Clara Sarmento, director of the Centre for Intercultural Studies (CEI) at ISCAP-P.PORTO and recently appointed as P.PORTO’s representative to ARCHE – the Alliance for Research on Cultural Heritage in Europe – participated in the ARCHE Final Event “Bridging Towards Resilient Cultural Heritage”, held on 11-12 September 2025 at Tour & Taxis, Brussels.
The event spanned two half-days and featured high-level interventions from representatives of the European Commission and the Foundation for Heritage Science. It celebrated ARCHE’s achievements – including the release of the new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) – and offered debates on the present and future of cultural heritage research, focusing on the challenges of transferring scientific results into policy and decision-making contexts.
This event marked the conclusion of the ARCHE project, which over the past three years has worked to coordinate and strengthen European research on cultural heritage under Horizon Europe.
Highlights included:
- The launch of the SRIA, outlining priorities for future European investment and collaboration in heritage research.
- High-level discussions on how research can better inform policy in key areas such as digital curation, climate change, sustainability, and open access.
- Interactive workshops focused on capacity-building, living labs, knowledge hubs, and stakeholder engagement strategies.
ARCHE has been the preparatory project for the upcoming RCH Partnership. Resilient Cultural Heritage (RCH) is a European Commission (EC) proposal for a European Partnership under the Research and Innovation Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society. Clara Sarmento’s participation reinforces P.PORTO’s commitment to advancing intercultural dialogue and contributing to the shaping of European research agend agendas that address the pressing challenges of cultural heritage preservation and resilience.