The speakers for the FRH Conference “Religious Heritage in Transition: Challenges and Solutions” are confirmed!

Sub-theme 1: Resilient Heritage

Nazar Kozak

Senior Researcher at the Department of Art History in the Ethnology Institute (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

Keynote speaker. Nazar Kozak serves as a Senior Researcher at the Department of Art History in the Ethnology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He earned his PhD from the Lviv Academy of Arts in 2000. Kozak was a recipient of several international scholarships and grants, including from the Fulbright Foundation (2016), Getty Research Institute (2019) and others. In 2001–2022, he taught art history at Ivan Franko University of Lviv. Kozak’s research focuses on political iconography and art exchanges within (post-)Byzantine cultural sphere. He also examines how contemporary art intersects with revolutions, wars, and ecological disasters.

Romas Jakubauskas

Head of the Sunni Muslim Religious Centre in Lithuania (Mufti of Lithuania)

Romas Jakubauskas, born December 18, 1973, in Kaunas, Lithuania, is a prominent figure in Lithuania’s Muslim community. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Jinan, Tripoli, Lebanon. Serving as President of the Muslim Religious Community of Kaunas Region and Mufti of Lithuanian Muslims, he has been actively involved in religious education, interfaith dialogue, and Halal supervision across the Baltic States. With fluency in several languages, including Lithuanian, Arabic, and English, Jakubauskas has participated in numerous international conferences and seminars advocating for religious tolerance and understanding. He has translated significant Islamic texts into Lithuanian, including the Holy Quran.

Lucía Conte

Post-Doctoral Researcher, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Dr. Lucía Conte researches Medieval and Modern Jewish History and early Hebrew printing at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She has been a visiting researcher at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a visiting lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A scientific assessor for the strategic plan “Aragón Sefarad: Legado y Memoria”, she leads the project for the recovery of Jewish Heritage in Híjar along with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Town council and is a member of the Jewish Heritage Network MORESHET, giving lectures about Híjar’s Jewish heritage recovery in Europe, the United States and Israel.

Patty Wageman

Director of the Groningen Historic Churches Foundation (Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken)

Patty Wageman is an art historian and worked in several Dutch museums for many years before becoming the director of the Historic Groningen Churches Foundation (Groninger Kerken). This foundation owns more than one hundred churches in the region of Groningen (the Netherlands) and plays a pivotal role in conserving them for the future, and creating awareness of this particular cultural heritage amongst a wide and diverse audience. Before assuming her role at the foundation, she was director of the Museum De Buitenplaats Eelde. She has a lot of administrative experience, including as chair of the Arts Advisory Committee, Arts Council Groningen for the 2017-2020 subsidy round, and as a member of the Work Advisory Council of the Frank Mohr Institute, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.

Sare Nur Avcı

MSc Architect

Sare Nur Avcı completed her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey, in 2021. She obtained her MSc degree from Kadir Has University, Istanbul, in 2023. Her master’s thesis explores various perspectives on Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, including spatial theories, gender, and heritage, following its transformation into a mosque in 2020. She has experience in archaeological excavation and surface survey projects, and is interested in stage design. She is currently practicing as an architect in Turkey.

Dr. Didem Kılıçkıran

 Assoc. Professor of Architecture at Kadir Has University

Didem Kılıçkıran (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey. She has taught several undergraduate courses on architectural design, architectural theory, and housing, and graduate courses on space, place, and gender. Her main research interests cross over the disciplines of architecture, gender studies, feminist geography, and cultural anthropology, with a focus on the social aspects of space and place, particularly on issues of home, domesticity, gender, and identity. Her research has been presented at several international conferences and published in national and international books and journals.

Sub-theme 2: Sustainable Solutions

Serena Napoletano

Member of La Paranza Social Cooperative

Keynote speaker. Passionate about history, art, design, and photography, believing in the transformative power of preserving places, people, and community. A member of La Paranza Social Cooperative since 2018, contributing to the revitalization of the Catacombs of Naples and Rione Sanità through beauty and employment initiatives. Currently, narrating the history and essence of these places to visitors, fostering international connections within the heritage community, and co-managing the cooperative’s bookshop.

Karl-Magnus Melin

Carpenter/craft researcher and doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg. ICOMOS wood expert member

Karl-Magnus Melin is a carpenter and craft researcher and doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg. He also a wood expert member of ICOMOS. Field of interest: Research and reconstruction of historic craft, as an apprentice with the aim to learn instead of judging. Reclaimed knowledge can be used to better understand, value and preserve the heritage and also be useful today. Project leader for: the diocese project Historic carpentry art in the Diocese of Lund 2014-2022 and the restoration of Ingatorp tithebarn 2014-2018. The restoration was awarded with the Europa Nostra Heritage award 2019. Involved in the reconstruction of Södra Råda church since 2007.

