Onsite activities 2025 – Strengthening resilience through cultural heritage
In early 2025, the RESILIAGE project intensified its mission to empower communities by conducting a series of onsite activities across its five CORE Labs. The Sustainable Heritage and Preparedness Plan Improvement workshop aimed to deepen citizens’ connection to their cultural heritage and enhance community resilience against disasters. These activities took place across the 5 CORE Labs: Trondheim (21 January), Naturtejo (25 January), Famenne-Ardenne (28 January), Karsiyaka (5 February) and Crete (7 February).
The event began with a brief presentation that provided an update on RESILIAGE’s progress, its objectives and how these activities fit into the broader goal of integrating cultural heritage into disaster risk management.
The first session focused on perceiving and characterising cultural heritage assets from a resilience perspective. Participants took part in a co-mapping activity, where they shared personal and community memories related to cultural heritage and past disaster events. The goal was to highlight how collective memory plays a crucial role in uniting communities and strengthening resilience before, during, and after disasters.
After a break, attendees engaged in a collaborative design session aimed at identifying actions that communities can take to protect cultural heritage from disasters. By working together, they explored how local stakeholders—such as municipalities, cultural institutions and residents—can contribute to safeguarding heritage sites and traditions in ways that also enhance overall disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
The final workshop focused on improving local disaster preparedness. Participants examined gaps in administrative frameworks and response plans, identified challenges, and co-developed solutions to strengthen community preparedness efforts. The session was designed to ensure that cultural heritage considerations are integrated into local disaster response planning.
Overall, these onsite activities reinforced the importance of cultural heritage in disaster resilience, empowering communities with knowledge and strategies to protect their heritage while enhancing preparedness for future risks.
Explore some of the photos in the gallery below.
