UNESCO

On the 25th of February 2025 Gustav Wollentz presented and participated in a panel discussion at the conference “The Houses, the History, and the Future” (Husen, historien och framtiden) that was organized in Gothenburg by Gothenburg University and multiple other partners in the region. There were around 140 heritage professionals attending the conference, mostly working with, and researching on, the conservation and restoration of  buildings.

Gustav contributed to the final part of the conference, where future challenges and opportunities were in focus. Gustav presented the work on Strategic Foresight he has been carrying out together with ICCROM, including the Horizon Scanning looking 15 years ahead,  and the work for the pan-European ARCHE project, with the goal to produce a new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Heritage in Europe.

In the presentation, Gustav focused on four specific opportunities for action related to future change:

1. Heritage to shape more desirable, sustainable and just futures,
2. Heritage to increase wellbeing,
3. Heritage to understand and reveal the humanity in individuals,
4. Heritage to cope with loss and change.

The presentation and panel discussion were very well received and there was a large interest to further explore Strategic Foresight.

For those interested in the ICCROM Horizon Scanning, it is available here: https://www.iccrom.org/publication/anticipating-futures-heritage

For those interested in the Foresight-work within the ARCHE project, the report is available here: https://www.heritageresearch-hub.eu/app/uploads/2024/04/ARCHE_D2.1_Report-on-Future-Trends-on-Cultural-Heritage-RI-3.pdf