Our Heritage Legacies

We actively defend, maintain, and responsibly manage Fiji’s cultural treasures, ensuring their authentic stories and physical integrity are safeguarded as our enduring legacy.

Our Heritage Legacies safeguards Fiji’s rich cultural inheritance while ensuring it continues to inspire and benefit future generations. Our engagement in this space is guided by these policies, strategies, and frameworks developed by the Department of Culture and other institutions working in related fields at national, regional and international level:

- Fiji World Heritage Policy 2010 [Department of Culture]: Fiji’s World Heritage policy comprises the identification, protection, conservation, management, promotion and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value, consistent with national legislation, community stewardship and the principles of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. It operationalizes the 1972 World Heritage Convention at national level and the Fiji World Heritage Act (2024).
- The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance [Australia ICOMOS]: provides internationally recognized principles and best-practice guidelines for the identification, conservation, management, and interpretation of places of cultural significance to ensure their heritage values are retained for present and future generations.
- Pacific lntangible Cultural Heritage Mapping Toolkit [SPC, Sipiriano Nemani]: provides a practical, step-by-step framework for Pacific Island countries and communities to identify, document, map, safeguard, archive, and transmit intangible cultural heritage through culturally appropriate, community-led approaches that ensure its preservation for future generations.
- World Heritage Work Plan for the Pacific Region 2021-2025 [UNESCO, IUCN]: Is a regional strategic framework that guides Pacific Island countries in strengthening the identification, protection, conservation, management and promotion of their cultural and natural World Heritage through coordinated regional and national action.
- Regional Framework Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific (2023–2030) [UNESCO]: Provides a coordinated roadmap for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen the identification, conservation, management, capacity, community engagement and sustainable development of World Heritage sites in line with the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
- General Guidelines of the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme [UNESCO]: Establishes the international framework for identifying, preserving, protecting, providing access to, and promoting the world’s documentary heritage through coordinated action by UNESCO, Member States, and heritage institutions.

Our Heritage Legacies mandate is informed by several key legislative and regulatory instruments. At the fore is the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji which provides the foundational provisions of the rights of all Fijians to their economic, social, and cultural development and liberties. These protection mechanisms developed and operationalized by the Department of Culture including partner institutions at national, regional and international level include the following:

Fiji Museum Act 1929
Preservation of Objects and Archaeological and Palaeontological Interest Act 1940
National Trust of Fiji Act 1970
Fiji World Heritage Act 2024
Fiji Traditional Knowledge & Expressions of Culture Bill

Through Our Heritage Legacies initiative we coordinate diverse actions relating to the safeguarding of Fiji’s rich cultural inheritance while ensuring it continues to inspire and benefit future generations. Through research and policy stewardship, the Department works with partner agencies to protect cultural and natural heritage, strengthening knowledge preservation and traditions that define Fiji. By connecting heritage with education, innovation and sustainable development, we transform our cultural legacy into a living resource for the nation’s future. Our engagement in this space is manifested by these programmes and initiatives undertaken solely the Department of Culture and partner institutions in related fields at national, regional and international level: