Heritage Circle
Collaborative Innovation for Responsible, Critical and Localised Engagement with Europe’s Dissonant Heritage
About the Project
HeritageCIRCLE brings together people involved in heritage policy, management and research across Europe, from local initiatives and communities to national and intergovernmental bodies. Through this Community of Practice, we will explore how heritage that gives rise to dissonance, difficulty, contestation or conflict can be addressed constructively and ethically.
Dissonance, discomfort and conflict around heritage take many forms and have diverse roots. Heritage is often used for particular political or ideological purposes and appropriated within populist narratives which marginalise a diversity of perspectives. Legacies of violence, exploitation, extraction and oppressive regimes can also remain present through heritage, and (re)create trauma, distress and conflict. These challenges arise across geographical areas as well as various fields of practice such as conservation, education, tourism and community-based heritage work.
Drawing on a wide range of experiences and expertise, the project team will develop evidence-based policy recommendations for the EU to help shape future directions for heritage-related work across Europe. It will also identify, test and share practical methods and tools for those involved in preserving, interpreting, presenting and reusing contested heritage, while developing resources to strengthen local capacity. We approach dissonance not as something that can simply be eliminated, but as something to address openly and critically through constructive civic and professional dialogue about what societies value and why. This dialogue will help lay the foundations for a new agenda for heritage-related work in Europe, with a focus on democracy, social justice and peaceful coexistence.
Links to key publications and associated websites:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101288484
Funder:
The European Union’s Horizon 2025 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement no. # 101288484).
Duration:
42 months (September 2026-February 2030)
PI and further team:
The Newcastle team is the academic lead of the project. It is built on an interdisciplinary and interschool collaboration between the School of Arts and Cultures and Architecture, Planning, and Landscape.
Dora Merai: Principal Investigator, School of Arts and Cultures (Dora.Merai@newcastle.ac.uk)
Loes Veldpaus: Principal Investigator, School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (Loes.Veldpaus@newcastle.ac.uk)
Joanne Sayner: Co-Investigator, School of Arts and Cultures (Joanne.Sayner@newcastle.ac.uk)
Minki Sung: Research Assistant, School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (M.Sung2@newcastle.ac.uk)
Partners:
13 partners from 11 countries (9 EU member states, plus the UK, Serbia and Ukraine); governmental, academic, SME, and NGO organisations, including large networks in cultural heritage management, creative industries, and municipal government.
HeritageCircle partners include
- Metropolitan Research Institute
- KEA European Affairs
- Trans Europe Halles
- Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna
- ICLEI European Secretariat GMBH
- Superintendence of Cultural Heritage
- Technische Universität Wien
- Ro3kvit Urban Coalition for Ukraine
- University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Zentralwerk E.V.
- Internationales Kulturcentrum Ufa Fabrik
- Eutropian
- Visnja Kisic PR Agency for consultancy ZALET