IN2PAST positions itself as an Associated Laboratory of reference for the study and valorization of cultural heritage, understood in its material and immaterial dimensions, and is the result of a consortium formed by seven research units (CESEM, CHAIA, CRIA, HERCULES, IHA, IHC and LAB2PT) based at NOVA FCSH, University of Évora, University of Minho, ISCTE and University of Coimbra.
IN2PAST promotes intensive cooperation between laboratory and theoretical-empirical research, and innovative practices, benefiting from the cooperation network that links it to various entities, institutions and cultural displays existing in the country.
Researching on the past of territories and populations, as well as the present ways of using these pasts, IN2PAST will be a fundamental instrument for research and innovation in terms of both the identification and safeguarding of cultural heritage, and the promotion of a cultural identity and of an inclusive civic memory. Responding to the desire for cultural, social and environmental development of cities and regions, the Laboratory's intervention will have effects in the short and medium terms in the renewal of the cultural, tourism and leisure economy, as well as in the development and operationalization of public policies; in the long term, the activity of the Laboratory will contribute to the cultural qualification of territories and population.
IN2PAST associates seven research units with great territorial coverage, and a unique multidisciplinary team in the country, resulting in an effect of scale and transdisciplinary that allows new competitive conditions to the experience that the associated units already demonstrate in terms of raising and diversifying funding (national and international), and in terms of strategic and fundamental research, scientific consultancy or postgraduate training.
The scientific ambition and public impact of the Laboratory will be accompanied by the consolidation of the career of a group of researchers of excellence in the fields of conservation and study of heritage, the arts and the humanities.
Thematic Lines
TL1 — Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage
TL2 — Landscapes, Territories and Cultural Heritage
TL3 — Museums, Monuments and their Collections
TL4 — Archives, from Preventive Preservation to Digitalisation
TL5 — Cultural Circulation, Public Policies on Memory and Inclusive Citizenship
Coordinator: António Candeias (HERCULES/UE)
Main R&D Unit: HERCULES Laboratory - Cultural Heritage, Studies and Safeguard
Other R&D Units: CESEM - Centre for the Study of the Sociology and Aesthetics of Music; CHAIA - Centre for Art History and Artistic Research; CRIA - Centre for Research in Anthropology; IHC - Institute of Contemporary History; IHA - Art History Institute; LAB2PT - Landscapes, Heritage and Territory Laboratory
Main Management Institution: Universidade de Évora (UE)
Other Participant and Management Institutions: Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia (CRIA); ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL); Universidade de Coimbra (UC); Universidade do Minho (UM); Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL)
Funded by FCT, I. P. (LA/P/0132/2020)
