Inaugural lecture of the Heritage Academy 2025

10 October 2025, at 18.00

10 October will mark the start of the 20th edition of the Heritage Academy – postgraduate studies devoted to the management of cultural institutions and the promotion of cultural heritage. On this occasion, the ICC will host an inaugural lecture by Dr Hanna Schreiber.

The 20th anniversary edition of the Heritage Academy will be inaugurated with a ceremonial meeting at the International Cultural Centre in Krakow and a lecture by Dr Hanna Schreiber entitled “Who inherits heritage? Invisible heirs, algorithms and security in the world of intangible heritage”. In her speech, the researcher will invite us to reconsider for whom, by whom and for what purpose we protect intangible heritage in a world of global unrest and blurring boundaries between culture, technology and security. The inaugural lecture will be open to the public.


In 2001, on the initiative of Prof. Jacek Purchla and Prof. Jerzy Hausner, the International Cultural Centre and the Krakow University of Economics established Poland's first postgraduate studies devoted to cultural heritage, combining issues in the fields of management, law and administration, marketing and art knowledge. The program prepares graduates for modern work in cultural institutions and for the wise management of heritage resources, both tangible and intangible. The inauguration of the 20th edition of the program will be an opportunity to celebrate together, reflect on achievements to date, and integrate the academic and graduate communities.

Dr Hanna Schreiber, a researcher of cultural heritage and political scientist, will examine three contemporary phenomena in intangible heritage policy. These are the invisibility of many communities that do not fit into the conventional categories of “heirs” or, although they formally fit into them, their real participation is limited. The researcher will also discuss the algorithmisation of knowledge about intangible heritage, the role of “big tech” and artificial intelligence in creating narratives about intangible heritage. She will also address the process of securitisation of intangible heritage, in which heritage becomes a strategic resource and an object of intervention and protection in the context of hybrid threats to cultural identity and sovereignty.

Members of the Heritage Academy Alumni Association will also take part in the inaugural meeting on the occasion of its 20th edition. It will also be open to anyone who wants to learn more about the postgraduate studies offered by the ICC.

More about the Heritage Academy

Dr Hanna Schreiber – Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw. Head of the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Public and Global Governance(ichgovernance.com). Co-author of expert reports implementing the 2003 UNESCO Convention in Poland for the National Heritage Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage; Author of the first complete Polish commentary on the 1954 Hague Convention and the 2003 UNESCO Convention. Co-author and coordinator of the work on the nomination of Nativity scene (szopka) tradition in Krakow on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2018). Member of the Council of the John III Palace Museum in Wilanów and of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Polish Culture.