The 2nd Heritage Forum of Central Europe in Krakow

From June 11th to June 14th, 2013, Krakow will become a centre of international debate on cultural heritage of Central Europe. Almost 80 scholars and researchers from 19 countries of the world will gather in Krakow to talk about “the limits of heritage” during the 2nd Heritage Forum of Central Europe, organised by the International Cultural Centre in Krakow. Two days of the Forum will comprise of presentations on philosophy, management, preservation, economic and political aspects of Central European heritage. International issues which remain essential for the region will also be thoroughly addressed.

The leading theme of the 2nd Forum in 2013 is “The limits of heritage”. The second decade of the 21st century favours considerations not only on the system of heritage protection itself but also on its significance and philosophy: what is to be protected? In what way should the relations between the present and the past be built? In the context of international and local lists of properties, sites and forms of cultural heritage – where does this heritage end and when does the present become heritage?

The discussions will be held in six parallel thematic sessions: The limits of heritage, Heritage and politics, How to sell heritage?, Attractive cities – the role of heritage, Management of large-scale cultural heritage properties, and Intangible cultural heritage. The thematic meetings will be introduced by a panel discussion called The limits of reconstruction?, devoted to the currently burning issue of retrieving the original shape of intangible heritage properties. During the two days of discussions almost 80 participants representing 19 countries of the world will hold speeches.

The 2nd Forum is organised within the Polish Presidency of the Visegrad Group. The partners of the International Cultural Centre are: the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Gyula Forster National Centre for Cultural Heritage Management in Budapest and the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava. The closing ceremony, during which the International Visegrad Prize for 2012 will be presented, will be graced by the presence of the ministers of culture of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

The Forum’s objectives

Held every two years, the Heritage Forum of Central Europe is an international conference attended by specialists from Central Europe as well as by scholars and experts from all over the world whose research focuses on Central Europe. Thy gather so as to debate the issues pertaining to cultural heritage. The Krakow conference is a voice of Central Europe concerning philosophy, management, preservation, economic and political aspects of cultural heritage.

Based on a mandate of the ministers of culture of the Visegrad Group, the International Cultural Centre is the coordinator of the team for cultural heritage. The Forum is the ICC’s initiative, created not only in order to enrich the dialogue between neighbours on their common heritage but also to become an important contribution of Central Europe to the global debate on heritage protection in the conditions of rapid change. The 1st Forum of Central Europe was held in 2011. This edition provided an opportunity to sum up the 20 years of transition in the culture and heritage of the region and to pinpoint common problems and new challenges in this field.

For more information visit: http://www.mck.krakow.pl/video/the-1st-heritage-forum-of-central-europe

Facts and numbers

78 speakers from 19 countries

66 papers

6 thematic sessions

Keynote speaker: Professor Joseph Rykwert

The Forum’s closing ceremony will be attended by the Minister of Culture of the Visegrad Group

International Visegard Prize 2012 to the Museum of Jan Amos Comenius in Uherský Brod (the Czech Republic)

For the first time in the Forum’s history, the ICC launched an open call for papers which was met with considerable interest by scholars and researches from all over the world; over 200 submissions from 34 countries were received by the organisers in the period from November 2012 to February 2013

Among the Forum’s speakers

Keynote speaker: Professor Joseph Rykwert

Invited speakers and chairs: Professor Marie-Theres Albert, Professor Gregory Ashworth, Peter van Dun, Dr Tamás Fejérdy, Dr Krzysztof Kowalski, Dr Monika Murzyn-Kupisz, Professor Jacek Purchla, Dennis Rodwell, Joanna Sanetra-Szeliga, Dr Gábor Soós, Dr Jan Sucháček

The logo of the 2nd Heritage Forum of Central Europe

The logo of the Forum is a regular hexagon filled with a mosaic built of primary colours. Their arrangement shifts kaleidoscopically, as can be noticed in various materials accompanying the conference. This inner diversity, with a constant basic shape, symbolises the nature of cultural heritage – its mutability, dynamics, richness.

The visual motif of the 2nd Forum are the figures of Adam and Eve from a print by Albrecht Dürer, the logo’s mosaic forming their attire. This motif refers to the concepts of culture, heritage and limits – their defining and interpreting – which are at the centre of the debate during the second edition of the conference.

Information on individual sessions

Panel discussion: Limits of reconstruction?

Reconstruction has become one of the most frequently discussed issues in the field of protection of cultural heritage and conservation; it is also an important element of building the brand of cities and national cultural policies. The issues of caring for historical truth in the cityscape often compete with the marketing visions of officials, politicians and planners. We may ask:

Is there a golden mean in this discussion?

