Project duration

2020 – 2025

Location

Qeqqata, Greenland

Project leader(s)

Site manager Paninnguaq Fleischer-Lyberth

Photo: Lams Malmborg

Fact box

In Qeqqata Kommunia lies the World Heritage site Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea. Aasivissuit – Nipisat works to preserve both the landscape, cultural heritage, and traditional hunting and fishing practices, which remain an active part of life today.

The area was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2018 and holds 4,200 years of history of hunting, fishing, settlement, and human adaptation to the Arctic environment.

The World Heritage work here is not only about safeguarding the landscape and cultural traces – but also about passing the stories forward, creating local development, and strengthening pride in the fact that this landscape is part of humanity’s shared heritage.

Development of the World Heritage site Aasivissuit – Nipisat

Phase 1 of the Aasivissuit – Nipisat World Heritage site development focused on foundational
work and consultation to establish a solid management framework, centered on local
residents and their knowledge. Key activities included vulnerability assessments and pilot
projects to test concepts, with the goal of moving into a more outward-facing phase of
development where the local community can actively participate in creating new initiatives.
This foundational work laid the groundwork for future tourism management, interpretation
plans, and the implementation of the management system.

Phase 1: objectives

  • Focus on local involvement: The initial phase placed local residents at the center of
    the development process, emphasizing their knowledge, experiences, and needs.
  • Vulnerability assessments: A crucial prerequisite for the project was completing
    vulnerability assessments to build a solid foundation for future work.
  • Pilot projects: To test theories and visions in practice, pilot projects were conducted
    within the landscape.
  • Management plan framework: Work was done to develop a sound overarching
    management plan framework and establish a World Heritage Steering Committee.
  • Preparation for outward-facing phase: The foundational work enabled the project to
    move into a more outward-facing phase, where the community can actively help
    establish new projects.

Qeqqata Kommunia Receives the Rauma Award 2025 for Work on Aasivissuit – Nipisat
Qeqqata Kommunia, together with its partners behind the World Heritage site Aasivissuit –
Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea, has received the Rauma Award 2025 at
the Nordic World Heritage Conference in Denmark.

Recognition for outstanding collaboration
The award is presented to Nordic World Heritage sites that have distinguished themselves through particularly strong collaboration and community engagement. The jury’s motivation
stated: “The award is given to Qeqqata Kommunia and its partners at the World Heritage site
Aasivissuit – Nipisat for their outstanding efforts to preserve a living cultural landscape where
nature and culture are closely connected. Through inclusive cooperation, they have developed innovative ways to protect and share the area’s cultural heritage. At a time when the global community is under pressure, this work highlights the importance of making World Heritage accessible and meaningful beyond national borders – in the spirit of the World Heritage Convention.”

Long-Term Work Bearing Fruit
Over the past four years, Qeqqata Kommunia has carried out an extensive dissemination project in cooperation with foundations such as the 15. Juni Foundation, Aage V. Jensen
Foundations, the Augustinus Foundation, and national lottery funds, as well as the municipal
council. The work has included:

  • the development of a new website with an interactive map,
  • establishment of exhibitions at Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq museums,
  • production of new books to be published later,
  • pilot projects in the open landscape,
  • and comprehensive vulnerability assessments of the area.

These vulnerability assessments have been a crucial prerequisite for building a solid foundation for future work. The focus has been that local residents – the true custodians of the landscape – must always remain at the center. The development of the area must take place in close dialogue with the people who live here, ensuring that their knowledge, experiences, and needs form the basis.

As part of this process, pilot projects have already been carried out in the landscape to test theories and visions in practice. With this experience in hand, the work now enters a more outward-facing phase, where the next step will be to develop initiatives and projects that the
local community can actively help establish.

An Award That Commits
Receiving the Rauma Award is a major recognition of the joint efforts between the municipality, local communities, and partners.
“We are very proud of this award. It shows that our long-term work is gaining international recognition, and that our thorough efforts with nature, culture, and local anchoring have a value far beyond Greenland’s borders,” says Paninnguaq Fleischer-Lyberth, Site Manager of
the Aasivissuit – Nipisat World Heritage site.

The award is also a motivation to continue the work of preserving, protecting, and communicating the World Heritage of Aasivissuit – Nipisat – with respect for both the
landscape and the people who live here.