In the scope of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the Portuguese Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage organizes in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation the Conference Cultural Heritage: Challenges 21st Century, in Lisbon, on 25th and 26th October 2018 (the recording of the Conference and its transmission in livestreaming are foreseen - https://videocast.fccn.pt/live/fccn/fcgulbenkian?p=html5&r=1 )
The main goals of the Conference are: raise awareness of the importance, preservation, enhancement and reuse of Cultural Heritage; promote a citizen-centered approach, disseminating innovative models of Cultural Heritage management and highlighting its inclusive role; underline the contribution of Cultural Heritage to society, economy, cultural creation and education. The meeting will take place in plenary sessions and is structured in three panels:
- Head-persons and decision-makers in central, regional and local public administration
- Experts and officers in different areas of Cultural Heritage and related areas
- Directors and managers of museums, monuments and cultural facilities- Researchers, teachers and university students
- Representatives of NGOs, civil society groups, volunteers and citizens with an interest in the debate on Cultural Heritage
Panel I - Heritage, Knowledge and Innovation
Along the path of the Faro Convention, there is currently a broad understanding of Cultural Heritage as a shared resource of testimonies, values and knowledge that are sources and engines of promotion of identity, cohesion and creativity. If, on the one hand, knowledge, preservation and diffusion of the Heritage depend on scientific and technical knowledge, which incorporates new technologies, on the other hand, the outputs will strengthen the heritage action in a dynamic and fruitful cycle.
This panel explores the dimensions of study, education, science and digital technology as means of enhance access and enjoyment of heritage, contribute to lifelong learning and training and encourage transdisciplinarity research, innovation and networking.
Panel II - Heritage and Sustainability
Present times are characterized by the rapidity of constant transformations on a global scale. The incessant circulation of people on a planetary level, climate change, the unstoppable growth of cities and urban areas, in contrast to the aging of populations and the abandonment of rural areas, are some of the factors that have shaken concepts and models impacting Heritage.
In this context, the sustainability paradigm shapes the current economic, social and cultural discourse, aiming at a more balanced development that does not compromise the future of the next generations. Prospecting the Heritage in the framework of a sustainable future requires the crossing of fields of knowledge, planning and shared action.
This panel proposes the analysis of ways of activating Patrimony, in its relation with the city, territory, economy and tourism, and of political forms of thinking projected for the future and centered in the interests of the communities. The reflection on these matters may allow the establishment of new connections and equation of sustainability strategies, anchored in the equity valuation.
Panel III - Models of Management of Cultural Heritage
A world in deep change poses new challenges to Cultural Heritage regarding its safeguard, management and transmission. Public policies, while adapted to social and cultural contexts at national, regional and local levels, increasingly emphasize the diversification of museum and monumental management, interinstitutional cooperation and citizen participation.
At European level, in recent years there has been a wave of administrative reforms affecting the management of patrimonial and museological areas by different governments, especially in the wake of the 2008 global financial and economic crisis. The changes that took place had diverse impacts, both in the thinning of state structures and in the sense of greater effectiveness and autonomy in the management of assets.
This panel presents significant experiences of territorial, national and regional scope, in the governance of cultural heritage and museums that enable the detection of trends, reflection on the results achieved and the comparison of administrative and managerial models.