Stakeholders

The public, private, and government sector stakeholders were analysed, based on how involved they are in Luxor's intangible heritage. 

The 'core' stakeholders are local people, including the local government and shop owners. Towards the periphery, stakeholders exert more power but are less engaged with the core values of Luxor's intangible heritage as they are less local and more national, or even international. 

Much of Luxor's economy relies on the tourism industry. International tourists come to explore Luxor's rich built heritage; however, in doing so, the traditional Luxor practices are being forgotten. People in Luxor are faced with the tough decision to either promote their own heritage but risk being less accessible to the tourists they so rely on, or embracing a tourist's eye on their built heritage and diminishing the local meanings to encourage such international tourism. The built heritage is the facilitator of local intangible traditions; the two must remain in sync. As the heritage of Luxor does not have such an impact on the day-to-day existence of tourists, they are periphery stakeholders.

The Ministry of Culture is the Egyptian Government's ministry responsible for promoting and preserving Egypt's culture. Hence, the Ministry of Culture is supportive of projects which assist and promote preservation of Egypt's culture. 

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities preserve the heritage and ancient history of Egypt. Therefore, they have a key interest in projects such as Luxor Living Lab which aim to contribute to the preservation of Egyptian heritage. The Ministry has been involved in the process, through the partnership with Dr. Shadia Mahmoud, Director General.

Business owners in Luxor are involved in heritage projects as the main economic sector is tourism which is attracted by heritage.  

Luxor Governorate was established in December 2009, when it was separated from the Qena Governorate. Though one of the most visited Egyptian Governorates in terms of tourism, poverty is high, exceeding 60%. The Luxor Governorate is thus central to the Luxor Living Lab project as they are key decision makers in the area; to create successful solutions the Governorate must be on board for further development.

Non-government (NGO) and community-based organisations (CBO) are core to the project, as it aims to create outcomes which are meaningful to the community. Therefore, to produce this, industry professionals from NGOs and CBOs were involved in the workshops and project process to both learn from their experience and also invite their involvement on future developments.

Luxor residents are core stakeholders as they have key interests in the preservation of the local heritage, because they themselves are both the receivers of and creators of the heritage. It is their heritage which is being preserved. Therefore, local residents must be involved in each element of the decision making process, to ensure their satisfaction with the preservation of the local heritage. Local residents have been involved in the project through interviews and questionnaires, and involvement in workshops and discussions.