This one-day online workshop will explore the role that cultural heritage can play in strengthening social inclusion and particularly the inclusion of migrants and refugees. The workshop will approach the subject from practice and policy perspectives, by presenting the results of the case studies and the policy recommendations produced as part of the EU-funded research and innovation Horizon2020 project ‘CultureLabs’.

In the first part of the workshop, participants will be taken on a journey to unpack the social and creative results of four pilot projects that used varied cultural participatory approaches with the aim to reinforce social cohesion and engage migrant and local communities. The session will present the methods employed, challenges encountered, and outputs achieved by the projects, which were organised in three different European countries: ‘So Distant, Incredibly Close’ organised by Fondazione Sistema Toscana in Pisa, Italy; ‘Zoom In On Heritage’ organised by The Finnish Heritage Agency in Helsinki, Finland; ‘Bridging Culture Through Arts’ organised by the social cooperative COOSS Marche in Ancona, Italy; and ‘More in Common’ organised by People’s History Museum in Manchester, UK.  At the end of the first part, participants will have the opportunity to discuss with the organisers through a question and answer (Q&A) session.

Building on a series of research activities and the hands-on experience gained by the pilot projects, the second part of the workshop will point at existing challenges and propose a set of policy recommendations for the more effective implementation of participatory approaches that involve hitherto under-represented or disadvantaged groups, and particularly migrant communities, through cultural heritage activities.  The workshop will close with a roundtable discussion with the participation of EU-level and regional policymakers alongside experts in the field of cultural and integration policies.

Find the complete agenda here.

Register for free here.