Keeping Good Company - with #HeritageBeku

There are many success stories according to this Forbes Article , but not much is being done still. So lets talk about this exciting space ! : 'In general, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes of corporates in India rarely involve initiatives about protecting culture and heritage. Projects on education, water, poverty alleviation and almost every other potential focus areas listed out under schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, find precedence over heritage conservation, indicated under entry (v) of schedule VII. The importance of engaging communities through initiatives on art and culture is not being put forth systematically and corporates are not aware about the benefits of carrying out such programmes. This field thereby poses immense potential for executing successful CSR programmes which can align a corporate’s activity to its core business.

Among the industries that are dependent on heritage and culture, the tourism and hospitality sectors can derive maximum value from strategic initiatives. Programmes can focus on establishing the importance of sites, creating awareness, grading sites on parameters, carrying out physical restoration, setting up management frameworks and maintenance. Intangible cultural resources can be catered through capacity building and training. Similarly, other sectors can also have successful CSR projects if the geography of operations holds cultural significance of some kind.'