V4 Heritage Academy: Management of UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sites in Visegrad Countries 2022

The mission of the International Cultural Centre is, among others, to conduct research on cultural heritage. Heritage Academy Summer School serves this purpose by combining academic and cultural activity.

Heritage Academy Summer School is a week-long educational programme for employees of cultural institutions, conservation services, and students from the Central European region. The programme includes lectures, meetings and workshops. It focuses on management of sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and every year is held in a different Visegrad state.

This year the courses are held between 11 and 17 July in Krakow, Spišské Podhradie and Spišská Kapitula. The main theme of this year’s edition will be Spiš where a unique, medieval architectural complex has been preserved. The cohesive group of buildings serve military, mercantile, political and religious functions.

The participants of the Summer School will reflect on the understanding of the outstanding universal value (OUV) – the value for which a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List. Their task would be to propose recommendations for the further development of Spiš on the basis of this value.

Due to the current war situation in Ukraine, a separate panel would be devoted to the Hague Convention and crisis management. The Convention, adopted in 1954, addresses the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflicts.

The additional elements of the programme include, among others, visiting the Wawel Castle, as well as the castles in Niedzica and Stará Ľubovňa, exploring Spišská Kapitula, Levoča, Spiš Castle, Žehra and Spišský Jeruzalem.