Historical Preservation in Havana: Planning for the Next Generation of NGO Leaders

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/intejcubastud.9.2.0225
• Pages: 225-234
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Date: 01 December 2017
• Author: Karl Besel,Jesús Rafael Pico
• Subject Matter: historical preservation,NGOs,succession planning

IJCS Produced and distributed by Pluto Journals www.plutojournals.com/ijcs/

ACADEMIC ARTICLE

HISTORICAL PRESERVATION IN HAVANA:

PLANNING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

OF NGO LEADERS

Karl Besel and Jesús Rafael Pico

Indiana University, USA

Abstract

Havana is home to some of the most impressive and best preserved historical monuments

not only in the Caribbean, but in North America as a whole. While small and restricted

by governmental policies, Cuban nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) have worked

in tandem with national and international groups to foster successful preservation

strategies with regard to primary tourist sites. The next generation of NGO leaders will

need to expand this focus to include Havana’s historic residential areas. Implications of

this article include competencies and values that new NGO leaders will need to exhibit

in order to formulate and implement plans to benefit Havana’s residents.

Keywords: historical preservation, NGOs, succession planning

Although numerous articles and books have been written on historical preserva-

tion in the US and Europe (i.e., Gilderbloom et al. 2007; Levy 2009; Rypkema

1997), scholarly articles that examine the role of nongovernmental organisa-

tions (NGOs)1 in fostering historical preservation endeavours in Cuba are very

few. The lack of scholarly articles is not the result of an absence of historic build-

ings; this Caribbean country is home to ten UNESCO World Heritage sites dat-

ing back to the Spanish Colonial Era. While the growing significance of NGOs

in light of Cuba’s recent economic reforms has been discussed (Bobes 2013), the

role of NGOs in the historic preservation field remains fairly unchartered terri-

tory. Since Cuba remains somewhat dependent on tourism for continued