2018 ENCATC Research Award Ceremony

The 5th ENCATC Research Award Ceremony took place in Bucharest during the 26th ENCATC Congress, bringing together an international community of researchers, academics, policymakers and cultural professionals, as well as representatives from the Romanian Ministry of Culture and National Identity.

Three finalists presented their doctoral research: Dr Francesca Giliberto (Italy/United Kingdom), Dr Matina Magkou (Spain), and Dr Alba Victoria Zamarbide Urdaniz (Japan). Their research addressed urban heritage, international cultural cooperation, and the management of World Heritage sites.

The 2018 Award was won by Dr Alba Victoria Zamarbide Urdaniz of Waseda University, Japan, for her PhD thesis, Re-defining the role of ‘buffers’ in the management of the historical territory. The discrepancies between theoretical concepts and practical interpretations of ‘buffer’ zones in Eastern and Western Cultural World Heritage sites.

The ceremony opened with remarks by Tanja Johansson, ENCATC Board Member and Professor at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Prof. Mircea Dumitru, Rector of the University of Bucharest, while MEP Mircea Diaconu announced the winner. For the first time, the Award prize was designed by a local Romanian artist, Nicolae Stoica.

The event reinforced the Award’s role in raising the international visibility of emerging researchers and supporting their career development, while connecting research with policy and practice and fostering international knowledge exchange in cultural management and cultural policy.