European partners meet at the São Bento Palace to advance inclusive heritage education and sustainable learning within TOWCHED project
From 9th to 11th July 2025, the Portuguese Parliament hosted a key meeting for the European project TOWCHED – Transforming Our World: Collections at the Heart of Life-long Learning and Education, part of the European framework program for research and innovation, Horizon Europe. The project is coordinated by the University of Valencia and led by Ester Alba Pagán, Professor of the Department of Art History.
The event took place at the iconic São Bento Palace, headquarters of the Portuguese Parliament, and was generously hosted by YEEA – Young Educators European Association, one of the project's partner organisations.
TOWCHED brings together cultural institutions and stakeholders from across Europe with the shared mission of fostering inclusive and sustainable learning practices through the lens of cultural heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This three-day technical meeting was a strategic opportunity to align progress, share lessons learned, and define the consortium's next steps.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the presentation of the nine museums that will host the project's pilot programs in Greece, Spain, and Latvia. These museums include both national and regional institutions, with highly diverse collections and focuses—from poetry and literature to natural history—reflecting the richness and variety of European cultural heritage. In Spain, the participating museums will include the Museum of Romanticism (Madrid), the González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts (Valencia), and the Museum of Natural History of the University of Valencia (Valencia).
Furthermore, TOWCHED project is proud to be introducing two innovative methodologies, never before applied in the fields of cultural heritage and education: the Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA), which promotes active, free, and meaningful participation, and the Theory of Change, a strategic framework for identifying challenges, outcomes, and long-term impacts.
Both methodologies are being used to design tools and strategies geared towards lifelong learning, ensuring that heritage education contributes significantly to Education for Sustainable Development.
Artistic interventions and moments of creative reflection were also incorporated, reaffirming the project's commitment to multidisciplinary and participatory methods in education.
For more information, visit our website and our social media channels: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky.
#Towched #TowchedEU #Towched4education #Heritage4Education
TOWCHED Consortium:
• University of Valencia, Spain
• International Centre for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Italy
• International Institute for Environment and Development in Europe, Netherlands
• Network of European Museum Organizations, Germany
• European Association of Young Educators, Portugal
• KULTURALL, Serbia
• Climate Academy, Belgium
• ZEMOS 98, Spain
• Latvian Museum Association, Lithuania
• Byzantine and Christian Museum, Greece
Contact:
Mar Gaitán
Coordination and Research
Universitat de València
m.gaisal@uv.es
Indra Ramírez
Coordination and Research
Universitat de València
indra.ramirez@uv.es
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Towched has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe
Framework Programme under grant agreement 101177736
