On 17 April 2026, on the occasion of the International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day, the TRANSITION project organised a webinar dedicated to the role of cultural heritage in contexts affected by conflict, fragility and social change. The event was held online via Zoom from 10:30 to 11:30 am CEST and brought together experts and researchers from partner institutions to reflect on the importance of preserving and understanding cultural heritage in challenging environments.
Celebrated each year on 18 April, the ICOMOS International Day for Monuments and Sites offers heritage professionals, enthusiasts and ICOMOS members an opportunity to highlight the shared responsibility of safeguarding heritage. In 2026, the Day placed a special focus on the protection of the world’s “Living Heritage”, drawing attention to the efforts undertaken to conserve culturally significant heritage increasingly threatened by accelerating disasters, conflicts and complex multi-hazard contexts. In this framework, the webinar organised by TRANSITION closely reflected the spirit of the international celebration.
The webinar opened with introductory remarks by Silvia Marchionne, Senior Project Manager at UNIMED, who welcomed participants and introduced the session. This was followed by a presentation of the TRANSITION project by Dr. Dilshad A. Haleem, Vice President of the University of Duhok and Scientific Coordinator of the project, who outlined the initiative’s objectives and relevance in promoting the preservation of cultural heritage in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Yemen. It is worthwhile to mention that this is the first time that a Kurdish university is leading a Capacity Building for higher education project within the Erasmus+ programme.
The programme then offered an overview of the #TRANSITIONPodcast, Conversations Around Cultural Heritage, presented by Dr. Sonia Bombico, Researcher at the University of Évora. Her contribution highlighted the podcast – already at its second episode – as a space for dialogue and exchange on the many dimensions of cultural tangible and intangible heritage and its role in contemporary societies. In particular she highlighted the importance of promoting critical reflection and critical debate on such sensitive and vital topics.
The discussion continued with Dr. Ghiath Rammo, Researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, who addressed dialogue as a tool for understanding tangible and intangible heritage, focusing in particular on the case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Yezidi community. With the words of Dr. Rammo, heritage means identity and in this perspective, that the webinar also featured Dr. Haifa Mackawee, Professor at the University of Aden, who explored the theme of living heritage in Yemen through the example of the city of Aden, shedding light on the enduring value of cultural heritage in areas marked by instability and transformation.
The event concluded with a Q&A session, which gave participants the opportunity to engage with the speakers and further reflect on the challenges and opportunities related to cultural heritage in conflict-affected settings. Through this webinar, the TRANSITION project reaffirmed its commitment to fostering dialogue, knowledge-sharing and cooperation around the preservation of cultural heritage as a driver of resilience, identity and social cohesion.
The recording of the webinar is available here.
The presentations of the speakers are listed below:
- Overview of the TRANSITION project – Dilshad A. Haleem
- Overview of the TRANSITION Podcast “Conversations Around Cultural Heritage” – Sonia Bombico
- Dialogue as a tool to understand (in)tangible heritage. The case of Kurdistan region of Iraq – Ghiath Rammo