Heritage and Interculture

Heritage and Interculture is an on-line resource created by Fondazione ISMU (Initiatives and Studies on Multiethnicity) with a view to supporting all those professionals who are engaged not only in the promotion of immigrants’ cultural participation, but also and above all in the development of diverse and inclusive “heritage communities”. Through the dissemination of good practices, resources and tools, the website aims at providing as wide/interdisciplinary a community of practice as possible (e.g. museum, library and archive professionals, educators, anthropologists, mediators, artists investigating the relationship between past and contemporary, tangible and intangible cultural heritage) with opportunities for mutual learning, debate and exchange. At the heart of the work there is a dynamic, dialogical notion of “heritage” as a cultural wealth, both tangible and intangible, that should not only be preserved and passed on to the next generation, but also renegotiated, reconstructed in its meanings, constantly questioned and rediscovered by individuals who breathe new life into it. The website is an integral part of a long-term programme launched by Fondazione ISMU with the following goals: • to investigate how heritage institutions, which have traditionally been used to exclude those who “don’t belong”, can realistically become a resource not only in promoting understanding, mutual learning and exchange between individuals and groups with different cultural backgrounds, but also and especially in creating diverse and inclusive “heritage communities” • to foster 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 provide operators with guidelines and operational paradigms to promote interaction across different audiences • to disseminate good practices in Italian museums and heritage institutions.