Patrimonio e Intercultura

Heritage and Interculture is an on-line resource entirely devoted to heritage education in an intercultural perspective. The website is an integral part of a long-term programme launched by Fondazione ISMU (Initiatives and Studies on Multiethnicity) with the following goals:

- to investigate in which ways and on which terms heritage institutions, which have traditionally been used to exclude those who “don’t belong”, can realistically become a resource in promoting understanding, exchange and mutual respect between individuals and groups with different cultural backgrounds

- to promote a greater appreciation of “intercultural heritage education” as a strategic component of lifelong learning and active citizenship

- to explore innovative methodologies and tools for the planning and evaluation of intercultural heritage education activities jointly developed by partners working in different institutional/professional contexts (museums, libraries and archives, schools and adult learning agencies, universities and research centres, local authorities, community organisations, cultural mediators, contemporary artists…)

- to disseminate good practices in Italian museums and heritage institutions

- to involve as wide a professional community as possible by providing opportunities for debate and exchange

At the heart of our work is a dynamic, dialogical notion of “heritage” as a set of cultural objects (both material and immaterial) that should not only be preserved and transmitted, but also re-negotiated, re-constructed in their meanings, made available for all to share in a common space of social interaction.