5) Heritage Champions

Marianne R. Ytterdal, Assistant Professor at Aalesund University College in Norway, covering Mercantile, Maritime, and Technical English, Cultural Differences and Project Presentations, recently retired. She studied English and American Languages and Background, History of Art, Nordic languages and literature and Educational Science at the Universities of Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim. She has been active within Europa Nostra since 2000, in the years 2007 – 2009 in the new governance group. She is currently President of the Board of the Kjell Holm Foundation in Norway, which she joined in 2003. For 25 years, the last five as President, she was a board member of Fortidsminneforeningen: The Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments, an NGO that owns and maintains 41 properties of cultural significance. Other cultural heritage boards of interest are: the European Network of National Heritage Organisations, Jugendstilsenteret (The Norwegian Art Nouveau Centre), and Den norske Kulturminnedagen (European Heritage Days). Ytterdal has also published a number of textbooks for the teaching of Technical and Practical English, the most recent having been released in 2015.

Petr graduated from the Pharmaceutical Department of the Charles University followed by a doctoral degree in pharmacology (1985). In 1989, he started developing business for ICI Pharmaceuticals in Czechoslovakia and moved to the UK for ICI/Zeneca in 1992, where he worked in various positions for the UK as well as for a number of European and Asian markets. In 1998 he became the Managing Director for Zeneca in Finland. Consequently he acted as the Managing Director for AstraZeneca, Novartis and Baxter in CZ/Slovakia. When completing the restitution process of inherited estate at the turn of the century, he gradually moved to its management. He joined the Czech Association of Castle and Manor Houses

Owners (AMHZ), was elected to the Board and consequently as Vice-President in 2013. He is currently serving his fourth term as Vice-President. Petr is actively representing AMHZ at the European Historic Houses Association (EHHA) meetings, as well as at other national Association meetings e.g. Austria, UK, NextGen. He was also presenting at the international cultural heritage conference in Dublin in June 2017. In 2018 he was elected to Europa Nostra’s Council. He initiated and consequently completed establishment of Europa Nostra’s Representation in Czech Republic in 2019 of which he is the Head.

Ece is an MA candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Uppsala University with a strong passion for cultural heritage, traditional arts and human rights. With a background in International Relations and Cultural Studies, she aims to work with policies protecting tangible and intangible cultural heritage and ensure their intergenerational transmission. Her other interests include the curation process of the World Heritage List, ethnographic films and heritage tourism.

Agni Petridou studied at the University of Florence receiving a masters degree in architecture. After that she studied urban conservation at the international center ICCROM in Rome and received a specialization diploma in restoration of monuments and sites from the school of architecture of the University of Rome.

She continued her studies at the University in Bristol UK from which she received a master’s degree in Town Planning. For 38 years she has worked for the Μunicipality of Nicosia and she has been the leader of the Nicosia Μaster Plan. The NMP bi-communal team, supported by international institutions was working for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the divided city of Nicosia.

Later, having the position of the director of the technical services of Nicosia municipality, she acquired a remarkable experience in urban rehabilitation and the management of large scale conservation projects. Four of these projects carried out by our team were awarded by Europa Nostra and by The Aga Khan Award for Architecture. During the last six years, she was coordinating the Zaha Hadid project for Eleftheria Square, a major urban design project in the moat of the Venetian walls.

Lesia Voroniuk – Ukrainian cultural curator, Ph.D. in political science, head of the NGO World Vyshyvanka Day. As the main curator or partner has implemented more than 70 projects in Ukraine and abroad. Among the largest – documentaries “Heritage of the Nation”, “Weaving way” “The nightingale sings”, arranging books and art albums, organizing exhibitions, workshops, fashion shows, diplomatic receptions, large-scale information and educational campaigns, festivals, and also reconstruction projects and photo projects. Winner European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards (winner in the category “Citizens Engagement & Awareness-raising” and the Public Choice Award).

Sadi Petrela has been Executive Director of the Gjirokastra Foundation for the past 15 years, an organisation which has undertaken over 20 years of uninterrupted activity in culture conservation and development in the UNESCO site Gjirokastra in Albania. Previous to this role, Sadi Petrela has gained extensive experience in journalism, media ethics and history teaching.
Year on year, the Gjirokastra Foundation developed an intense and multifaceted activity in the conservation and development of the vast heritage in Gjirokastra (both town and surrounding area) and, in some cases, elsewhere in both Albania and neighbouring countries.
They have developed more than 50 projects, both large and small, covering almost all different areas of cultural heritage in Albania. Their fundraising and various projects with new innovative approaches have earned the Foundation a strong reputation at both national and regional levels.
The Foundation’s projects include, among others: the restoration and revitalization of traditional buildings; the preservation and development of traditional arts and crafts; creating a new historic museum of Gjirokastra and opening up a tunnel from Communist times as a tourist attraction; the development of traditional cuisine. The Gjirokastra Foundation uses a participatory approach and community involvement in culture heritage management, connecting the city with similar historic centres. Their activities are considered groundbreaking and example creating for Albania and the wider area, especially considering the difficult political, economic and social environment in which they are undertaken. Gjirokastra Foundation is a winner of European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Award in the category of Dedicated Service to Heritage for the year 2021.