ENCATC Research Award 2021

Jon Alvarez Fernandez for his PhD “The Shift of Valuation and Management in ‘Denken Chiku’ Protected Townscapes in Japan: Comparative Analysis with Contemporary Western Protection Policies” defended at Waseda University (Japan). 

Jon Alvarez Fernandez is an independent researcher, lecturer and consultant in topics related to architectural design and heritage. He has his Professional Degree on Architecture (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2006), Masters’ Degree on Restoration and Comprehensive Management of Built Heritage (Universidad del País Vasco, 2013), and Doctor on Architecture (Waseda University, 2018). Working on research since 2003, his research topics included the analysis of historical monuments of large scale, the valuation of residential quarters, and urban planning related to preservation. He also worked as an architect on both designs for new buildings and preservation projects for traditional structures. He works in Japan since 2014, where he has collaborated with different municipalities and national research institutions in diffusion events and research projects related to the architectural heritage in Japan. Currently he is collaborating as an external visiting lecturer at the Masters’ Degree on Architecture in Waseda University, and as a researcher in the Research Group on History of Divulgation of Japanese Architecture in Western Media and Literature of the same university.

Dimitra Kizlari for her PhD “Foreign Cultural Policy through the work of the National Institutes of Culture: a comparative study on instrumentalism” defended at University College London (United Kingdom). 

Dimitra Kizlari read Archaeology & Art History in Greece before she obtained her doctorate from University College London in 2019. Her thesis on ‘Foreign Cultural Policy through the Work of the National Institutes for Culture’ investigates the managerial practices of 6 Cultural Institutes across the EU (British Council, Goethe Institut, Institut français, Instituto Cervantes, Swedish Institute and Hellenic Foundation for Culture).

Dimitra has been a trainee at the Cultural Policy Unit of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the EU. She is working as an Expert Evaluator for the European Commission (2019 – now) assessing project proposals submitted to Creative Europe. She is also a Subject Matter Expert for Canada Council for the Arts (2021-2023) and a Senior Insights Specialist at PRS for Music (2019 – now).

In terms of on-going research, her latest article compares the practices of three countries (Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden) with regard to the work of cultural attachés. The article is published in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy and is available in open access.

Meike Lettau for her PhD “Artists as agents of change. Civil Society engagement and foreign cultural policy in transformation processes” defended at the University of Hildesheim (Germany).

Dr. Meike Lettau is academic associate at the Department of Cultural Policy at the University of Hildesheim (Germany) and coordinator of the Graduate School ‘Performing Sustainability. Cultures and Development in West Africa’ which is implemented in cooperation with the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria) and the University of Cape Coast (Ghana).

Her research focus lies on international cultural relations, Foreign cultural and educational policy, cultural policy, cultural mediation and arts education. In 2019, she completed her PhD on the topic ‘Artists as Agents of Change? Foreign Cultural Policy and Civil Society Engagement in Transformation Processes’ with a field research on art festivals in Tunisia.

She was research fellow in the German-Tunisian research project ‘Tunisia in Transition’ at the University of Passau and has worked for various cultural institutions in Germany and abroad (Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Pune, KHOJ International Artists’ Association, ARThinkSouthAsia, Cultural Innovators Network (CIN), Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), Internationale Gesellschaft der bildenden Künste (IGBK)..