Events & Festivals
7th Summer School for the Cultural Heritage of Rural Areas
The 7th Summer School for the Cultural Heritage of Rural Areas takes place in Dimitsana from 26 to 30 July 2026 as a capacity-building workshop on “Developing plans for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage”.
Theme and programme
The programme introduces participants to the principles and practical tools used to develop safeguarding plans under the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Through training sessions, group exercises, case studies and fieldwork with local organisations and communities, it focuses particularly on safeguarding traditional arts, crafts and technical knowledge and on transmitting the associated skills between generations.
The daily programme includes morning and afternoon sessions and workshops, together with educational visits to neighbouring settlements of Gortynia with long traditions in traditional arts and crafts. The working language of the 2026 Summer School is English.
Organisation
The school is organised by the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, the Dimitsana Conference and Cultural Centre, the Region of Peloponnese, the Municipality of Gortynia, the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation and its Open-Air Water Power Museum, Mainalon Social Cooperative Enterprise, and other local organisations and residents.