Modelling the authentication process: The cases of the UNESCO rules of authentication
Modelling the authentication process: The cases of the UNESCO rules of authentication

Summary/Abstract: Despite the differences in understanding as regards the concepts of model and modelling, these concepts have been two of the main topics of discussion in general semiotics and amongst the Tartu Semiotic School specifically. In her chapter, Yermolaieva contributes to the poorly-investigated topic of the modelling of the authentication process in UNESCO. Modelling can be useful for not only understanding specific processes, but also for predicting them. Despite the fact that a well-known organization, UNESCO, operates with the concept of authenticity when putting an object of cultural heritage onto the World Heritage List, the definition of authenticity, as well as the model of its application (the authentication process), are far from clear. While reviewing the main documents of the UNESCO organization (i.e., the Nara Document, Operational Guidelines 2021) and the World Heritage List (the case of Estonia), the author outlines (1) what are the main criteria of authenticity in UNESCO, (2) what is the “authentication process” and how can it be modelled, and finally, (3) what are the main problems of creating a model of UNESCO’s authentication process. She argues that the model of authentication in UNESCO should be viewed as a dynamic model that takes into account cultural contexts and has clearly specified main interpreters of “authentic cultural heritage”. Yermolaieva’s main academic interests concern the concept of authenticity in contemporary culture and the semiotic approach to the issue of authenticity.

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