Sustainable Cultural Heritage Network in Crete Inaugural Meeting, Chania, May 2025
On 28 May 2025, the Sustainable Cultural Heritage Network HI-EURECA-PRO, part of the Cultural Heritage Demo Site in Crete, successfully held its inaugural meeting at the Amphitheatre of the Chania Archaeological Museum. The meeting was organized by the European project HI-EURECA-PRO (Heritage Innovation in EURECA-PRO alliance) coordinator, the Technical University of Crete, with the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture-Chania Ephorate of Antiquities. The Sustainable Cultural Heritage Network HI-EURECA-PRO is dedicated to reinforcing pathways within the Quintuple Helix of Innovation. This network unites representatives from five key sectors culture, environment, science, entrepreneurship and local government. Their collective
Picture 1: Crete’s Demo site ecosystem Reinforcing pathways in the Quintuple Helix of Innovation
The meeting was attended by Professor Michail Zervakis, Rector of the Technical University of Crete, Professor Marek Pawełczyk, Rector of Politechnika Śląska (Poland), and Professor Sorin Mihai Radu, Rector of Universitatea din Petroșani (Romania), representing the consortium of HI-EURECA-PRO universities based in the widening countries (Poland, Greece and Romania).
The coordinator of HI-EURECA-PRO, Professor Theocharis Tsoutsos from the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Crete, outlined the opportunities offered by HI-EURECA-PRO for Sustainable Cultural Heritage: Innovation, Synergies, and Development Prospects in Crete.
Professor Konstantinos-Alketas Oungrinis, Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at the Technical University of Crete, introduced the current status of the cultural heritage sector, and explored the challenges of Sustainability and Innovation on the island.
Afterwards , an interactive workshop coordinated by Professor Despoina Dimelli, Vice Rector for Administrative, Technical Affairs and Student Welfare was held, where participants identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the sustainable management of cultural heritage.
During the network’s workshop, all stakeholders worked together to identify the opportunities and threats of sustainable cultural heritage of the Cultural Heritage Demo Site of Crete.
Furthermore, Ms. Stavroula Tournaki, Head of European Programmes at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems Laboratory, presented the goals, actions, and synergies of the HI-EURECA-PRO Network for Sustainable Cultural Heritage in Crete.
The event concluded with an open discussion, during which participants proposed future initiatives and emphasized the need for cross-sectoral collaboration, coordination, and continuous knowledge exchange.
Active participants in the discussion where the following, who made contributions representing their respective institutions (in alphabetical order):
- Region of Crete
- Chania Regional Unit
- Chania Ephorate of Antiquities
- Regional Association of Municipalities of Crete
- Municipality of Chania
- Municipality of Rethymno
- Technical Chamber of Greece
- Chania Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Chania Hoteliers Association
- Orthodox Academy of Crete
- BEST Chania Student Association
- Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH)
- Technical University of Crete, Schools of Architecture, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
