Museums as tools for sustainable community development: a study of four archaeological museums in northern Peru

A new way of defining and managing museums has emerged in the 21st century, with local communities at the heart of the equation. At the same time, communities have become aware of the political and symbolic importance of working with and being represented by museums: not only can such collaborations strengthen local identities and political power, but it can also enable communities to benefit from the potential of museums to attract resources derived from tourism. Within this framework, the team at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is participating in the EU-LAC Museums project. As part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme, the initiative aims to develop community museums, foster links between museums and their communities and carry out projects that strengthen local heritage. The Peruvian team developed its proposal in four community-centred archaeological museums on Peru’s northern coast: the Chan Chan and Huacas de Moche site museums in the region of La Libertad, and the Túcume and Sicán museums in the Lambayeque regions. The project’s objectives are to identify how these museums involve local communities, and the role they play in the social, educational and economic development of surrounding territories. Once identified, the project’s actions aimed to consolidate and strengthen these different forms of interrelation, which encourage sustainability, regional integration, education and the use of technologies. To account properly for the vulnerability of local populations amid catastrophic floods caused by the El Niño phenomenon, it was crucial to apply a territorial perspective. This chapter presents the different experiences and actions carried out in the ‘Peru Case Study’ of the EU-LAC Museums project, highlighting the current impact of four local museums. It also promotes the active participation of the institutions and their communities in the future, using a model of joint heritage management that contributes to local sustainable development.