Heritage Preservation and Sustainability

Cultural heritage and its preservation are the threads connecting us to our past and present existence, weaving together the rich tapestry of our collective identity. They remind us of our world’s resilience, craftsmanship, and genius, and inspire us to safeguard and honour its legacy for present and future generations.

Next Date
October 2024
Length
5 weeks
Format
B-learning
Investment
250€ (under 23) 400€

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Heritage Preservation and Sustainability

Overview

In the Heritage Preservation and Sustainability course, we will analyse basic concepts of heritage preservation and address strategies for sustainable management, considering environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects and promoting community participation.

We will also emphasise the importance of education and public awareness for heritage preservation, providing strategies and tools to involve communities and promote greater appreciation and understanding of heritage.

This course is part of a 6-module postgraduation. If you are interested in participating in any of the other modules, please contact us or look at the Sustainable Strategies for Tourism & Hospitality Postgraduation.

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Course content

Content of this course:

Concept of sustainability applied to the preservation of Cultural Heritage (CP);
Current ways and methods of making preservation a sustainable action, particularly in the context of managing collections and sites;
How the preservation and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage can be seen as an effective way of mitigating natural disasters;
The various economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits generated by cultural heritage and its preservation and safeguarding (job creation and increased circulation of capital, professional training and preservation of knowledge linked to craft activities, revitalisation of urban centres, heritage-oriented tourism, etc.) and how it can be managed sustainably in various ways;
How the creation of new heritage linked to communities can be an effective action in the sustainability of sites and social surroundings: heritage and its preservation as a determining factor in well-being and social equality.

Learning outcomes

The objectives of the Heritage and Industrial Preservation course are:

To know and understand the concepts of sustainability in cultural heritage;
To analyse case studies dedicated to tangible heritage in national and international contexts in order to understand and explore how sustainability issues are addressed in the management of collections and sites, including Industrial Heritage;
Analysing in-class case studies dedicated to intangible heritage (cases from national and international contexts);
Discussion of strategies for heritage and its preservation to be an active agent in mitigating natural disasters;
Creation of new heritage as a factor in well-being and social equality, the importance and role that heritage can play in its social environment;
Developing critical analysis skills and understanding of various sustainable development strategies and how they can be exploited as an essential factor to improve the quality of life of communities.

Participants Profile

This postgraduation is suitable for a wide range of professional profiles in the tourism and hospitality sector who want to implement sustainability practices and meet the challenge of climate change.

The Heritage Preservation and Sustainability course is aimed at professionals involved in the management of heritage or tourism facilities, including developers, project managers, consultants, government representatives and professionals from organisations related to the tourism sector. In particular, this course may be of interest to agents linked to the preservation, safeguarding or rehabilitation of heritage and other agents linked to the hospitality sector.

Participants should have some experience in tourism or heritage and be interested in developing knowledge and skills for the sustainable preservation of cultural heritage.

Program Coordination

Inês Coutinho

Assistant Professor at NOVA FCT

Inês Coutinho has a PhD in Heritage Conservation and Restoration with a speciality in Conservation Sciences (2016) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Conservation and Restoration at NOVA FCT.

With 15 years of experience in the conservation and restoration of glass and ceramics, Inês is a lecturer responsible for this area in the Department of Conservation and Restoration at NOVA FCT.

When she joined the department in 2018, she became responsible for the ceramics and glass conservation and restoration laboratory, where she has been implementing more sustainable practices in the management of the laboratory and in the classes taught there.

The desire to contribute to a more sustainable world led Inês, together with her colleague Joana Lia Ferreira, to propose opening a new area in the department linked to Heritage Preservation and Sustainability.

Joana Ferreira

Assistant Professor at NOVA FCT

Joana Lia Ferreira has a PhD in Conservation Sciences (2011) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Conservation and Restoration at FCT NOVA.

She has been dedicated to the study and preservation of plastics and other synthetic historical polymers and, in this context, has coordinated several research projects, namely PlasCO2 – CO2-based Green Technologies for Cleaning Plastics in Museums and Heritage Collections and HERIT-AGES. Glass and Plastic ‘Ages’ for whom? Exploring new avenues for valorising and preserving heritage for the future.

Working primarily with contemporary art, her current research interests include the evaluation of cultural significance as a basis for heritage management, including its relationship with the communities that enjoy it. In this context, with her colleague Inês Coutinho, she launched this curricular area dedicated to Heritage Preservation and Sustainability.