by reflecting on our own consulting practice with the Ethiopian Cultural Heritage Project, co-financed by the World Bank and Ethiopian Government. Through the lens of 'site management and planning activities' at Aksum (world heritage site) we discuss changes in international development discourse that lead to the World Bank investing in cultural heritage, the underlying intentions of the project and the actual process leading to a new, unexpected, cultural site museum. Developed in collaboration with local authorities, the museum construction positioned the consulting team as mediator between local institutions as well as advocate of local solutions for local problems. The key issues addressed being the roles with international ‘Technical Advisors’ in supporting the priorities and autonomy of local actors, the implications of centralised versus local administration, and the exploration of a responsive action-planning approach as opposed to pre-designed activities for a living cultural site.