Does the city really need a reconstructed architectural “mockup” of the past?

What is permissible, and what should not be allowed?

What are the limits of good taste? What are the limits of reconstruction?

We invited to the discussion researchers and practitioners of heritage from the countries of Central Europe, who will speak about reconstruction and its limits from the perspective of various disciplines and geographical areas.

Chair of the discussion: Professor Małgorzata Omilanowska (Polska)

Participants: Dr Tamás Fejérdy (Hungary), Kristína Markušová (Slovakia), Professor Bogusław Szmygin (Poland), Dr Jiří Vajčner (Czech Republic)

The limits of heritage

Heritage is an imprecise term, covering various areas and categories. Also imprecise is the line between heritage and what is yet to become heritage. It seems that this line is constantly moving towards the present and things created relatively recently are already regarded as “historic”. The best example of that is post-industrial architecture, since 1980s enjoying a revival as a space settled by culture. The starting point for the discussion on the limits of heritage are the following questions: When does the present become heritage? Where does the line between historical and contemporary heritage run and how is it shifting? How can contemporary heritage be used? Should we expect that in a while everything will be perceived as heritage – where are the limits?

Heritage and politics

The session will concern broadly conceived relations between heritage and politics: cultural policies encroaching the sphere of heritage and exploiting heritage for short-term political purposes. The discussion will concern such subjects as the role of heritage in promoting various visions of history, we will talk about a selective approach to heritage. The starting point for the discussion on the relations between heritage and politics are the following questions: In what way do contemporary societies use heritage for building their identity? How do they choose national traditions, legends and myths they promote? What factors decide about the destruction or reconstruction of monuments, about rebuilding non-existing sites or condemning them to oblivion?

How to sell heritage?

In the 21st century no one needs convincing that heritage is a capital which may be used in promotional strategies of cities and regions. A national good becomes a product, which must be properly “packaged” and “sold”. But the awareness of a marketing-based orientation, shifting the centre of gravity from a heritage site towards the recipient – satisfying his or her needs and expectations – does not always translate into specific actions. Session will concern particularly the issues connected with endowing heritage with a marketing dimension.

Attractive cities – the role of heritage

Despite predictions about the inevitable decline of cities (due to globalisation and technological progress physical space would supposedly lose its importance), which have been voiced for many years, this form of geographic, social and economic organisation remains the foundation of the functioning of contemporary civilisation. But what are the factors behind the fact that some cities develop and some do not? Why some cities attract new inhabitants while others are depopulated? What makes many companies – for example, from the creative and innovative sector, regarded as one of the most promising branches of the economy – locate their headquarters in specific cities? The session will provide an opportunity to discuss the role of heritage in creating contemporary cities and ways of using heritage for improving the quality of life in a given place.

Management of large-scale cultural heritage properties

The session will explore the implications of the increase of the spatial dimensions of heritage: its growth from individual monuments to larger ensembles even beyond what has traditionally been defined as historic centres, to historic urban landscapes and cultural or historic landscapes. The wider spatial scope entails a necessarily wider concept of heritage management, a concept which, on the one hand, holds the promise of a more successful, longer-term, integrated and sustainable preservation of heritage, and, on the other hand, raises a large number of questions and problems outside the conventional focus of heritage management.

Intangible cultural heritage

Nowadays Central European heritage should be looked at not only in terms of the list of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, but also in the light of the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible cultural heritage is growing in importance and is also likely to impact on how we understand tangible cultural heritage. The starting point for the discussion on intangible cultural heritage are the following questions: What is the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage in Central Europe? What are the national practices for inventorying intangible cultural heritage? How can ICH foster community-participation, creativity, sustainable development? How does Central Europe perceive the potential of its intangible heritage?

Organiser: Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury

Partners: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Gyula Forster National Centre for Cultural Heritage Management in Budapest, Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava

Project co-financed by the Municipality of Krakow

Patrons of the Conference

New Eastern Europe, Mówią wieki

Permanent Media Patrons

cracow life.com, e krakow.com, Gazeta Wyborcza, Herito, Karnet, Polski Portal Kultury O.pl

Radio Kraków Małopolska, TVP Kraków, The Krakow Post

For more information visit: www.mck.krakow.pl

Or email: sekretariat@mck.krakow.pl

Coordinator of the Forum: Katarzyna Jagodzińska, k.jagodzinska@mck.krakow.pl

Press officer of the ICC: Edyta Gajewska, e.gajewska@mck.krakow.pl