KU Leuven Institute for Cultural Heritage, in partnership with Una Europa and the Belgian presidency, is hosting an event on Pioneering Futures: Rethinking Cultural and Heritage Ecosystems. Hosted in Leuven as part of the official event calendar of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, this event welcomes policymakers, academics, practitioners, and wider stakeholders to chart a course for the advancement of cultural and heritage ecosystems within a regional, national, and European context.

Through stimulative “check-in” debates at the beginning of each session, participants will address a series of discourses on cultural and heritage education, research, and societal outreach and ecosystems, looking also into policy perspectives and identifying pioneering ways forward.

Participants will co-create and visualise approaches that answer the following questions:

Panel 1: What are cultural heritage education avenues to be explored in the time of global challenges?

• Check-in talks will reflect on stories of Una Europa’s education programmes, the potential of EIT Culture & Creativity’s entrepreneurial approach to education as well as C-SHIP program, CHARTER’s recommendations on innovative and emerging cultural heritage education and training paths in Europe, and how the European degree could impact education and the wider field of cultural heritage at European and Flemish levels.

Panel 2: How do we build on and bond research, societal outreach, and culture & creativity ecosystems?

• Check-in talks will explore success stories such as CHARP in building bridges from research to society, how ARCHE is designing a strategic research and innovation agenda for societal outreach, links that the European Heritage Hub creates in diversifying cultural heritage ecosystems through the Triple Transformation (green, digital, and social), and the role of regional catalysts such as European Capital of Culture 2030 Leuven candidature, accelerating European future culture & creativity ecosystems.

Panel 3: What are the policy perspectives for pioneering ways forward in the field of cultural heritage?

• The European Commission will provide insights on new perspectives and upcoming initiatives regarding cultural heritage in both policy and research, European Institute of Innovation and Technology on the future of entrepreneurial education, KU Leuven and Una Europa on research policies and strategies, as well as insights on actions of Flanders Heritage Agency and Belgian presidency’s legacy.

The full programme and registration are now available.

Participants are expected to attend most of the programme with an opportunity to visit and enjoy the historical site of De Hoorn Brewery.