HeritageLab Project: Major Success in Rediscovering Cultural Heritage and Innovative Education

Assistant Professor E. Nurcan Yalman of İstanbul Nişantaşı University achieved internationally recognised success in 2024 through an important project. HeritageLab is a web platform whose development began around three years ago with a small team of researchers, students—including archaeologists, heritage specialists, artists and writers—and technical experts. Focusing on sustainability, social impact and inclusion, it provides a democratic, collaborative environment that encourages future generations to preserve and understand cultural and natural heritage and serves as a starting point for many specialists’ careers.

HeritageLab offers opportunities through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches for newcomers and experienced heritage professionals alike. It aims to actively reassess and reinterpret official heritage narratives, encouraging alternative approaches to inclusive, sustainable heritage management. Its broad scope brings together traditional fields such as archaeology, anthropology and conservation with environmental science, biology, agriculture, history, art history, political science, literature and art.

HeritageLab achieved significant international recognition by receiving the 2024 World Heritage Education Innovative Cases Award from the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP), during the 2024 UNESCO World Heritage Committee session. The award was announced on 23 July 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi during “Science, Creativity, Empowerment – World Heritage Education for the Future.” Jointly organised by WHITRAP and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), the event provided a strong platform for global partnerships and knowledge sharing.

Selected from more than 100 applications worldwide, HeritageLab was represented by its core team led by Prof. Dr. Robert Parthesius. Alia Yunis and Salama Al Faheem accepted the award on its behalf. The project attracted wide international attention through innovative approaches and a multifaceted perspective on heritage studies.

One of its Co-Lab projects, “Local Communities’ Perceptions of Sultanahmet Archaeological Park: A Social Memory Study,” is led by Assistant Professor E. Nurcan Yalman and her students. To be presented at this year’s European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting in Rome, it examines the park’s impact on local communities and its place in social memory. The study contributes to more participatory, sustainable heritage management approaches.

İstanbul Nişantaşı University is a project partner in HeritageLab and is proud to contribute to this important initiative. The university continues to play an active academic role through projects that enhance international visibility and generate social contributions.

For more information about HeritageLab and detailed project content, visit the HeritageLab website.