What is a UNESCO Chair?
Launched in 1992, the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme promotes international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work.
The Programme supports the establishment of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks in key priority areas related to UNESCO’s fields of competence – i.e. in education, the natural and social sciences, culture and communication.
Through this network, higher education and research institutions all over the globe pool their resources, both human and material, to address pressing challenges and contribute to the development of their societies. In many instances, the Networks and Chairs serve as think tanks and as bridge builders between academia, civil society, local communities, research and policy-making. They have proven useful in informing policy decisions, establishing new teaching initiatives, generating innovation through research and contributing to the enrichment of existing university programmes while promoting cultural diversity. In areas suffering from a dearth of expertise, Chairs and Networks have evolved into poles of excellence and innovation at the regional or sub-regional levels. They also contribute to strengthening North-South-South cooperation.
Source: https://en.unesco.org/unitwin-unesco-chairs-programme
Summary of this Project
The first aim of the Chair is to support and enhance research, improve and disseminate good practices, raise awareness and transmit knowledge about the links between tangible and intangible heritage, namely the importance of traditional know-how in the conservation, preservation and enhancement of cultural movable and immovable heritage.
The Chair will include various levels of studies in Portugal and Cape Verde, which may be broadened and/or transferred to other countries such as Angola and Mozambique and compared with Mediterranean experiences.
Whenever possible, the different seminars and lectures will be delivered by e-learning and other long distance methods already experimented.
A network of researchers and institutions in Mediterranean and African regions will be established within the Chair to promote and integrate research systems, foster mobility among professionals and students, develop training activities and share information and documentation in the areas concerned.
