Closing event
"The Faro Convention: a democratic approach to cultural heritage"
The closing event of the Council of Europe - European Union Joint Project “The Faro Way: enhanced participation in cultural heritage”
3-4 December 2021, Lisbon, Portugal
The Council of Europe and the Portuguese Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage jointly organised a high-level conference “The Faro Convention: a democratic approach to cultural heritage”, that took place on 3 and 4 December 2021, in Lisbon, Portugal, in a hybrid format (with both physical and online participation).
The conference was the closing event in the framework of the Council of Europe-European Union Joint Project “The Faro Way: enhanced participation in cultural heritage” following on from the four regional seminars held in Madrid (December 2018), Maastricht (May 2019), Tbilisi (June 2021, online meeting) and Bucharest (October 2021, hybrid meeting).
The event brought together representatives of Ministries in charge of culture and heritage from the member States of the Council of Europe and the European Union, different international organisations, heritage communities and experts, as well as culture and heritage stakeholders at local, regional and national levels, both from Portugal and other member States.
It aimed at reconsidering the respective roles of authorities and civil society by calling for shared decision-making spaces, democratic participation and the wider involvement of civil society in heritage management in a truly sustainable way. Co-operation with other stakeholders, such as cultural heritage experts or professional associations, to foster the effectiveness of such enlarged participation, was also discussed.
The discussions on selected topics built upon the outcomes of the mentioned four regional seminars, organised in the framework of this Joint project, and included the presentation of publications and other promotional materials relating to the Faro Convention, including the official launch of a new and innovative product: the Faro Convention role-playing game.
SESSION 1: SETTING THE SCENE …
- Faro principles and the traditional top-down approach - Mr. Francesc PLA, Programme Manager, Council of Europe
- The interest of civil society for heritage: “O meu Palacio” case - Ms. Teresa MARECOS, Palácio Nacional da Ajuda
- Good examples of Faro initiatives: Faro Convention Network and beyond - Mr. Edmund CARROLL, Faro Convention Network
SESSION 2: WHO IS (STILL) AFRAID OF THE FARO CONVENTION?
- On bad reasons for rejecting Faro Convention principles … - Ms. Simona PINTON, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
- The benefits from a truly cooperative approach: the Marseilles case - Mr. Prosper WANNER, Lead expert on the Faro Convention of the Council of Europe
- Some general guidelines for authorities and heritage initiatives - Ms. Jovana POZNAN, Project Assistant, Council of Europe
SESSION 3: HOW TO EMPOWER CIVIL SOCIETY?
- Support by experts and academics: the PEU Patrimoni Project experience - Mr. Ángel PORTOLÉS, Universitat Jaume I of Castelló
- The networking factor: the case of “Portugal entre Patrimónios” - Ms. Lúcia SALDANHA, Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea
- Learning by playing: the online role-playing game “Your Faro Way” - Ms. Jovana POZNAN, Council of Europe, and Mr. Adrien MINAIRE, Succubus
SESSION 4: TOWARDS A NEW SHARE AMONG STAKEHOLDERS …
- Authorities and citizens initiatives: a win-win interaction - Mr. Piet JASPAERT, Europa Nostra
- Spreading the mechanisms of civil participation: the Academia Gerador - Mr. Tiago SIGORELHO, Gerador
