Sharing scientific advancement and its benefits through participatory research: examples from Northern Italy 

The 27 article of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948, establishes that everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits, a concept that has been repeated in several conventions and recommendations regarding cultural heritage from then on. Similarly, the Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro, 2005), has emphasized this concept underlining how cultural heritage is important because of the meanings and uses that people attach to it and the values they represent. More recently (2021) the UNESCO recommendations on open science refer to extended collaboration between scientists and societal actors beyond the scientific community, giving all stakeholders a voice in developing research that is compatible with their concerns, needs and aspirations.

Inspired by these concepts this presentation will reflect on new approaches to cultural heritage today including research, publication and high education didactics. It will also explain how the team of archaeologist from the university of Padova is developing creative ways of managing cultural heritage assets with active civil society involvement, particularly developing a concrete participatory research method of individualizing and recording local cultural heritage with the collaboration of local communities as well as disseminating the results of the project using an open access participatory platform in order to ensure that cultural heritage contributes to the social, cultural and economic dynamics of the communities.