Lilian Grootswagers

FRH Advisory Board President and Owner of Erfgoed.nu

Lilian Groostwagers is one of the founding members of FRH and was a member of the Council from 2011 to 2020. She is currently president of the FRH Advisory Board and chair of the Communications Committee. Since 2019 she also represents FRH in the European Commission’s Expert Group on Cultural Heritage. Lilian Grootwagers has a long career in the field of religious heritage and is the the author and co-author of multiple publications. She is the owner of Erfgoed.nu, a organisation that advises governmental institutions, cooperations and private owners on cultural heritage issues.

Adam Klups

Care of Churches & Diocesan Advisory Committee Team Leader and Senior Church Buildings Officer at the Anglican Diocese of Gloucester, United Kingdom

Adam Klups is Care of Churches & Diocesan Advisory Committee Team Leader and Senior Church Buildings Officer at the Anglican Diocese of Gloucester, United Kingdom. He is passionate about sustainable conservation management, community-led conservation, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. He holds a BA in History of Art with Material Studies, and an MA in Principles of Conservation, both from University College London. Following the vote of the General Synod in February 2020 for the whole of the Church of England to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, he has been involved in coordinating the diocesan response, professional advice, and resources, to support decarbonisation of almost 400 churches in the Diocese.

Ana Souto Miebach

Strategic marketing and innovation for non-profit and religious organisations

Ana Souto Miebach specialises in strategic marketing and innovation for non-profit and religious organisations. She recently graduated as M.Sc. in International Business from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, building upon her B.A. in Business Administration & Catholic Theology from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. Her master thesis is centred around the future of church real estate, integrating her experiences in academic research and management consulting for non-profit, public and church organisations. She is passionate about bridging the gap between faith-based communities and modern business practices, and about participating in intercultural dialogue which she experienced through her German-Brazilian background and her studies in Jerusalem and Zagreb.

Sub-theme 3: Digital Futures

Marc Grellert

Professor at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and co-founder of Architectura Virtualis

Keynote speaker. Marc Grellert teaches at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and is co-founder of the company Architectura Virtualis. The focus of his research and work are Virtual Reconstructions, remembrance and conveying of knowledge with the help of digital media as well as development and realization of installations and exhibits for museums. At Darmstadt University Marc Grellert has led numerous national and international research projects in the context of Virtual Reconstruction. 1994 he initiated the virtual reconstruction of synagogues destroyed by the Nazis and developed in 2002 the “Synagogue Internet Archive”. In 2007 he received his doctorate over the potentials of digital technology for the culture of remembrance.

Dr Joseph Elders

CBA(Hons) MA PhD, freelance professional specialising in religious heritage

Dr Elders trained as an archaeologist in the UK and now lives in Germany. He worked for the Museum of London and the Landsdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg (Medieval Archaeology) before 25 years working for the Church of England, lastly as Head of Church Buildings Strategy. There he developed the Church Heritage Record, a GIS database of English churches and burial grounds which allowed for better management of these, including environmental and ecological aspects. This inspired the idea of a multi-faith, pan-European map and register of religious heritage, Sanctuary. Dr Elders and colleagues in the not-for-profit community enterprise Religioscape have completed a pilot for the Future for Religious Heritage.

Andrew Sneddon

Senior Lecturer in International History at Ulster University

Dr Andrew Sneddon is a religious, social and cultural historian and senior lecturer in history at Ulster University. He was previously president of the Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies and currently joint editor of the journal, Irish Historical Studies. His latest research examines religion, witchcraft and magic in Britain and Ireland from the early modern period onwards. He has published numerous monographs, journal articles and edited chapters over the last twenty years on these subjects. He regularly appears in newspapers, on television, radio and podcasts to talk about his research. His latest interdisciplinary, collaborative public history project with Dr Victoria McCollum explores the Islandmagee witch trial in County Antrim in 1711 through: a museum exhibition, a play, a video game, a VR application, a graphic novel, a musical score, and an animated short: w1711.org.

Victoria McCollum

Director of Development and External Partnerships and Senior Lecturer Cinematic Arts at Ulster University, Derry

Dr Victoria McCollum is Director of Development and External Partnerships and Senior Lecturer Cinematic Arts at Ulster University, Derry. Victoria has strong research interests in difficult screen texts (films, TV and video games) that revolve around horror, demonisation, conflict and terror. She engages in lively and interdisciplinary research about what we watch and play, arguing that dark popular culture acts as a cultural barometer, reflecting the social, political, and cultural climate of its era.

