CIE - Centre for International Heritage Activities
Stichting Centrum voor Internationale Erfgoedactiviteiten
WELCOME TO CIE
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CIE – the Centre for International Heritage Activities is a dynamic, lively and globally connected hub for heritage projects, inclusive training and education, and community-driven initiatives. With a vision to the future, and through research, education, and storytelling, we consider heritage and memory as tools for justice, resilience, and inclusive change. Our work challenges static notions of memory and tradition and asks how heritage can inform the futures we build—socially, culturally, and technologically.
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CIE believes in community empowerment and is dedicated to collaborating with local partners in our global network on training and grassroots initiatives to improve and challenge how heritage is understood, managed, and celebrated around the world.
Signature Programs
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​HeritageLab is CIE’s signature initiative, a multidisciplinary and interactive platform that reflects a growing global desire for communities to actively shape how their heritage is represented, interpreted, and connected to others across borders. It is the creative and hands-on manifestation of the other CIE programs and is a grassroots approach to looking at heritage and community in the face of conflict and contestion.
Hussein al-Jerjawi uses empty UNRWA flour bags as canvases for his artwork depicting everyday life in Gaza [Courtesy of Hussein al-Jerjawi]
CIE announces with relief the evacuation of its teammember Asem Al-Jerjawi from Gaza
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Palestinian journalist and CIE HeritageLab teammember Asem Al Jerjawi, 23, has arrived in Ireland after a long, precarious journey from Gaza.
He will join the University College Dublin’s program in Journalism and International Affairs. He is one of 52 students evacuated by the Irish government on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 and immediately upon arrival served as their spokesperson with Irish media.
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It is a bittersweet moment as he leaves behind his family, friends and his homeland. However, with the targeted murder of so many Palestinian journalists, we are grateful that he now can give voice to those struggling to survive this genocide and to chronicle Gaza’s along history and heritage, all of which has been targeted and dismantled by Israel as a form of erasure.
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In times of forced displacement, and imposed starvation—as we are witnessing in Gaza—truth becomes a lifeline. The stories shared by journalists, photographers, and everyday people, often in real time and at great personal risk, are the last line of defence against erasure. These voices document the unspeakable. They preserve memory. They resist forgetting. Asem is now one of those voice from afar.
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The CIE-Fund for Exceptional Voices is covering his living costs this year. We warmly invite your support — every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.
Scientific Conference 'Underwater Cultural Heritage and the Challenges of Climat Change 19 June 2025 UNESCO Paris
Climate change and anthropogenic activities are placing significant pressures on underwater cultural heritage (UCH).
There is currently limited understanding and preparedness for how these pressures are managed. This scientific conference proposes to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on coastal and underwater cultural heritage, foster dialogue among experts and stakeholders, and promote interdisciplinary collaboration.
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A CIE delegation participate in the important scientific conference. Here the program and have a look at this very intersting white paper: Underwater cultural heritage, climate change: adaptation and mitigation
CIE Re-accredited for UNESCO 2001 Convention at the Meeting of States Parties in Paris
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CIE participates in the 10th Meeting of States Parties to the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, with representation by Robert Parthesius, Talal Al Muhana, and Léa Lydie De Bruycker. The team also contributes to the Scientific Conference on Climate Change and Underwater Cultural Heritage on June 19. On Friday, CIE serves as one of the organisers of the NGO Coordination Meeting, strengthening networks and advocacy efforts within the Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage community.
Heritage & Migration Conference, Dakar
Alia Yunis presented “Datelines: The Journey of the Date Palm from Arabia to South Asia and Africa and Back Again” on Wednesday, 11 June 2025, 15:00–16:45 GMT, in MFB‑Amphi 2.
This paper explores the deep cultural and historical journey of the date palm—from its role as an ancient “superfood” and trade currency, through its entanglement with colonial-era agricultural practices and migrant labor, to its modern implications for heritage, water rights, food sovereignty, and sustainable land-use across Southwest Asia, South Asia, and both northern and southern Africa.