Common European Heritage Week in Trieste
The University of Trieste is hosting a training week dedicated to common European cultural heritage.
24-28 February 2025 | University of Trieste, Italy
About
The University of Trieste is hosting a training week dedicated to common European cultural heritage. This event will bring together approximately 40 students from our Alliance.
From Monday to Friday (24-28 Feb), the T4EU Common European Heritage Week aims to celebrate the cultural heritage of border regions and its potential to inspire renewed multicultural dialogue among new generations.
The programme includes workshops, field visits, and a three-day international conference ‘Transborder Heritage: A Multidisciplinary Approach’ scheduled for 25-27 February. These conference days will feature seminars open to the university community and three afternoon talks accessible to the public.
The discussions will explore the complex relationship between borders and cultural heritage through the lenses of anthropology, history, and architecture.
International experts leading these conversations include:
- Alessandro Monsutti (anthropologist, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva)
- Borut Klabjan (historian, Science and Research Centre, Koper/Capodistria)
- Neža Čebron Lipovec (scholar of heritage conservation, University of Primorska, Koper/Capodistria)
The talks will encourage critical thinking and creativity, addressing topics such as cultural mobility, collective memory challenges, and the integrative potential of heritage beyond its historical significance.
Participants will conclude their experience on Friday, February 28, with an initiative paying tribute to the spirit of GO2025 uniting Gorizia and Nova Gorica as the European Capital of Culture.
This final event will take students through the history of the Italian-Slovenian border between Gorizia and Nova Gorica by the means of three significant exhibitions:
- The Border Museum, contextualizing the historical East-West division in post-war Europe
- The Smuggling Museum, showcasing informal cross-border exchanges that shaped local life
- The Special Permit Museum (“Lasciapassare/Propustnica”), highlighting the bureaucracy and movement restrictions of the past
By engaging with these themes, the T4EU Common European Heritage Week will offer students a unique opportunity to explore how cultural heritage fosters identity, memory, and cross-border connections, strengthening the European spirit of unity and dialogue.
