This one-day online workshop on 7th July 2021 will explore the role that cultural heritage can play in strengthening social inclusion and particularly the inclusion of migrants and refugees. The workshop will approach the subject from practice and policy perspectives by presenting the results of the case studies and the policy recommendations produced as part of the EU-funded research and innovation Horizon2020 project ‘CultureLabs’.
In the first part of the workshop, participants will be taken on a journey to unpack the social and creative results of four pilot projects that used varied cultural participatory approaches with the aim to reinforce social cohesion and engage migrant and local communities.
The session will present the methods employed, challenges encountered, and outputs achieved by the projects, which were organised in three different European countries: ‘So Distant, Incredibly Close’ organised by Fondazione Sistema Toscana in Pisa, Italy; ‘Zoom In On Heritage’ organised by The Finnish Heritage Agency in Helsinki, Finland; ‘Bridging Culture Through Arts’ organised by the Social Cooperative COOSS Marche in Ancona, Italy; and ‘More in Common’ organised by People’s History Museum in Manchester, UK.
At the end of the first part, participants will have the opportunity to discuss with the organisers through a question and answer (Q&A) session.
Building on a series of research activities and the hands-on experience gained by the pilot projects, the second part of the workshop will point at existing challenges and propose a set of policy recommendations for the more effective implementation of participatory approaches that involve hitherto under-represented or disadvantaged groups, and particularly migrant communities, through cultural heritage activities.
The workshop will close with a round table discussion with the participation of EU-level and regional policymakers alongside experts in the field of cultural and integration policies.
Registration is free and open via Eventbrite
Programme (All times are CEST)
- 10.00 – 10.10: Welcome from the organisers
- 10.10 -10.20: Introduction to the CultureLabs project – Eirini Kaldeli, National Technical University of Athens
- 10.20 -10.35: Participatory heritage for better communities: an overview of CultureLabs pilot projects – Abir Tobji, People’s History Museum
- 10.35 – 10.55: So Distant, Incredibly Close (Pisa, Italy) – Marzia Cerrai and Davide Cetrulo, Fondazione Sistema Toscana
- 10.55 – 11.15: Zoom In On Heritage (Helsinki, Finland) – Suvi Sillanpaa, The Finnish Heritage Agency
- 11:15 – 11:30 Break
- 11.30 – 11.50: Bridging Culture Through Arts (Ancona, Italy) – Francesca Cesaroni, the social cooperative COOSS Marche
- 11.50 – 12.10: More in Common (Manchester, UK) – Abir Tobji, People’s History Museum
- 12.10 – 13.15: Q&A and discussion – Moderated by Elena Silvestrini, Platoniq
- 13.15 – 14:30: Lunch break
- 14.30 – 15.00: Presentation of the CultureLabs policy paper – Wolfgang Bosswick, Senior Researcher, University of Bamberg
- 15.00 – 16.00: Policy paper round-table discussion – Chaired by Eirini Kaldeli, National Technical University of Athens.
Panellists of the round-table:
Sayed Sayedy, Intercultural mediator and trainer
Monica Urian, Programme Manager at the European Commission’s Directorate General Education and Culture
Councillor Stefano Ciuoffo, Councillor for Immigration Policy at the Tuscany Region
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Deputy Leader for Manchester City Council.
Councillor David Greenhalgh, Lead for Culture for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leader of Bolton Council
Wolfgang Bosswick, Senior Researcher, University of Bamberg.
