Team

Eveline Seghers graduated with a MA degree in non-western art and cultural anthropology from Ghent University, and a MSc degree in biological anthropology from University College London. In 2015, she obtained a PhD in art history at Ghent University, with a dissertation on biology-based explanatory models for the early prehistoric origins of human artmaking. She has also conducted research at the University of Utrecht, the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Evolution and Cognition Research, and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque as a postdoctoral fellow of the Fulbright Commission. From late 2018 to early 2019, she worked for the European Commission, assisting with the implementation and evaluation of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. Since April 2019, she coordinates the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Museums Project together with Kia Tsakiridis.

Evdokia Tsakiridis (1988) studied History at the University of Ghent and Heritage Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Since 2015 she has been working at the NGO tapis plein, the Flemish center for expertise on heritage participation and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) (since 2018: Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed)). She is the coordinator of the international Intangible Cultural Heritage & Museums Project (IMP) that seeks to explore the variety of approaches, interactions and practices on intangible cultural heritage in museum contexts in Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and France. www.werkplaatsimmaterieelerfgoed.be

Séverine Cachat holds a PhD in social anthropology. She has conducted research on heritagization processes in the Indian Ocean region. Since 2017 she is the director of the World Cultures Institute and the French Center for intangible cultural heritage (and from 2011 to 2016 of its branch office). She is an expert for the national comittee for ICH and a UNESCO facilitator in the frame of the 2003 Convention. Séverine is a member of the scientific committee of Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, of the editorial board of In Situ, online revue of the French ministry for Culture, and secretary of France PCI, an NGO gathering the representatives of the French elements on the UNESCO lists. www.cfpci.fr  & www.maisondesculturesdumonde.org

Dr. Sophie Elpers studied European Ethnology and History of Art at the University of Bonn and the University of Amsterdam. She works at the Dutch Centre for Intangible Heritage, where her research focus is on the relation between intangible and tangible heritage and on the role of museums in heritagization processes. She also works as researcher at the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) and is Executive Vice President of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore.

Valentina Lapiccirella Zingari born in Florence in 1962, is cultural anthropologist, Ph.D University of Siena. She has conducted numerous ethnographic researches specializing in the collection, analysis and enhancement of oral documents, collaborating with local authorities, associations, museums, regional and national parks, University and Doctoral Schools, Foundations, Archives, within ministerial, regional and European projects, based in Italy, Costa Rica and France. She is member of the Board of Directors, and appointed National Coordinator of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Working Group of the association SiMBDEA (Italian Society for Museum and Heritage Anthropology), an NGO accredited in 2010 by the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. She is involved in some processes related to the implementation of the UNESCO ICH Convention, taking part in the meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee and the General Assembly of the Convention (Abu Dhabi 2009, Nairobi 2010, Bali 2011, Paris 2012, Baku 2013, Paris 2014, Paris 2016, Corea 2017). She is responsible of several projects of research and nomination for the ICH lists, working on inventory methodologies, participatory documentation, the role of civil society in heritage-making processes, the design of safeguard plans and the prospects for international cooperation. She is author and co-author of numerous scientific publications, exhibition curators, oral document editions, audiovisual editing, website design. She is currently official member of the European Network of ICH Facilitators, for the global capacity-building strategy of the UNESCO Convention. www.simbdea.it

Dr. Stefan Koslowski studied philosophy, sociology and German at the University of Basel. He obtained his PhD in theatre studies from the University of Bern after which he worked as a journalist covering culture affairs and has also managed cultural and culture policy related projects. Since 2012 he has worked in the Section Culture and Society at the Federal Office of Culture, where he is responsible for Cultural Participation and for implementing the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. He has written various publications on cultural history and policy themes. www.bak.admin.ch

Cornelia Meyer, Zurich, Switzerland. Museologist, studies in cultural anthropology, psychology and history of art at the university of zurich. Leader of the C.G. Jung House-Museum in Kuesnacht, Switzerland. Practices as exhibition-curator and as mediator in refugee-projects. 2008-2017 vice-president of the Swiss Museums Association. www.museums.ch

Julia Pagel is secretary general of NEMO, the Network of European Museum Organisations (www.ne-mo.org). NEMO acts as European umbrella for the national museum organisations and museums in 40 countries. Through its members the network speaks for over 30.000 museums in Europe.

Julia graduated with a master’s degree in Art History and Latin American in 2004. After her graduation, she worked as tutor at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla/Colombia. Before she started to work for NEMO in 2007, Julia worked at the Berlin Film Market for the Berlinale Film Festival and for the publishing company “BibSpider”. From 2013-2017 Julia was member and Vice-President of the Executive Committee of Culture Action Europe. She has edited various museum-related publications about life-long learning, intercultural dialogue and creativity and has been involved in numerous EU-funded projects in the culture, learning and research sector.

