The Nairobi Outcome on Heritage and Authenticity Preamble 1. We, the participants, gathered in Nairobi (Kenya) for the International Conference on Cultural Heritage in Africa: A Dialogue on the Concept of Authenticity (hereinafter referred to as “the Conference”) held from 6 to 9 May 2025, engaged in a robust exchange on the concepts of authenticity and integrity in heritage, with a focus on Africa, while considering diverse expressions of authenticity worldwide. The Conference aimed to contribute to the effective implementation of the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (hereinafter referred to as the “World Heritage Convention”), in line with Decision 46 COM 11 of the World Heritage Committee, by identifying and clarifying what constitutes authenticity and integrity in an African context. 2. We express our sincere appreciation for the generous support of the Republic of Kenya, UNESCO, the Government of Japan, the Government of France, the 54 African States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), the Advisory Bodies (ICCROM, ICOMOS, IUCN), and the over 400 experts, community leaders and academia to the robust Conference and its outcomes. 3. The Conference and its outcomes were guided by key reference instruments, including the Venice Charter (1964), the Recommendation concerning the Safeguarding and Contemporary Role of Historic Areas (Nairobi, 1976), and the Nara Document on Authenticity (1994). The latter emphasized that judgments about the values attributed to cultural properties and the credibility of related information sources may vary across and within cultures. These judgments should not be confined to fixed criteria but must respect cultural contexts and frameworks. 4. The Conference builds on the outcomes of the: (i) Experts Meeting on African Cultural Landscapes (Tiwi, Kenya, 1999), (ii) Great Zimbabwe Expert Meeting on3. Consider the inclusion of the concept of Authenticity, as articulated in this Document, in current and future World Heritage Capacity Building Programmes; 4. Ensure that ongoing management and assessment of state of conservation of properties take into consideration this Outcome Document. The Conference calls upon the UNESCO Member States and the World Heritage Committee to advocate for, and support, the implementation of the heritage authenticity approach put forward in this Outcome Document. We call on States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to: 1. Ensure the inclusion of authenticity as articulated in this Outcome Document, in national legal and policy frameworks regarding management of heritage 2. Reinforce capacity-building and resourcing at all levels, inter-generational transfer of knowledge, regarding authenticity as articulated in this Outcome Document, towards management of heritage. 3. Support the African World Heritage Fund a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, in its mandate and work on the continent. We encourage the African World Heritage Fund to play a lead role in the implementation of the recommendations of this Outcome Document. We call on the Advisory Bodies ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN to: Engage regional experts and knowledge holders/bearers in the assessment of heritage, based on the outcome of this document that emphasizes understanding the contextual nature of authenticity, in its evolving and diversified nature. Nairobi, Kenya 9 May 2025 Acknowledgments We wish to acknowledge the contributions of the late Prof. Dawson Munjeri (Zimbabwe) to the development of the concept of authenticity in an African context over the period of his involvement in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Towards this end, a special session with a memorial lecture in his honour was held on 7 May 2025 in the framework of the conference. NAI/2025/CONF/19. Underscores that considering authenticity must include understanding the continuity of heritage values upheld by communities, who are the owners or custodians of this heritage. This includes, among others, spirituality, memory, oral traditions, spiritual practices, belief and knowledge systems, custodianship systems, all of which have a significant impact on heritage management. 10. Reiterates that understanding authenticity in heritage must recognise that heritage is dynamic, diverse, enshrined in belief, and knowledge systems, among others, which are critical for defining and maintaining authenticity as an evolving and continuous process in the management of heritage. 11. Reinforces the need to strengthen the role of communities, in collaboration with all stakeholders, notably local and national authorities, for the identification of heritage and assessment of conditions of authenticity in the management of natural and cultural heritage. 12. Emphasizes that communities define the values which determine the authenticity of heritage. They generate and transmit knowledge and practices, contributing to sustainable development of sites. 13. Recognizes that heritage protection and conservation, including legal frameworks, should combine physical and non-physical attributes with community values, to identify sites which express the values of African heritage and their multiple authenticities. 14. Affirms the importance of holistically understanding and embracing authenticity for World Heritage nomination and evaluation processes. In cognizance of the fact that the concept of Authenticity is treated globally, and considering the contextual differences, We recommend to the World Heritage Committee to: 1. Incorporate the outcome of the conference in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, particularly in the paragraphs related to authenticity, by establishing a working group, or other mechanisms, in a timely manner; 2. Promote the concept of authenticity as articulated in this Outcome Document, in the application of all instruments relevant to the implementation of the World Heritage Convention for a more effective management of cultural and natural heritage;Authenticity and Integrity in an African Context (Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe 2000); (iii) ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium “Place, Memory, Meaning: preserving intangible values in monuments and sites” (Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 2003); (iv) Charter for African Cultural Renaissance (Khartoum, Sudan, 2006); (v) African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want (Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 2015); and (vi) Cape Town Document on Modern Heritage (Cape Town, South Africa, 2022) among others. All recognised tangible and intangible African values. 5. Africa, cradle of humankind, is rich in diverse natural and cultural heritage. The multiple values ascribed to heritage determine its authenticity. The understanding of authenticity in African heritage, contributes to the diversity of African cultural identities, socioeconomic, and political process of self-definition. Understanding these multiple forms of authenticity in an African context is fundamental for its management and contributes to the safeguarding of heritage. 6. Heritage is community-centred, pluralistic, dynamic, and evolves over time and goes beyond the tangible. Thus, its significance cannot be fossilised. Its authenticity must be considered within that context, including attributes which are tangible and intangible manifestations. Key among these are oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, spiritual associations, use, function and social values. African heritage connects tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, natural and cultural heritage, with multilayered values, interpretations, meanings, and uses, including evolving cultural spaces and practices. It incorporates cultural and ecological continuity and living traditions such as spirituality and belief systems, memory upheld by communities. Its various components are intertwined and inseparable enabling their collective identification and characterization. Understanding African heritage must consider these pluralities. The Conference therefore: 7. Upholds a pluralistic understanding of authenticity, beyond the tangible to include authenticity of oral traditions, spiritual associations, use and function and social values. 8. Emphasizes the interconnectedness of natural and cultural heritage, the tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, with multilayered values, interpretations, meanings and uses.