Community empowerment through the management of intangible cultural heritage in the Isle of Jura, Scotland

The number of digital projects aimed at documenting and preserving communities’ intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has grown considerably in recent years. These projects take advantage of the advancement of digital technologies to enable local communities to manage their ICH, in tune with the deprofessionalisation of heritage practices. This paper follows the progress of a case study that used a wiki to enable participation in the documentation of cultural heritage in the Isle of Jura, Scotland. Using a mix of action research and ethnography, the main argument of the paper is that involvement in digital cultural heritage can enhance community empowerment, but that this depends upon social dimensions of community cohesion and engagement as well as technical knowledge of the software and technologies involved.