HeritageCIRCLE

HeritageCIRCLE (Collaborative Innovation for Responsible, Critical and Localised Engagement with Europe's Dissonant Heritage) is a Horizon-funded project led by the consortium of 13 partners from 10 countries that brings together people involved in heritage policy, management and research across Europe, from local initiatives and communities to national and intergovernmental bodies. Through the Community of Practice, they will explore how heritage that gives rise to dissonance, difficulty, contestation or conflict can be addressed constructively and ethically.

Dissonance, discomfort and conflict around heritage take many forms and have diverse roots. Heritage is often used for particular political or ideological purposes and appropriated within populist narratives which marginalise a diversity of perspectives. Legacies of violence, exploitation, extraction and oppressive regimes can also remain present through heritage, and (re)create trauma, distress and conflict. These challenges arise across geographical areas as well as various fields of practice such as conservation, education, tourism and community-based heritage work.

Drawing on a wide range of experiences and expertise, the project team will develop evidence-based policy recommendations for the EU to help shape future directions for heritage-related work across Europe. It will also identify, test and share practical methods and tools for those involved in preserving, interpreting, presenting and reusing contested heritage, while developing resources to strengthen local capacity. We approach dissonance not as something that can simply be eliminated, but as something to address openly and critically through constructive civic and professional dialogue about what societies value and why. This dialogue will help lay the foundations for a new agenda for heritage-related work in Europe, with a focus on democracy, social justice and peaceful coexistence.

HeritageCIRCLE works from the position that dissonance should be addressed openly, through Careful Dialogues, a framework for responsible, reflexive engagement with difficult heritage across local, national, and European contexts.

The project draws on 20 peer-learning case studies, six incubators, and three real-world pilots in Malta, Germany, and Ukraine, spanning participatory governance, sustainable tourism, and plural and inclusive education. These place-based experiences feed directly into two connected groups:

• The Community of Practice (CoP): practitioners, researchers, and civic actors who work directly with dissonant heritage. They test tools, co-create the project's recommendations, and meet regularly to reflect and learn together, growing to 300+ members over the project's lifetime.
• The Community of Interest (CoI): a wider circle of over 30,000 people, including local authorities, educators, journalists, tourism operators, and heritage professionals, who follow HeritageCIRCLE's work, use its resources, and are welcome to join the CoP at any point.

Both communities connect through SPHERE (Space for Productive Heritage Engagement), HeritageCIRCLE's open digital hub. SPHERE hosts the project's tools, methods, and recommendations alongside documentaries, podcasts, and stories from the pilots and case studies, all freely accessible and searchable. It will stay online and maintained well beyond the project's end, so the knowledge it holds keeps working for the sector.

HeritageCIRCLE is delivered by a consortium of 13 organisations across 10 countries, each bringing a distinct piece of expertise to the table:

• Metropolitan Research Institute (MRI), Hungary: coordinates the project, bringing extensive experience managing European research initiatives.
• KEA European Affairs, Belgium: leads the development of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.
• Trans Europe Halles (TEH), Sweden: connects HeritageCIRCLE to its network of 180+ independent cultural centres across 40+ countries and hosts SPHERE's digital infrastructure.
• Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, Malta: anchors the project's heritage trail pilot on the ground.
• ICLEI European Secretariat, Germany: leads the growth of the Community of Practice, drawing on its network of local authorities in over 125 countries.
• Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Malta: leads work on the Guide to Dealing with Heritage Dissonance, grounded in national heritage governance.
• Technische Universität Wien, Austria: leads the production of a multimedia exhibition sharing HeritageCIRCLE's findings with wider audiences.
• Ro3kvit Urban Coalition for Ukraine, Ukraine: leads pilot action planning, including a model for integrating dissonant heritage into post-conflict recovery.
• University of Newcastle, UK: leads the project's policy recommendations and brings global expertise in ethical heritage interpretation.
• Zentralwerk e.V., Germany: hosts a pilot developing educational tools for engaging with dissonant heritage in schools.
• Internationales Kulturcentrum UFA-Fabrik, Germany: partners on educational pilot activities from a grassroots cultural perspective.
• Eutropian, Italy: contributes to peer-learning research and the project's wider stakeholder engagement.
• Zalet, Serbia: contributes research expertise to shaping the SRIA's methodology.

HeritageCIRCLE is building an open, growing community, not a closed research project. As the Community of Practice takes shape, municipalities, cultural organisations, researchers, and civic actors from across Europe will be invited to contribute, test tools, and shape the project's direction. Follow along here and on SPHERE (will be launched soon) for updates, resources, and ways to join in.

HeritageCIRCLE is funded by the European Union under grant agreement No 101288484, through the Horizon Europe programme (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01, Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.