Harriet Deacon

Dr. Harriet Deacon is a distinguished historian and heritage expert whose work spans tangible and intangible heritage management, intellectual property law, and sustainable development. With a PhD in History and an MSc in Management of Intellectual Property, she has established herself as a leading voice in cultural heritage preservation. Since 2010, she has played a pivotal role in UNESCO's capacity-building program for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, facilitating workshops across Central Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Her extensive research portfolio includes projects in India and Kyrgyzstan exploring intangible cultural heritage's role in sustainable development. Currently affiliated with the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research, she has worked in diverse locations including Algeria, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, and numerous other countries. Her expertise has been recognized through over 3,000 academic citations, and she continues to shape the field through her research on the intersection of culture, health, and heritage management while working as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of South Africa.