Cultural Heritage Management in Post-colonial Polities:notthe heritage of the other

The recognition of cultural heritage management as an international phenomenon masks the issue of the management of cultural heritage within local contexts, and how the administration of the past at this level is influenced by and influences the global process.The dynamics of cultural heritage management observed during fieldwork in Australia and Zimbabwe has highlighted the existence of a ?creolised? heritage which informs and is informed by both professional and popular constructions of heritage. Creolised heritage highlights the hybrid nature of cultural interactions between exotic and familiar elements of cultural heritage, between people, places and objects. By acknowledging the creolised nature of cultural heritage, and its fundamental role in the theory and practice of cultural heritage management, we can develop more flexible and sensitive ways to manage cultural heritage in the living present.