Today, heritage is no longer understood as a static collection of tangible and intangible assets that merely need to be preserved and interpreted. Rather, it is a dynamic and frequently contested field in which the social, political, economic and technological transformations of the contemporary world intersect. In the context of accelerating global processes, including digitalization, climate change, migration, tourism, urbanization and shifting identities, the concept of heritage is continually being redefined, as is the role of the professionals, institutions and communities that create, safeguard and transmit it.

One of the key challenges concerns sustainability: how can heritage be preserved in the face of climate change, natural disasters and intense tourism pressure while simultaneously ensuring its accessibility and relevance to contemporary society? Digital technologies offer new opportunities for documentation, interpretation and participation, but they also raise questions concerning authenticity, long-term preservation and digital inequality.

There is also a growing need to involve communities in heritage-related decision-making, shifting the emphasis from institutional management towards participatory models. In this context, questions of representation, inclusion and the visibility of marginalized groups are becoming increasingly important, as are issues surrounding “difficult” or contested heritage, which require sensitive and responsible approaches to interpretation.

Furthermore, heritage is increasingly becoming a space for social dialogue, but also for conflict, ranging from questions of ownership and restitution to differing interpretations of the past. In these circumstances, heritage professionals face the need to adopt interdisciplinary approaches and new working methodologies, while continually reassessing their own practices.

The conference seeks to provide a forum for discussing these and other contemporary heritage-related issues, to encourage the exchange of knowledge and experience, and to contribute to the development of innovative and inclusive approaches in both theory and practice, thereby marking European Heritage Days 2026.

In addition to facilitating the exchange of academic and professional knowledge, the conference aims to foster stronger cooperation among research and professional centres operating in Croatia that address culture, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the arts, sustainable development and education, but have not yet worked together in a coordinated manner. The conference will provide an opportunity for centres working on related topics to come together, present their activities and explore opportunities for long-term cooperation. This will create scope for interdisciplinary dialogue on current challenges and future perspectives in the field of heritage, as well as for considering potential forms of cooperation and the role of existing centers. In this regard, we see the conference as a starting point for future collaboration among centers on a range of topics relating to culture, education and sustainable development.

More about the conference: https://bore.irmo.hr/european-heritage-days-2026/

The paper examines the green urban renewal which requires coordination among climate adaptation, water management, biodiversity conservation, and spatial planning within coherent policy frameworks. This research presents a structured analytical framework for evaluating how nature-based solutions (NbS) and natural water retention measures (NWRM) are represented in local and national policy documents, using Zagreb, Croatia, as a case study. The analysis combined qualitative content analysis, semi-quantitative assessment, and comparative policy-coherence analysis of strategic, planning, and legislative documents. Recent strategic documents showed the broadest documentary coverage of climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable water management, and green infrastructure, whereas legislative and statutory planning documents contained more function-specific provisions. Economic feasibility, adaptive management, and several implementation-related provisions were less consistently represented. Cross-level comparison further identified stronger alignment between several recent Zagreb strategic documents and national climate and water policy documents. The paper contributes a structured adaptation of IUCN-derived criteria for cross-level policy-document analysis, while its applicability in other legal and urban contexts requires comparative testing.

The paper is available in open access at:

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/15/8/1507

https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081507

At the conference, she presented a scientific paper titled “Bioeconomy as a Driver of Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century,” co-authored with Sanja Tišma (IRMO) and Milenko Krajišnik (Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka).

The paper analyses the contribution of the bioeconomy to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular emphasis on responsible consumption and production, climate action, and decent work and economic growth. The authors employed a combination of policy analysis, a systematic literature review, and research conducted through a survey.

The results of the research show that 66.5% of respondents believe the bioeconomy can make a significant contribution to sustainable development, yet only 26.7% state that they are genuinely familiar with the concept, pointing to a clear gap between support and understanding. Furthermore, only 33.8% of respondents are willing to pay a 10–15% higher price for products made from agricultural waste, while respondents identify the main barrier to wider adoption of bio-based products not as price, but as a lack of information (37.4%). Finally, 74.1% of respondents believe that the role of the state, through subsidies and regulation, is key to the development of the bioeconomy.

Poveznica:The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Sustainability and Governance Systems

This year, more than 180 abstracts have been accepted for the Conference, signed by more than 310 authors from 36 different countries (Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, UAE, Ukraine).

On the first day of the conference, 10 June, the authors presented their paper entitled “Linking the Biodiversity Conservation Policies and the Danube Macro-Region Economic Sustainable Development.”

The paper examines the role of biodiversity conservation policies within the framework of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (EUBDS). Its objective is to identify opportunities for the sustainable economic integration of biodiversity conservation practices through the implementation of the EUSDR.

The study applies a compliance analysis to assess the level of alignment between Priority Area 6 – Biodiversity (PA6) of the EUSDR and two key policy documents that constitute the European Union’s biodiversity policy framework: the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the European Green Deal.

The findings indicate a high degree of alignment between EUSDR Priority Area 6 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. However, the analysis also reveals the absence of policies that effectively connect economic development, the financial sector, and biodiversity conservation.

Based on the findings, the authors propose several new mechanisms to bridge the identified implementation gaps, including the Biodiversity Flagship, the Danube Biodiversity Business Council, and the Biodiversity Web/Mobile Application, all aimed at strengthening the integration of biodiversity conservation into sustainable economic development within the Danube macro-region.

The analysis is based on original empirical research conducted within a national capacity-building programme on artificial intelligence for public institutions in Croatia, implemented by the State School for Public Administration. The study draws on survey data collected from 154 public officials representing ministries, public agencies, cities, counties and other public bodies, complemented by qualitative insights from structured workshop-based exercises.
The paper highlights uneven levels of AI literacy and institutional preparedness across public administration. It argues that the integration of artificial intelligence into urban governance should not be understood merely as a technical innovation, but as a broader socio-institutional transformation requiring organisational learning, regulatory compliance, ethical standards and clearly defined human responsibility.

More about the book chapter: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-14082-1_8