International Top Forum on Citizens Participating in Cultural Heritage Decision Making
Top European speakers are coming to the University on Saturday, 13 May, to participate in the Forum Sharing Heritage – Citizens Participating in Decision Making as part of the European Heritage Congress in Turku, 11–15 May.
Citizens’ opportunities to participate in and affect the decision making of their own cultural heritage is a matter of human rights. The core function of the Forum is to share inspiring and efficient models of citizens' participation.
The keynote speaker of the theme is Mylène Bidault who is a French/Swiss jurist specialised in international human-rights law. Working at the United Nation’s Human Rights Office OHCHR, she has assisted the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights ever since its creation.
Urban Sociologist Lia Ghilardi, the Director of Noema Culture & Place Mapping, will talk about Cultural Planning for Sustainable and Creative Communities. She is a member of the Academy of Urbanism, a British network of influential thinkers, professionals and decision-makers passionate about creating a better living for people in towns and cities.
Lianne and Richard Brigham, Karen Brookfield from the Heritage Lottery Fund and University Research Fellow Helen Graham from the University of Leeds will talk about the “York Past and Present” social media project that has engaged 12,000 people to follow the development of their home region.
Elena Olshanskaya will speak about the White City Project in Moscow and Russian Heritage NGO’s work.
The event will be opened with traditional violin play by children from the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. Director of the Folk Music Institute Matti Hakamäki will introduce the role of civic participation in maintaining the violin heritage at Kaustinen.
After the keynotes there are three workshops: “New Tools of Heritage Activism”, “How to Commit People, and Why?” and “Cases of Human Rights and Legislation”.
The day concludes with a boat trip to the island of Seili. The first boat is already fully booked, but if enough people register a second boat will be available.
The keynote lectures and workshops are free of charge but participants are requested to register to the event. Students and staff of the University of Turku can also follow the Forum via Moodle. A video record of the Forum will be published afterwards on the internet with free access.
The Forum is organised by Europa Nostra Finland in close cooperation with Europa Nostra and together with the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi, the Turku University Foundation and the Åbo Akademi Foundation.
>> Register to the event
>> Programme of the Forum
>> Follow the Forum in Moodle
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