Lessons from the Edge: Assessing the impact and efficacy of digital technologies to stress urgency about climate change and cultural heritage globally.

Between 2018 and 2020, CyArk, Google Arts and Culture and the International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) worked together on the Heritage on the Edge project. Launched on the Google Arts and Culture platform in January 2020, this project utilised a range of techniques to highlight the impacts and local experiences of climate change at five cultural World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh, Peru, Rapa Nui, Scotland and Tanzania. All five sites are experiencing different climate change impacts and each has been responding and adapting to these challenges in unique and locally appropriate ways. The project illustrates both the value of collaboration between different organisations, and the role of this historic environment in climate change communication and public engagement. This paper will introduce the project aims, objectives and methodology with a particular focus on the project review and web analytics for the six-month period following the project launch. Results suggest global meaningful engagement with some considerable gaps especially in low and middle-income countries. It concludes by exploring some useful lessons for future digital projects, exploring ways to increase geographical reach and improve viewer engagement, and to ensure more equitable collaborations with partner sites and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]