The Cultural Heritage Lab is a lab established in ELABCHROM and also one of nine thematic labs within the FORTHEM Alliance, which function as collaborative networks dedicated to jointly creating solutions to societal challenges.
The Cultural Heritage Lab examines how local communities relate to their cultural heritage today, with the aim of locating and critically deconstructing contemporary attitudes towards it. Its activity is structured around three interconnected dimensions:
- Tangible and intangible heritage – exploring both tangible heritage (such as UNESCO sites, monuments, archives, and museums) and intangible cultural heritage, including regional traditions and identities.
- Living cultural heritage – analyzing the commercialization, promotion, and consumption of culture through publicly and privately funded events, cultural tourism, and funding policies at the local, national, and European levels. Special attention is given to how ethnic minorities initiate and expand cultural projects and build international communities through recurring events.
- Cultural identities – investigating regional cultural identities within the FORTHEM Alliance and the relationships between them, based on the interaction between tangible, intangible, and living heritage.
Through interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration, the Cultural Heritage Lab creates a platform for research, dialogue, and co-authored