About heritage-led innovation and international relations

Heritage-led innovation

Heritage-led innovation builds on the implementation of a cutting-edge idea or method that results in an improvement for users. The basis of the innovation process is new knowledge, which is often an intersecting of disciplines and needs. The innovation is either tested by the practitioners and larger society, or is ready for a larger upscaling towards the market.

ILUCIDARE considers three categories of heritage-led innovation, taking into account the diverse roles heritage can play in relation to innovation as well as its interaction with other sectors:

Heritage-driven innovation: innovations that are based on the specific needs of heritage assets (due to their unique values, materials, design techniques or characteristics) and also become also available for other sectors.

‘Adopt a monument’ (Pirkanmaa, Finland) initiated by a local research and education actor to encourage citizens to care for a monument, researching the history of the site and raising awareness about it in the local communities.

Assimilation of innovation: innovations developed in other fields or sectors that can be applied to heritage assets in order to generate knowledge, new uses, improvement of preservation, enhance decision-making or support their management.

SiMAX is a software system combining several existing ICT technologies for translation into sign language by using an animated avatar. SiMAX is being adapted to the special requirements of museums and could be used for a wide variety of applications, including heritage.

Heritage as resource: Heritage at large or specific heritage assets generate new ideas or knowledge, are the basis for innovation processes or kick-start new interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations leading to innovation in various fields.

FOLKK is a Serbian social business initiative founded by Nova Iskra Design Incubator, that connects masters of traditional crafts with emerging designers across the Balkans.

Ćilim workshop FOLKK — Ćilim workshop credits: FOLKK

Heritage-led diplomacy

Heritage-led diplomacy and international cooperation build on the relevance of heritage and of shared past heritage to foster international cultural relations, peace building, reconciliation, social cohesion, multicultural dialogue, better mutual understanding, human and economic development across nations and communities.

Not only involving governmental actors at all levels (national, regional and local), heritage-led diplomacy also includes a broader array of non-state stakeholders such as people-to-people dialogue, cultural heritage organisations operating for instance in architectural preservation, social development or post-disaster reconstruction. Heritage-led diplomacy is therefore about multidimensional and multi-stakeholders’ cultural exchanges, beyond states and international bodies.

ILUCIDARE considers two main types of heritage-led diplomacy:

Heritage-driven diplomacy whereby heritage and its governance are put at the centre of diplomatic processes, recognising their broader political, social, cultural and economic impacts for bi and multilateral relations, transnational cooperation and reconciliation.

The Europeana 280 campaign created in 2016 by the Europeana Foundation demonstrated and engaged people in the shared European culture and heritage through a digital collection of more than 300 pieces. 28 Culture Ministries across Europe contributed with 10 high quality digitised artworks representing their country’s contribution to Europe’s art history.

Heritage within diplomacy whereby the preservation of heritage acts as a political tool in state-led foreign policy or local initiatives, in the context of promoting better mutual understanding and exchanges or conflict resolution and recovery in developing countries.

Heritage in humanitarian missions is a component of the European Neighbourhood Policy to foster stabilisation, security and prosperity.

NEAR SouthMed — credits: SouthMed programme

Attachment

ilucidare_postcards.pdf