Dr. Hendrik Henrichs (1951) was associate professor in Cultural History (emeritus as from December 2016) at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. He holds a BA in sociology and anthropology, and MA and Ph.D. in history, both from the University of Amsterdam. At Utrecht University his research and teaching focused on (in-)tangible cultural heritage and Public History. He and his students have been working with historical and anthropological museums and cultural heritage institutions in the Netherlands. Intangible cultural heritage is, in his view, one of the important ‘uses of the past’ in contemporary societies. As such, as “do-it-yourself-history”’ (Raphael Samuel) by non-academic members of the public, it is a promising field for contemporary cultural-historical research.

Henrichs and his students have studied questions like: can we trust intangible heritage as a representation of the past? What is, or should be, the relation between academic knowledge of the past and the (immaterial heritage way of doing history’? Or, in shorthand: who owns the past? Or could we work towards a ‘shared authority’ over the past, between academic and non-academic ‘history makers’ (Jarma Kalela)? Museums have, in the eyes of the public, always been monuments of historical reliability. Public history and intangible heritage may bring new perspectives and, with them, news ways of knowing and experiencing the past.

Rosario Perricone teaches Cultural Anthropology at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo. He is the Director of the Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino andPresident of the Associazione per la conservazione delle tradizioni popolari of Palermo. His main research field is Visual and Theatrical Anthropology. In particular, since 1993 he has undertaken a number of researches in the field of the ritual and theatrical performances of Sicilian folk traditions. He collaborated in the C.N.R. project Multimedia and interactive archive of traditional rituality. As a university Professor, he taught at the University of Palermo. As the Director of the Puppet Museum, he has curated the last 15 editions of Festival di Morgana, an international festival devoted to Sicilian and foreign puppet traditions; the Oral and Intangible Heritage Festival concerning the UNESCO masterpieces, and the Convivio musicale, focused on oral traditional music. Engaged in the promotion and dissemination of Sicilian folk traditions, among which the Opera dei pupi, he has recently implemented some projects that combine cultural heritage and new technologies (#Carinda A.R.).

Prof. dr. Marc Jacobs is director at FARO. Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage and also teaches the courses “Heritage and ethnology”, “Critical Heritage Studies” and “Forum: Contemporary issues in art sciences and archaeology” at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (critical heritage studies). He is holder of the “UNESCO chair on critical heritage studies and in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage”, and has been involved in drafting, elaborating and implementing the 2003 UNESCO convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage since 2001. He represented Belgium in the Intergovernmental Committee between 2006 and 2008 and between 2012 and 2016.

Previous affiliations: University Ghent (1985-1987), European University Institute (1987-1991), UFSIA (1991-1995), VUB (1992-1999), Vlaams Centrum voor Volkscultuur (1999-2007), Katholieke Universiteit Brussel (associate professor 2007-2008), FARO (2008-present) and VUB (2011-present).

Jorijn Neyrinck coordinates tapis plein NGO, a centre of expertise on intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and heritage participation (Belgium) since 2003. Main focus and achievements consist in developing participatory intangible heritage practices and policies in societal context. Tapis plein takes an active role as cultural broker in the field: building bridges between governments, NGO’s, institutions, ICH communities and groups...

To this aim, Jorijn organizes a range of initiatives: from capacity building, policy support, the digital ICH platform, project management and coaching, sensitization, platforms for public dialogue, education, action research, methodological tools, conceptual reflection, publications etc. In recent years tapis plein has engaged in cultivating ICH network development, collaborating with many actors (e.g. organizations on crafts, performing arts, local heritage units, the Flemish Government, FARO-Flemish Interface for cultural heritage, etc). Jorijn takes also an active role in crossdisciplinary and international networks on ICH, especially in relation to the UNESCO 2003 Convention, the ICH NGO Forum and the relation between NGOs and the Convention. Jorijn is member of the Flemish UNESCO Commission and advisory bodies in cultural policies.

Selected assignments: Member Flemish UNESCO Commission (2014-…), Commission Dutch Inventory ICH (2012-…), Flemish Commission ICH (2008-…), Strategic Advisory Board Culture Flanders (2012-…)

Mrs Florence Pizzorni holds a PhD in social and cultural anthropology and she is curator. She ensures the scientific follow-up of more than 600 "museums of society", in the Department of “Museums of France” of the Ministry of Culture. In this context, she accompanies experiments in the re-interpretation of anthropological collections and cultural landscapes with everyday actors, audiences, scientists, visual artists and artists from different disciplines. She pays attention to the diversity of tangible and intangible heritage expressions and their interaction as central questions in the search for innovative forms of conservation, restitution, enhancement and revitalization of the dynamics of cultures. She worked at the National Museum of the Arts and Folk Traditions in Paris where she played a decisive role in the invention and opening of the MuCEM, Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, in Marseille.

She is curator of exhibitions, including several events on Haiti and the French West Indies. She is interested in the narratives that people construct around everyday and ritual objects. Convinced of the capacity of culture to help overcome collective pain, she is committed to issues related to identity conflicts, migration, exile, slavery, poverty, social discrimination and exclusion, human consequences of natural disasters. In collaboration with the CNRS, she works on the processes of passing from individual memory to collective memory and proposes methods of collecting and enhancing the intangible heritage, particularly on linguistic diversity.

