University of Ljubljana’s Sustainable Heritage Summer School 2025

Inclusive Urban Regeneration of Historical Centres

Between 18 and 24 June 2025, the Interdisciplinary Institute of the University of Ljubljana for Sustainable Protection of Heritage (ITD UL) is organising the 5th University of Ljubljana’s Sustainable Heritage Summer School. The title of this year’s topic is Inclusive Urban Regeneration of Historical Centres.

The Summer School will explore the challenges of planning urban regeneration of historical city centres and smaller towns in an inclusive manner. We will focus on involving local stakeholders, especially residents and those who influence the development of historical centres through political and professional decisions. We will present examples of successful approaches that are gradually gaining recognition in our practice and working methods that could improve cooperation and revitalisation, as many historical city or town centres are, sadly, losing their vitality with service activities closing down or moving to commercial centres on the outskirts.

The Summer School is related to the content of the basic research project titled Heritage for Inclusive Sustainable Transformation (HEI-Transform), which focuses on exploring sustainable approaches to revitalise heritage through adaptive reuse projects. Alongside the environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability, we also highlight the importance of the social aspect, which represents a crucial asset for the local communities to achieve a balanced and equitable future development for all.

Using two concrete examples – the town of Ajdovščina and the historical centre of Kamnik – we will analyse the conditions and requirements for successful cooperation between all stakeholders involved and explore the possibilities for reversing the trends of the depopulation or touristification of the oldest parts of many towns and cities in favour of their sustainable revitalisation. We will examine how heritage professionals, decision-makers and, above all, local people can contribute to this aim. The work will be divided into three workshops, two of which will take place in the field. We will familiarise ourselves with the processes and challenges involved in inclusive stakeholder participation in the local community in Ajdovščina while simultaneously outlining an inclusive action project in Kamnik. The latter, taking place in the field, will aim to raise awareness and activate the local population through concrete activities in the heart of the historical part of Kamnik. In designing the action, its participants will cooperate with crucial local partners: members of the Priden možic society, the Štajn arhitekti group, and the Kamnik Institute for Culture.

We will seek answers to the following questions:

WHAT ARE THE CRUCIAL CHALLENGES OF INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION IN URBAN REGENERATION PROCESSES?

WHO ARE THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS, AND HOW DO THEY COOPERATE IN PRACTICE?

HOW TO STEER COOPERATION PROCESSES FOR INCLUSIVE URBAN REGENERATION?

To encourage inclusive approaches to revitalising and managing heritage sites, especially the historical centres of our cities and towns. Heritage is an irreplaceable resource we have created and co-shaped over centuries of practice. Today, its protection and management require tailored, democratic approaches involving all stakeholders: the local population, political decision-makers, experts, economists, etc.

Such starting points are highlighted by the international heritage conservation documents and the current realities and development challenges. Hence, becoming more familiar with them and learning about the appropriate tools and approaches for successful planning is vital.

The Summer School is intended for students (undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral level) as well as all professionals dealing with the subject under consideration in practice: experts in the field of heritage protection, architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, tourism, and various heritage disciplines, representatives of local communities, and decision-makers at all levels in Slovenia and the broader region.

The Summer School will take place at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana and on-site in Kamnik and Ajdovščina.

Active participation is foreseen for all participants. Anyone who would like to present challenges from their environment related to urban regeneration issues in the framework of thematic workshops is cordially invited. The presentations should be between five and seven minutes long. Please send your five-page presentation proposals (in the PPT or PDF format) to the e-mail address trajnostna.dediscina@fa.uni-lj.si by 12 June 2025.

Jasna Fakin Bajec

Dr Jasna Fakin Bajec is a researcher at the Institute of Culture and Memory Studies, ZRC SAZU, and a lecturer at the School of Humanities, University of Nova Gorica. Her research interests focus on the socio-political, economic, and developmental relevance of cultural heritage in the contemporary world; the development of participatory methods and tools for establishing an integrated approach to the conservation and management of cultural heritage; the empowerment and inclusion of marginalised groups in heritage practices; and ways of preserving cultural and human rights when using cultural practices for commercial purposes. She has been involved in several applied European projects (e.g. Interreg projects), where she has had the opportunity to learn about and reflect on ways of creating heritage between amateurism and the influences of European financial policies and strategies. She conducts cultural studies research and implements theoretical findings in the Kras region and Vipavska dolina valley.

She has published the results of her heritage and cultural studies research in several scientific and expert articles, collective volumes, and the book Procesi ustvarjanja kulturne dediščine (Cultural Heritage Creation Processes, 2011).

Jelka Pirkovič

Assistant Professor Dr Jelka Pirkovič began her professional career at the Slovenian Urban Planning Institute in Ljubljana. Subsequently, she was appointed Senior Conservator at the Slovenian Institute for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage, where she later served a four-year term as Director from 1991 to 1995. After the Institute was reorganised and partially merged into the Ministry of Culture, she held various positions there, including Deputy Minister for Culture from 2004 to 2008. From 2009 to 2014, she was Director General of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia. Upon completing her term, she retired. However, from 2020 to 2022, she rejoined the Ministry of Culture as Director General of the Cultural Heritage Directorate. Since then, she has resumed her retirement but continues to teach at the University of Ljubljana and the New University.

She was involved in the Council of Europe bodies, particularly in drafting the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (2005) and the European Heritage Strategy for the 21st Century (2017).

She is a long-standing member of ICOMOS Slovenia. She is also an active member of ICLAFI, TheoPhilos and OCD-RBA WG.

Katja Zajc Kejžar, Nina Ponikvar, Iana Bilynets

Professor Dr Katja Zajc Kejžar, Associate Professor Dr Nina Ponikvar, and Dr Iana Bilynets are employed at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. Their research activities include economic evaluations and economic assessments of projects, also in the field of cultural heritage. Professor Dr Katja Zajc Kejžar is a member of the Department of International Economics and Business, Associate Professor Dr Nina Ponikvar is a member of the Department of Economics, while Dr Iana Bilynets works at the School as a research fellow. All three are actively involved in the transdisciplinary project HEI Transform, which focuses on identifying the developmental and sustainability potential of built cultural heritage.

By taking part in the Summer School, each participant will receive a participation certificate and earn the following credits:

students (undergraduate and master’s studies): 3 ECTS

students of the Architecture doctoral programme of the University of Ljubljana: 5 ECTS

members of the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia: TBA pts

You can register for the Summer School using the online form: Application form

Until 10 June 2025

Application form

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