The Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Kraków, in partnership with the the Centre of Community Archives in Warsaw, established and operated the “Community Archive for Heritage Activism in Central and Eastern Europe” in 2024, which ran for one year. The project aimed to document and digitise activities related to heritage activism across our part of the continent, creating a space for sharing best practices in heritage protection. It focused on the work of civil society organisations, informal groups, and individuals, highlighting the evolving social awareness and responsibility in this field.
The archive gathered audio recordings, transcriptions of interviews, and photographs, available in both Polish and English. It was developed based on the Open Archiving System (OAS), adhering to international standards.
In collaboration with the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the Jagiellonian University, the Europa Nostra Heritage Hub team carried out a pioneering project titled “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukrainians in Poland: Mapping and Dissemination”. As part of this initiative, an English-language series of podcasts was produced under the series “Ukraine Heritage Spotlight” — featuring episodes on Nadsanie, Lemkos, and Podlasie — focusing on Ukrainian intangible heritage in Poland. These podcasts include excerpts of the interviews we conducted; the full recordings are available in the “Community Archive for Heritage Activism in Central and Eastern Europe”. They give voice to local communities and researchers from the Nadsanie, Lemko, and Podlasie regions. Each episode showcases unique practices, traditions, and stories related to Ukrainian heritage in these areas, helping listeners worldwide gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of this legacy.
As grassroots initiatives, societal archives today serve as active sites for heritage preservation and champions of interdisciplinary cooperation and participation. They enable capturing both individual and collective historical experiences, which then inform activist actions.