She is Deputy Director of the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery, Treaties and Abolition (in prefiguration).

Isabelle Raboud-Schule holds a Bachelor of Arts in ethnology and musicology from the University of Neuchâtel and wrote her thesis on the neo-handicraft of textile in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (1982). She conducted research and inventory project in local museums in Valais (1984-1996), and established the Musée valaisan de la Vigne et du Vin (vine and wine museum Valais) in Sierre-Salgesch (1989). She was curator of numerous permanent and temporary exhibitions on the history and ethnology of Valais (Grand-St-Bernard, Isérables, Maison des Glaciers in Lourtier). Isabelle did research supported by the Swiss National Foundation for the Société des Traditions populaires (Society for popular traditions) (1992-1994): La chanson populaire dans le Valais romand. She was curator at the Alimentarium, Musée de l’alimentation (museum of nutrition) in Vevey (1994-2006), working on numerous exhibitions and publications (Ferments en Folie, L'eau à la bouche, cuisiner-manger-acheter-digérer). She launched the association Patrimoine culinaire suisse (culinary heritage of Switzerland) (2004-2006) and is member of the expert group.

Since 2006 Isabelle is director of the museum Musée gruérien and the Bibliothèque publique in Bulle: she organises exhibitions and writes publications on social topics, photography, visual and contemporary art. She established a new permanent circuit and a catalogue in cooperation with fifty associate researchers (2011-2012), and Implemented the cultural mediation-program. Since 2010, Musée gruérien is entrusted by the Canton of Fribourg with the inventory of the living traditions of the Canton of Fribourg.

Isabelle is member of the expert group responsible for the creation of the informative directory (2014) for the intangible cultural heritage of Switzerland.

She is manager of the project Traditions vivantes en images (living traditions in pictures) of the Service de la culture of the Canton of Fribourg with the support of ProHelvetia. And member of the Swiss Commission for UNESCO.

Albert van der Zeijden works at the Dutch Centre for Intangible Heritage, that is responsible for the implementation of the UNESO convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage. He is also Research Fellow Intangible Heritage Studies at Utrecht University. His research focuses on processes of social belonging in connection with intangible heritage formation in a superdiverse context. He also writes about controversial heritage, heritage and tourism, and the role of heritage institutions in implementing the UNESCO convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, for which Marc Jacobs, Jorijn Neyrinck and he introduced the concept of 'cultural brokerage' in the UNESCO Convention. For more information see his company websites www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl and www.uu.nl.

Reme Sakr is managing Director of the ‘Living Heritage’ programme at the Syria Trust for Development, a Syrian NGO accredited by UNESCO to provide advisory services to the Committee since 2012. She is Vice Chair of the Syrian Handicrafts enterprise. Syrian Handicrafts works on developing cultural industries which assist in the socioeconomic development of ICH bearers. Various ICH elements are targeted through specific safeguarding programmes, such as programmes for traditional silk production, hand-looming and traditional Aleppan soap. Sakr is member of the National Steering Committee for the restoration of the Old City of Aleppo, a world heritage site; member of the National Creative Cities Committees for Damascus, Aleppo and Tartous and member of the ICH NGO Forum Steering Committee. 

David Vuillaume is the director of the German Museums Association. He has been chairman of The Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) since 2014. He took over the direction of the German Museums Association in October 2017. He was previously head of the joint office of the Swiss Museums Association and of ICOM Switzerland (International Council of Museums) during 11 years. He studied art history, museology, and business administration, and gained extensive experience in project work at various museums and institutions. In addition to his full-time occupation, David Vuillaume is member of the Foundation Board of the Swiss Museum Pass. The Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) elected him to the board in 2012.

Afşin Altaylı is the Museums and Society Coordinator at ICOM. In this capacity, he focuses on contributing to the development of ICOM’s strategy to address social and political themes such as diversity, exclusion, human rights, decolonisation, climate change, migration and sustainable development. He regards promoting the social role of museums as an aim and means to deepening the dialogue around these subjects within the international museum community and to integrating contemporary societal issues in museum and heritage policies.

Before joining the ICOM Secretariat, Afşin, assumed different roles in various ICOM bodies: Secretary of CAMOC, ICOM’s International Committee for City Museums (2016-2018), member of the Museum Definition Working Group (2016-2017) and the Museum Definition, Potentials and Prospects Standing Committee (2017-2018). He coordinated different projects for various public and private museums and institutions specialising in museology, cultural heritage and cultural policy management. Among them were Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture, Turkish Ministry of Culture, EU Culture Programme, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and Istanbul Bilgi University where he lectured in museum studies.

Besides his post at the ICOM Secretariat, Afşin is member of the editorial board at “Museum International” and “Curator: the Museum Journal”. He has been a founding member of the Association of Museum Professionals, Turkey.