Common Responsibility for Shared Heritage
The events of the 20th century – two World Wars and radical political ideologies, ranging from Nazism to Communism – meant massive destruction and loss for the inhabitants of the present-day territory of Ukraine. The lives of communities and residents were drastically disrupted or annihilated. Buildings that were once synagogues and cultural centers, homes that lost their inhabitants, cemeteries that endured even if neglected are now the sites of testimony and remembrance of mass violence. These spaces tell stories and warn of the consequences of prejudice, discrimination, and hate speech. The unexplored and unreflected past continues to come back to us today, prompting new discussions about the dangers of hierarchizing experience, constructing a monopoly on history, marginalizing and dividing society into “us” and “them,” “better” and “worse” citizens on various grounds.
The project “REHERIT 2.0: Common Responsibility for Shared Heritage” (2024-2027) strengthens the vision of the multicultural heritage of Ukrainian cities and towns as a common heritage that revitalizes cultural development, promotes critical thinking and overcomes discrimination, and stimulates local socio-economic potential, in particular through increased tourism, investment, and support for cultural businesses.
The project consists of interconnected components based on the participatory approach:
- educational program and artistic intervention around the topic of multicultural heritage of cities;
- preservation, digitization, and creation of digital collections of historical sources (visual and oral history) to promote a dialogue on archiving as a cultural practice and common heritage;
- development and piloting new approaches to managing multicultural heritage:
- revitalization of the space of “Yevreyka Park” in Rivne (the space of historical cemeteries);
- creation of a barrier-free inclusive space in the tower of the Medzhybizh fortress and marking the multicultural heritage of Medzhybizh;
- strengthening the tourist potential of Uman;
- training program and creation of an expert network to develop the competencies of specialists in the field of heritage and cultural management;
- granting program to support development initiatives in communities working with the multicultural past.
"ReHERIT 2.0" is a continuation of the project implemented in 2018-2021, and it is jointly implemented by the Center for Urban History and the Centre for Regional Development of the PPV economic development agency. The project is funded by the European Union.
Center for Urban History, an independent research institution working in the areas of urban history, digital humanities and archiving, public history, and education since 2004.
Centre for Regional Development, an organization founded by the economic development agency PPV in June 2014 to consolidate the efforts of government, businesses, and communities in solving common problems and creating new opportunities for cities and areas.
