The Foundation was represented at this year’s biennial conference of ‘Future for Religious Heritage’ (FRH). 120 participants from across Europe attended the event which was held in Lund in Sweden.
The Brussels-based FRH works across Europe to promote and ensure the preservation of places of worship, and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage’s Chief Executive Michael Mail serves as a Trustee of the organisation.
This year’s conference theme was sustainability which was considered from three perspectives (a) economic sustainability (b) ecological sustainability and (c) social sustainability. Each of these sub-themes was introduced by a keynote address which was followed by a number of presentations on specific projects that highlighted wider sustainability issues. Speakers included Christer Gustaffson, Professor in Conservation at Uppsala University; Anne Grady, a Policy Officer of the Culture Committee of the European Parliament, Jakub Nowakowski, Director of the Galicia Jewish Museum, Tharik Hussein, a commentator on Islamic heritage preservation and Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust.
A key aspect of the event was the opportunity to network with heritage professionals from across Europe, sharing issues and learning of the different approaches to common challenges.
The conference also offered the opportunity to visit religious heritage sites in Lund and nearby Malmo to see at first hand how sustainability were being addressed in Sweden.
You can view the full programme here.