Heritage for society: critical questions for research and practice

About this lecture

How can heritage studies contribute to the discussion of how heritage brings positive social impact and reduces social inequalities across communities? This presentation builds on current research priorities and work at Historic England’s Policy and Evidence, Analytics team. Looking at existing tools and approaches that heritage science and heritage studies, rooted in wider humanities studies, provide to address some of these challenges and answer core research questions.

This webinar aims to empower young heritage managers and research professionals to use their skills and knowledge to support socially relevant heritage institutions, gather data that support good evaluations and impact statements, drive innovation in the heritage sector and make the best of heritage as a resource to generate social impact. Exploring core research questions of interest around the social value of heritage for individual wellbeing and societal cohesion, and identifyng gaps in our understanding of the relationship between heritage and communities through various ways of ‘engagement’. Heritage studies and heritage science can provide key insights, in relation to methodological approaches as well as applicable insights, to achieve socially sustainable management approaches.

Virtual event details

This virtual lecture will consist of a 45 minute presentation from Eirini Gallou, followed by a 15 minute Q&A chaired by Josep Grau-Bove, ISH Associate Professor.

About the speaker

Eirini Gallou is an architect with a Diploma from AUTH University, (2009, Thessaloniki), an Msc in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences with specialisation in Renovation, Modification, Intervention, transformation (2012, Rmit, TUDelft), and Sustainable Development. She has also followed postgraduate seminars in History of Art from the University of Crete Greece (2010). She has worked as a project manager/museographer in the Archaeological Museum in Samothrace in Greece, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. Previously, she worked for various architecture and urbanism studios in the Netherlands and Belgium and has completed an internship for ICCROM, Rome working on the organisation of the courses delivered by the Sites department and supported the development of the  ICCROM-CHA Forum on Authenticity in Asian Context. 

Eirini completed the Sustainable Heritage PhD at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, looking at local community perceptions of cultural heritage and the impact of participation in cultural heritage activities on sustaining heritage management in rural and remote contexts. She worked as a Postgraduate teaching assistant in UCL during the academic years 2016-19, including two years for UCL ISH and has been awarded the Associate Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). 

She has been working for Historic England since 2019, initially as an Evaluation officer and then as a Senior social analyst. Through her post she edits and develops the annual ‘Heritage and Society’ publications of Heritage Counts that Historic England produces on behalf of the Historic environment Forum as well as the Historic environment overview reports. She also engaging in commissioning and developing partnership -based research around impact and evaluation.