T4EU meeting on Critical Heritage

On Monday, 11 September 2023, a joint meeting of a group of experts representing the four T4EU members – in addition to the University of Primorska and the University of Trieste as organisers, the Lithuanian Vytautas Magnus University and the French Jean Monnet University – took place in Trieste, at the Humanities Department, and in Koper, at the UP Faculty of Humanities.

One of the important activities that brings together the members of the European University Transform 4 Europe is the theme of cultural heritage, understood in the context of sustainable and meaningful representation and interpretation. Critical Heritage is an emerging interdisciplinary field that explores the ways in which the past is used in the present, with research focusing on what we choose (or not) to preserve and why we choose to preserve it.

In Trieste, hosted by the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste, the expert group first reviewed the work carried out so far, especially the content of the T4EU Week in Kaunas, which Vyautas Magnus University has dedicated to the topic of critical heritage studies – both from a research and a study point of view. The meeting concluded with an overview of the methods used and possible project proposals. Both Univeristy of Primroska and Jean Monnet University will become full members in November, so the coordination was valuable in order to broaden both the geographical and the professional scope. 

At at the UP Faculty of Humanities, the participants were first welcomed by Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, Rector of UP, and then the representatives in the expert group – Dean of UP FHŠ, Dr. Irena Lazar, Dr. Neža Lipovec Čebron and Dr. Zrinka Mileusnič – presented the activities of the UNESCO Chair for Interpretation and Education for the Promotion of Integrated Approaches to Heritage, which is based at UP, and the scientific research work in the field of heritage at UP FHŠ.

The key conclusions of the meeting were both themes and more concrete areas where researchers in the field from all four universities can pool their knowledge and experience on new developments and the development of common content for students, as well as common programmes that are an asset for interdisciplinary and internationally enriched studies by studying the experiences of four European countries. With a strong base, the umbrella area will be transferred to the other European member universities, thus strengthening the network, which will offer both a broad European study for UP students and an interesting environment for students from other European countries, as the Cultural Heritage programme also offers the possibility to study in English.

The new laboratory, Critical Heritage LAB, is one of the Transformation Labs implemented by VMU along with its partners, other members of the Transform4Europe Alliance: the Estonian Academy of Arts, Jean Monnet University, University of Trieste, and University of Primorska.