Contemporary Strategies in Heritage Management Discussed at the Villa Noël Summer School

Villa Noël hosted the Summer School “Shared Strategies in Heritage Management” from 30 June to 5 July 2025. The event was organised by the Institute of African Studies (ISA) and the Regional Francophone Centre for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (CEREFREA) of the University of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Research Institute for Quality of Life (ICCV) of the Romanian Academy and the Peleș National Museum.

The Summer School took place within the CIVIS project “Shaping Shared Development Strategies for a Sustainable Future in Heritage Management: A Framework for Collaboration between Europe and Africa in the Contemporary Regional Context” and was officially opened by Assoc. Prof. Simona Corlan-Ioan, Director of the Institute of African Studies and Coordinator of CEREFREA.

Over the course of six days, participants explored current issues related to heritage conservation and protection, aiming for a comparative understanding of national and international strategies, as well as similarities and differences in approaches to various forms of heritage – from immovable and movable heritage to intangible cultural heritage.

The Summer School brought together 45 students, master’s students, doctoral candidates, and early-career researchers, both onsite and online, from Romania, France, Morocco, Egypt, Burundi, Senegal, Cameroon, Madagascar, and other countries. The sessions were delivered by established scholars and researchers from Romania, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, the United Kingdom, Greece, South Africa, and the United States.

Programme highlights

The first day focused on an introduction to heritage research, coordinated by Lect. Domnica Gorovei from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest.

On the second day, participants took part in a study visit to the Peleș National Museum, where a roundtable discussion addressed the challenges faced by Romanian heritage in the current legislative, economic, and logistical context. Peleș Castle served as a starting point for broader debates on contemporary challenges in conserving immovable, movable, and intangible heritage in Romania. The day concluded with a private guided tour of the castle, generously offered by the museum’s management.

The third day opened with two notable presentations:

• “Difficult Histories, Contested Heritages: Intercultural Dialogues and Critical Approaches to Heritage Preservation” by Rosie Spooner and Peggy Brunache from the University of Glasgow;
• “Unequal Exchange, Structures of Dependency and Global Developmental Divergence in the African Mining Context” by Dr Alexandru Vasiliu (University of Bucharest).

The afternoon was dedicated to North Africa, featuring presentations by Prof. Saana Hassab from the Hassan II University of Casablanca on “The New Heritage Law in Morocco: Towards a Reconfiguration of Management Strategies”, and Prof. Abdelwahed Mokni from the University of Sfax on “Strategy and Practices: Public–Private Partnerships in Tunisia’s Plural Heritage”.

In the following days, discussions continued with key global themes in heritage studies. Prof. Omar Lamghibchi (Hassan II University of Casablanca) presented “Reviving Moroccan Jewish Heritage: A Pathway to Multicultural Understanding”. From Greece, Prof. Theoklis–Petros Zounis, Director of the University of Athens History Museum, and Prof. Evangelos Papoulias from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens discussed “Managing University Heritage: The Case of the Expansion of the Permanent Collection of the Athens University History Museum”.

Issues of intangible heritage in Africa and Romania were addressed in a richly informative session. Prof. Papa Abdou Fall from the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar spoke on “West African Oral Heritage between Authorship Issues and Concerns of Transmission”, followed by Prof. Simona Corlan-Ioan with “Sites of Memory and Shared Heritage in West Africa”. The session concluded with a presentation by Irina Balotescu (ICUB) on “Intangible Cultural Heritage in Romania: Preserving, Protecting, Promoting”.

Another roundtable, moderated by Lect. Laurențiu Tănase and coordinated by Lect. Vladimir Crețulescu, brought together Tania Van Wyc (University of Pretoria), Marian Gh. Simion (Harvard University), and Cezar Dascălu (ICCV, Romanian Academy), who explored themes of hybrid identities, religion, and secularisation from African, North American, and Romanian perspectives.

From Egypt, Dr Christina Monir Ibrahim, representative of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, offered insights into architectural heritage reuse in Alexandria through her presentation “Reuse as a Heritage Style in Popular Architecture in Alexandria and its Suburbs”.

Student engagement and international dialogue

One of the Summer School’s major strengths was the opportunity for students—particularly doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, including fellows of the Eugen Ionescu Scholarship Programme of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, supported by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to present their own research projects and receive constructive feedback from both trainers and peers.

Throughout the event, Villa Noël also welcomed distinguished guests. H.E. Rana Mokaddem, Ambassador of the Lebanese Republic to Romania, and H.E. Sami Nagga, Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Romania, honoured the Summer School with their presence and actively engaged in the debates. The organisers expressed their gratitude for their involvement and interest in the topics discussed.

The six days of the “Shared Strategies in Heritage Management” Summer School concluded with numerous ideas for collaboration and a strong commitment to turning these ideas into future joint projects.