The first HerMaP Mexico training workshop for heritage managers has been successfully completed. The Oral History Workshop took place in person from March 4–6 in Julimes, Chihuahua. The initiative’s first in-person workshop brought together 23 participants from 12 municipalities across the state of Chihuahua, including 11 women. Participants also represented four Indigenous groups, including migrants from other Mexican states. The group included community promoters, cultural practitioners, researchers, and heritage professionals working on local heritage initiatives.

The workshop was led by Denise Navarro, Mexico Programs Manager at HERITΛGE.

The training focused on how to document community memories and intangible cultural heritage through oral history. Participants were introduced to key conceptual and methodological tools, including how to design interview guides, ethical considerations in the use of testimonies, and the practical application of oral history in cultural heritage projects.

Through this workshop, participants strengthened their capacity to document community knowledge, lived experiences, and cultural practices, contributing to the preservation of local heritage and collective memory.

This workshop marks the first training activity of the HerMaP Mexico initiative, which aims to strengthen cultural heritage management in Mexico’s northern border states. The program works with local actors through training, sector mapping, networking, and grants for community-led heritage projects.

The HERITΛGE team would like to thank Centro INAH Chihuahua and Secretaría de Cultura de Chihuahua  for helping organize the workshop and the Municipality of Julimes for hosting us in its facilities.

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We are very happy to announce a brand new call for grants for heritage projects in Mexico. Our new call for proposals is aimed at organizations, groups, and individuals working with cultural heritage in northern Mexico, in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas.

The grants are part of the HerMaP-Mexico, an initiative to strengthen cultural heritage management and networks in northern Mexico. They will fund projects that focus on the protection of and/or promotion of local heritage for socio-economic development across the Mexico’s six northern border states.

All projects must clearly focus on the protection, safeguarding, strengthening, and/or promotion of local heritage, from approaches that recognize its cultural, social, and community value.

There are three main criteria for selecting proposals under this program:

• Sustainability- Priority will be given to projects that generate a lasting impact and whose positive effects extend beyond the support period.
• Capacity building and network strengthening – Projects that contribute to strengthening local capacities and establishing or consolidating links with similar organizations within heritage management networks will be encouraged. 
• Concrete and Community Impact – Priority will be given to proposals that present clear, measurable, and verifiable results in terms of heritage protection and direct benefits for local communities. Each project must define specific indicators of the expected impact.

This call for proposals is the first phase of the selection process. Following an initial review, the shortlisted projects will be invited to submit an expanded and more detailed proposal. These complete proposals will be evaluated by the HerMaP Mexico program’s Support Committee.

The deadline for submitting proposals for this first phase is April 15, 2026. The final selection of supported projects will be announced no later than July 2026. 

Find out more and apply here.

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HERITΛGE has launched a new collaborative effort to map the cultural heritage sector across Mexico’s six northern border states — Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas — and is inviting heritage professionals, community organizations, educational institutions, researchers, and cultural actors in the region to take part by completing a dedicated survey.

The mapping initiative forms part of HerMaP Mexico, a program that seeks to strengthen cultural heritage management across the northern border region of the country. Through HerMaP Mexico, HERITΛGE works collaboratively with local actors to support training processes, build professional and institutional networks, and assist community-led projects that promote sustainable cultural development.

By participating in the survey, contributors will help identify existing capacities, challenges, and opportunities in the heritage sector. The results will directly inform the design of context-sensitive training programs, technical support, and future program activities tailored to the realities of the region.

“At the heart of HerMaP Mexico is the belief that heritage is best managed when local knowledge, experience, and community voices are recognized and supported,” said HERITΛGE Director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis. “This mapping process is a key step toward ensuring that future training and support respond to real needs on the ground.”

Cultural heritage encompasses far more than monuments or collections. It includes living traditions, local knowledge, historic places, cultural practices, and the people who sustain them. Effective heritage management helps ensure that these cultural resources are protected and shared in ways that benefit communities socially, culturally, and economically.

HERITΛGE invites all those working with cultural heritage in Mexico’s northern border states to contribute to this mapping effort by completing the survey.

Access the survey here: https://heritagemanagement.jotform.com/251043774849970

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