Local Participation for the Enhancement of Cultural Heritage: the UNESCO Candidature of the Climats du Vignoble de Bourgogne

This aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on new models for multi-stakeholder involvement and community participation in the cultural sector through a case study analysis of the successful project for the candidature to the inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage list of the area of the Climats du Vignoble de Bourgogne in France, a region that represents a relevant example of intertwining of different aspects of culture (tangible and intangible, viticulture, monuments, cloisters, historical city center, etc.). The research analyzes the governance structures that were created to implement the project and also, by means of an empirical survey performed through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the level of motivation and engagement of the different participants, including citizens and local enterprises. The results give significant insights on how culture-based cooperation projects could work as drivers for local development and on the factors that could become pivots for the successful implementation of multi-stakeholder partnership and ecosystem perspectives in the cultural sector..