Organised within the framework of the CES-UBI Winter School“Mapping culture, communities and landscapes to [re]generate future heritage”, and resulting from a collaboration between the project TEIAS TRAMAS and the iA* Arts Research Unit, this roundtable will explore the potential of cultural heritage as a source of knowledge, creativity and innovation for the future, while also taking a critical look at the growing use of heritage in development, tourism and research projects. Traditional knowledge, skills and practices can offer valuable responses to contemporary challenges – but not everything from the past can or should become heritage.

The discussion will address the processes through which heritage is identified, selected, valued and mobilised: Who decides what becomes heritage, and for whom? When does heritage become a meaningful resource for communities and when does it become merely a convenient label or project tool? How can we move beyond simply “using” heritage towards approaches that respect its complexity while allowing for adaptation, creativity and change?

By bringing local knowledge into dialogue with contemporary needs, cultural heritage can strengthen connections between communities and places while inspiring new practices, products, and forms of collaboration. Rather than reproducing the past, this session examines how heritage can be reinterpreted to contribute to more locally grounded, sustainable futures.

The event will be held in person and streamed online. Free attendance.

Following the roundtable, participants are invited to a visit to New Hand Lab, followed by a cocktail and a DJ set (17:30 – 19:00).

(Note: The event will be held in English)
 

Speakers

Katarina Šrimpf Vendramin, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia
Will Garrett-Petts, Thompson Rivers University, Canada
Julia Cyr, Kamloops Museum and Archives, Canada
Nancy Duxbury, Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra, Portugal
Rita Salvado, Wool Museum of the University of Beira Interior, Portugal
Isabel Silva, Consultant to the Municipality of Covilhã (Covilhã Portuguese Capital of Culture 2028 application), Portugal

Moderation: Tiago Vinagre de Castro, 4iS Inovação Social/Centre for Social Studies, Portugal