Organizer Information
The European Heritage Hub is a Preparatory Action funded by the European Union (2025–2027), following an earlier two-year pilot phase (2023–2025) that was itself supported under the Creative Europe programme. The Hub brings together a consortium of 28 partners led by Europa Nostra, with the Europeana Foundation, Eurocities, KU Leuven, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability as co-beneficiaries. Europa Nostra, the Hub's lead partner, is Europe's largest heritage advocacy network, working since the 1960s to safeguard cultural and natural heritage across the continent. The Hub functions as a knowledge-sharing, networking, training, and advocacy platform for heritage stakeholders at EU, national, and regional levels, with a particular focus on the green, digital, and social transformation of the sector.
Title & Description
Onsite Peer-Learning Visit in Lisbon: "Safeguarding Collective Memory for Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development"
This is a training and networking opportunity for city and regional representatives and heritage professionals, organized as part of the European Heritage Hub's capacity-building activities. The visit brings a group of selected participants to Lisbon to study the city's "Memories of Lisbon" programme firsthand — an initiative that engages vocational-education students to record older residents' life stories and turn them into 2D animations, creating an intergenerational digital archive and combating social isolation among older residents. Lisbon was selected as host city through the Hub's Open Call for Local Good Practices as one of ten exemplary local practices contributing to the green, digital, and social transformation of society. The visit combines meetings with local policymakers and stakeholders, site visits, and facilitated workshops, and includes a tour of the neighborhoods engaged in the Memories of Lisbon programme.
Theme
Safeguarding Collective Memory for Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development, explored through Lisbon's "Memories of Lisbon" oral-history and intergenerational-archive programme.
Categories
- Culture
- Research
- Art Management
- Educations
Eligibility
- Open to those working on cultural heritage for a local, regional, or national administration, civil society organisation, cultural initiative, or project across the EU and beyond, including Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, and the UK
- The group of 20 selected participants will ideally include: a minimum of 12 policymakers working in areas related to cultural heritage, at political/decision-making or technical levels, from local or regional administration
- Up to 4 representatives of national/federal administrations with cultural heritage-related expertise
- Up to 4 individual participants representing heritage professionals and custodians, civil society organisations, NGOs, cultural initiatives/projects, or thematic associations, with demonstrated interest and expertise in the topic, coming from a country other than the host city's country
- Applicants must be able to commit time for preparation before the visit and follow-up afterward
- Selection also considers gender balance and geographical balance across Europe, with applications from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine specifically encouraged
Program Benefits & Awards
- Travel costs covered, reimbursed according to European Commission Decision unit-cost rates (e.g. a maximum of €340 for a return trip between Madrid and Lisbon)
- Accommodation covered for 2 nights (4–6 November), with hotel booking arranged directly by the organisers
- Meals covered during the stay
- A pre-visit participants' pack with background information and speaker/participant profiles
- An introductory online meeting to share expectations ahead of the visit
- Visibility for the participant's city, region, or organisation at the European level through the Hub's tools and channels
- Access to a community of practice among heritage professionals, stakeholders, and decision-makers
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 7 September 2026
- Peer-Learning Visit: November 4–6, 2026 (starting the afternoon of November 4, ending after lunch on November 6)
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Additional Details
- Selection criteria include: overall quality of the application; motivation to participate; match between the visit's theme and the applicant's local context or needs; commitment to allocate time for preparation and follow-up; balance of the delegation across political, technical, and thematic areas of expertise and gender; and geographical balance across European regions, including EU neighbourhood countries
- If selected, participants will be contacted by the organising team to coordinate logistics at least 3 weeks in advance of the visit
- The working language of the visit is English
- Individual participants apply on their own behalf; the visit is also open to city/region delegations