Daria Belkouri

Research Assistant/Architect/ARB at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment

Daria Belkouri is an architect, researcher, and PhD candidate at The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture in Aberdeen. Daria graduated with distinction from the Masters of Architecture course in 2011 and became ARB registered in 2016. She has worked on diverse projects including domestic extensions, housing developments, and large commercial projects. Since 2019, she has been part of a research team focusing on visualising the built environment and the interplay between people, cities, and digital technologies. Her interests include urban visualisation, graphic design, human-centered design, contemporary cities, cultural heritage, art, and architecture.

Douglas Pritchard 

Researcher in virtual reality development within the architecture, cultural heritage and urban design sectors

Douglas Pritchard is an internationally recognised researcher with over 15 years of experience pioneering virtual reality development within the architecture, cultural heritage and urban design sectors. His tenure has been marked by leading interdisciplinary research initiatives that have redefined the methods for digitally preserving, interpreting, and making cultural heritage and urban environments universally accessible through VR and digital documentation methodologies. As a graduate architect and academic, his work bridges the gap between the physical, as-built world and its virtual representation. These efforts have been particularly notable in the Toronto, Buffalo, Glasgow, and Aberdeen urban visualisation projects.

Sub-theme 4: Quality of Life

Melanie Kay Smith

Associate Professor and Researcher at Budapest Business University

Keynote speaker. Dr Melanie Kay Smith (PhD) is an Associate Professor and Researcher whose work focuses on urban, cultural and wellness tourism and the relationship between tourism and wellbeing. This includes recent studies on the role of spirituality in tourism and its relationship to wellbeing. She was Chair of ATLAS (Association of Tourism and Leisure Education and Research) for seven years and currently runs an ATLAS Special Interest Group on Urban Tourism. She is the author of more than 150 publications, many of which focus on cultural tourism management, tourist motivation and wellbeing-related benefits of tourism.

Kevin Griffin

Senior Lecturer in Tourism in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism at Technological University Dublin

Kevin Griffin is an experienced educator with research interests in academic, local and commercial spheres. With a twin background in geography (tourism / historical) and education, his research has always been based on both academic and practical field-based research, which he incorporates into his teaching. Kevin’s interests range from sustainability to religious tourism and heritage management to local history, while always interested in research that has meaning and purpose, particularly for those on-the-ground, especially at a local community level. Kevin is the Chairperson of the Institute for Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage which organises an annual conference and manages a number of publication projects. He is also Editor-in-Chief for the TU Dublin published International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage which is internationally recognised and ranked with SCOPUS and many other agencies. Kevin is also Series Editor for the Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Book Series.

Senada Demirović Habibija

Architect and President of  Urban House IDEAA

Dr Senada Demirović Habibija is an architect, and the founder and current president of the Urban House IDEAA in Mostar (Bosnia & Herzegovina), a laboratory to explore the relationship between design, emotions, and the social needs of citizens. She holds MA and MSc from the Faculty of Architecture at the Sarajevo University and a PhD in Architecture. She has been involved in the post war reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Mostar historic city centre. She has participated as a lecturer, moderator and coordinator in numerous conferences, seminars and workshops throughout Europe and the world. She speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Bernabé Moya

Botanist, international expert on Monumental Trees, Mature Forests and Biodiversity

Botanist, researcher and manager of Monumental Trees, Mature Forests and Biodiversity. Director of the Department of Monumental Trees of the Diputación de Valencia (1993-2016). Drafter of Law 4/2006 on Monumental Tree Heritage of the Valencian Community. Manager of European Projects: Interreg, MED, LIFE+. Study, conservation and dissemination in Protected Natural Areas and Natura 2000 Network in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus or Switzerland, as well as in Turkey, Mexico, Panama, USA, Morocco, Tunisia, etc. Publications: “Monumental Trees of Spain” declared of National Tourist Interest; “Monumental Trees and Mature Forests, Threatened in the Mediterranean Landscapes”.

Paul Ariese 

Senior Lecturer and PhD Researcher Religious Heritage at Reinwardt Academy (Amsterdam University of the Arts)

Paul Ariese (paul.ariese@ahk.nl) is a senior lecturer and researcher at Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam University of the Arts, and a graduate of the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester (MA with distinction). He lectures on religious heritage and exhibition development for the international Master’s programme in Applied Museum and Heritage Studies and the Bachelor’s programme in Cultural Heritage Studies. Ariese is currently engaged in research for his PhD on The Sacred in Musealised Synagogue Space: Representations of Jewish Religious Life in the Amsterdam Jewish Cultural Quarter at the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture, University of Amsterdam.