Traditional knowledge and the challenges of the future : from a cultural heritage to a source of innovation

Traditional activities, such as art and heritage crafts, certain agricultural and culinary professions, as well as various ancestral practices, represent major socio–economic challenges today. Ancient knowledge, faced with the rapid transformation of economic and ecological ecosystems, as well as cultural and social systems, is confronted with unprecedented issues, particularly in terms of preservation, transmission and promotion. Against this backdrop, we need to examine emerging approaches to the sustainable management of this knowledge. This book is based on a four-year series of seminars attended by professionals and academics from several disciplines. It looks at the issue of traditional knowledge from a variety of perspectives – economic, historical, pedagogical, financial, institutional, technological and managerial – and is based on concrete experiences in several French countries and regions. Traditional Knowledge and the Challenges of the Future, which is both informed by firsthand accounts and forward-looking reflections, offers an original perspective on the relationship between cultural heritage and innovation. It offers researchers, practitioners and decision-makers a fresh perspective on the potential of traditional knowledge in a changing world.