Cultural Mapping

Cultural mapping can include both quantitative (auditing) processes discussed above and qualitative processes – the reflections, stories and shared experiences.

The beauty of using a mapping process is that it can be tailored for the group you wish to consult. It is not a confronting process and in many cases, the participants can learn new skills or further develop existing skills.

Cultural mapping is a process that honours people’s knowledge and shared experience and if facilitated well, will develop capacity and community cohesion. Cultural mapping can take many forms.

Participants can:

• share their stories
• take photos of favourite places, which provides a bigger picture when collated
• video and document older peoples’ recollections
• work together to produce a textile, painted, drawn or another larger map of their community, highlighting the icons and places of importance
• share food, values and histories – promoting and celebrating cultural diversity and in the case of our first people, use shared history as a step towards reconciliation.
   

Mapping identifies:

• what happened before
• what is happening now
• what we want to happen in the future.
   

The beauty of many of these processes is not only the deepening of relationships between participants from the shared experience, but the ideas that are generated through the interaction.  The key outcome of the consultations may be a Cultural Plan, however through creative processes there may be many other outcomes, such as ideas for projects, activities and new businesses.

Cultural planning is not for the faint hearted, particularly on a low budget.  However, if done well within a social justice framework, it can bring cohesion, develop networks and be an enriching experience for all involved.