Over its first three years, the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University has been engaging in an extensive programme of national and international collaboration in research and training. We presented our work and agenda on many occasions in Sweden and around the world. In this report, we document the progress made by the entire team over our third year of activities. Please note especially the many topical publications this year.

The impact of Covid-19 meant that after mid-March our planned trips for research and conferences were cancelled. But it also meant that we got used to efficient meetings with colleagues in Zoom and other digital environments and that we had more time to write at home. We also got to think about the implications of the corona virus, which still holds the world in its grip, for heritage, heritage futures and the future of society at large (see following double page).

Background

Heritage futures are concerned with the roles of heritage in managing the relations between present and futuresocieties, e.g. through anticipation, planning, and prefiguration. Our work is dedicated to developingprofessional strategies that can enhance how heritage shapes the future. We ask questions such as: Which future do we preserve the heritage for? Which heritage will benefit future generations most? How can we build capacity in future thinking (futures literacy) among heritage professionals worldwide?

The UNESCO Chair Programme addresses pressing challenges in society. The chairs serve as think-tanks and bridge-builders between human communities, civil society, academia, and policy-making, generating innova-tion through research, informing policy decisions and establishing new teaching initiatives. The UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University is one of eight UNESCO Chairs in Sweden and the only one in the area of culture.