Preservation of Benin’s Heritage. Is there a Happy Ending?

Résumé

Fifteen years of research in Benin provides a retrospective to challenge the mainstream recommendations on the management of cultural heritage. Benin is a politically stable country with traditional structures still in place, thus an ideal place to see how postmodern paradigms, also discussed widely at the PANAF 2018, may play out. Three cases are presented. Each demonstrates the potential of heritage preservation initiatives as well as local appreciation of such initiatives. At the same time, they expose severe flaws in instrumentation. Firstly, the preservation of heritage sites, is carried out in response to tourism demands; their value is still appreciated only in such context. Secondly, the establishment of such attraction sites is seen as a finite action, ignoring the need for upkeep and maintenance. Thirdly, misread recommendations regarding the implementation of such projects result in irreversible losses, especially due to the allotment of decisive influence to local communities.