Culture as a space for a sustainable future

Three days in Šibenik, at the workshop on the sustainable reuse of cultural heritage infrastructure within the EU project GIFTSnet, brought me back to what I keep in focus : culture as a space where we learn to see connections between different systems – social, cultural and economic – and to shape our future together.

A meeting of different roles and experiences

In one room, there were people who do not usually work together: museum directors, conservators, representatives of cities and municipalities, people from tourism organisations, development agencies, the NGO sector and private companies.

From Karlovac, Trebinje, Banja Luka, Bar, Ulcinj, Šibenik.

This diversity enabled us to have meaningful exchange of experiences and shared reflections.

From theory to very concrete solutions

The workshop programme was structured over three days, and it followed one clear shift: from individual decisions towards understanding systems.

On the first day, we worked on green public procurement – as a process through which purchasing decisions influence how something is produced, how it reaches us and what happens with it afterwards.

When we choose paper, lighting, catering or promotional materials, we also choose sources of raw materials, production conditions, transport and the amount of waste.

In one task, the teams designed their own green procurement calls – with criteria such as local production, plastic-free packaging or low-emission transport.

In this process, procurement was no longer a technical question. It became a way of making decisions about what kinds of products we support, who we work with and what kind of impact we create.

On the second day, we opened the topic of carbon footprint.

Through the work, we explored where the greatest impact actually occurs. The key insight for many participants was that most of the impact does not happen “on pur premises”, but across the system: in procurement, travel, logistics and audience behaviour.

On the third day, we focused on the energy efficiency of heritage sites – how to improve energy performance without compromising the value and identity of the space.

The city as a space for learning

One of the most valuable parts of the workshop took place while walking through the city. Through a guided tour of Šibenik, theory became tangible.

At St. John’s Fortress, we saw how the city is strategically positioned in relation to resources, wind, water and defence. In the old town, sustainability could be read through space: narrow streets, shade, the orientation of houses, the use of local stone.

At the site of the former marketplace, we spoke about short supply chains – without packaging, without long transport, connected to the local hinterland.

Through examples of water, energy and construction, it became clear that sustainability is often already embedded in heritage – we just need to learn how to read it again.

Where culture connects worlds

What these kinds of encounters keep showing is:

• that sustainability begins in how we see relationships and interdependencies

• that change happens through encounters – between people, sectors and ideas

• and that culture has a unique capacity to create the space where these encounters can take place

This is why we believe in its active role in shaping a more sustainable future.