Community engagement : a case study on the four ethnic groups in Melaka, World Heritage City, Malaysia
Local community engagement is seen as the most crucial factor in determining the sustainability of the future development of historic cities in the state of Melaka (Malacca). This is because a community's attachment to the place will encourage engagement and participation as well as a desire to protect and care for the historic cities. It is hypothesised that once a community no longer has a sense of attachment towards a place, their engagement and participation declines. Hence, the objective of the research is to study the community of Melaka's engagement towards the place. Interviews were held with 23 participants, consisting of local communities of different ethnic groups residing in Melaka. These interviews suggested that the meaning of heritage is orientated through the experiences of individuals and groups rather than contextually. Community heritage management is highly shaped by internal (intra-community relationship, local conservation knowledge and local autonomy) and external (funding, WHS contributions and tourism values) factors. The research further explores the various levels of community engagement, which comprise of disengagement, engagement at the individual, family, organisation, social
Sukri, Suraya
Community engagement : a case study on the four ethnic groups in Melaka, World Heritage City, Malaysia. Local community engagement is seen as the most crucial factor in determining the sustainability of the future development of historic cities in the state of Melaka (Malacca). This is because a community's attachment to the place will encourage engagement and participation as well as a desire to protect and care for the historic cities. It is hypothesised that once a community no longer has a sense of attachment towards a place, their engagement and participation declines. Hence, the objective of the research is to study the community of Melaka's engagement towards the place. Interviews were held with 23 participants, consisting of local communities of different ethnic groups residing in Melaka. These interviews suggested that the meaning of heritage is orientated through the experiences of individuals and groups rather than contextually. Community heritage management is highly shaped by internal (intra-community relationship, local conservation knowledge and local autonomy) and external (funding, WHS contributions and tourism values) factors. The research further explores the various levels of community engagement, which comprise of disengagement, engagement at the individual, family, organisation, social
community engagement case_study ethnic_group world heritage city malaysia local_community engagement see crucial_factor determine sustainability future_development historic city_state community attachment place encourage engagement participation well desire protect care historic city hypothesise community longer sense attachment towards place engagement participation decline hence objective_study community engagement towards place interviews hold participant consist local_community different ethnic_group reside interview suggest mean heritage orientate experience individual_group rather contextually community heritage_management highly shape internal intra community relationship local conservation knowledge local autonomy external funding contribution tourism value factor explores_various level community engagement comprise engagement individual_family organisation social