From 26 January to 8 February 2026, the Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) held the first edition of its Winter School on Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage, an intensive online training programme designed for heritage professionals seeking a deeper understanding of participatory approaches to heritage management.

The new Winter School builds on HERITΛGE’s well-established training formats, complementing its introductory 3-6 day workshops and the immersive summer field school. Together, these programmes form a progressive training pathway that allows professionals to engage with community-centred heritage practices at different levels and formats.

As Foteini Giannoulidi, head of HERITΛGE’s Educational Department, explains:

“Our proudly launched Winter School serves as an intermediate training program between our workshops and our intensive Summer Field School. It is designed for heritage managers who seek a profound approach to community engagement in a remote format, offering the opportunity to complete an extensive, in-depth training program.”

Community engagement has become one of the most dynamic and transformative areas in heritage management. Around the world, museums, archives, cultural institutions, and local organizations increasingly recognize that meaningful engagement cannot rely on generic “toolkits.”

Sustainable and ethical collaboration requires sensitivity to local contexts, awareness of community values, and approaches grounded in shared authority and co-creation.

The Winter School embraced this perspective, offering a research-led and community-centred framework shaped by HERITΛGE’s extensive practical experience across Europe, Africa, and other regions.

Participants explored both conceptual and practical aspects of community engagement, including principles and ethics of participatory heritage work, applied ethnography and long-distance interviewing, digital documentation of personal and material heritage, collaborative storytelling and interpretive planning, and the role of festivals, artistic practices, and community initiatives as platforms for participation and representation.

A Truly Global Cohort

The first edition of the Winter School brought together 20 participants from 16 countries across four continents — Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America.

This international mix created a rich learning environment in which participants shared experiences from diverse heritage contexts, institutions, and communities.

The programme was taught by HERITΛGE’s Dr Aris Anagnostopoulos and Dr Lena Stefanou with contributions from Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis, Director of HERITΛGE.

Participants also benefited from insights from our keynote speaker, Tracii Kwaai, a sixth-generation Kalk Bay fisher child from South Africa. Tracey’s Fisher Child project has received one of our Small Grants for African Heritage. Tracii is a story keeper, ocean historian, and social and ecological activist. Her work explores belonging and community through the voices of local fisher and other displaced Kalk Bay communities.

In addition, several heritage professionals who had previously participated in HERITΛGE training programmes joined the Winter School as interviewees, sharing their experiences of applying participatory methods in their own work. These included:

• Anaclet Karangwa, Founder and Executive Director of IVOMO, Rwanda
• Vitalice Ochieng, Senior Programme Manager at the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH), Kenya
• Dr Habab Idriss Ahmed, Senior Antiquities Inspector at the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, Sudan
• Mohammed Ali Mwenje, Cultural Heritage Practitioner at the Lamu World Heritage Site and Conservation Office / National Museums of Kenya, Kenya

The post A truly global cohort: our first Engaging Communities Winter School appeared first on The Heritage Management Organization.

The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) is proud to announce the launch of its Winter School, an intensive online program dedicated to Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage. Running from 26 January to 8 February 2026, this new training initiative builds on the success of HERITΛGE’s established training formats—its introductory 3-day workshop and its immersive summer field school. 

As Foteini Giannoulidi, head of HERITΛGE’s Educational Department, explains, “our proudly launched Winter School serves as an intermediate training program between our workshops and our intensive Summer Field School. It is designed for heritage managers who seek a profound approach to community engagement in a remote format, offering the opportunity to complete an extensive, in-depth training program.”

Community engagement has become one of the most important and dynamic areas in heritage management. Around the world, museums, archives, cultural institutions, and local organizations increasingly recognize that meaningful engagement cannot rely on generic “toolkits.” Sustainable and ethical collaboration requires sensitivity to local contexts, awareness of community values, and approaches grounded in shared authority and co-creation.

The Winter School embraces this perspective. It offers a research-led, community-centred framework shaped by HERITΛGE’s extensive practical experience in Europe, Africa, and beyond. Participants will explore the principles and ethics of community engagement while developing practical skills such as applied ethnography, long-distance interviewing, digital documentation of personal and material heritage, collaborative storytelling, and interpretive planning. The program also examines how festivals, artistic practices, and community-driven initiatives can act as powerful platforms for participation and representation.

The course will be taught by Dr Aris Anagnostopoulos and Dr Lena Stefanou, with guest contributions from HERITΛGE Director Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis—a team bringing decades of experience in participatory research, community partnerships, heritage interpretation, and cultural practice.

This Winter School is designed for museum and heritage professionals, cultural managers, researchers, community organizers, and practitioners working in related fields such as archaeology, public history, archives, and tourism. Participants from all regions are welcome, and a strong command of English is required.

Applicants are invited to submit an online application. Those shortlisted will be contacted for a brief interview. Because places are limited, early application is strongly recommended.

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