Sílvia Leiria Viegas (CIAC/University of Algarve), Isabel Cristina Carvalho (CIAC/Portuguese Open University) and Farnaz Arefian (Silk Cities) are the convenors of the 4th Silk Cities International Conference.
Silk Cities, with the Research Centre for Arts and Communications (CIAC), from the hubs of the University of Algarve and Aberta University, are planning the 4th Silk Cities International Conference under the theme Intangible Heritage, Cities and Communities. The conference will be hosted by the University of the Algarve, and will take place from 11 to 14 October 2023 in Faro, Portugal.
The event will be open to scholars, practitioners, international organisations and policy makers. Conference programme will include academic sessions, keynote/guest speeches, visits and social activities.
Silk Cities is an independent interdisciplinary socio-professional and academic initiative for knowledge exchange, international engagement, research and publication. It focuses on urban development, resilience, disaster management, and cultural and social wellbeing of communities.
CIAC is developing applied research and research networks in the arts and communication, including urban studies, and implementing activities of artistic creation.
This Conference will bring together global knowledge rooted in local diversity on relations between intangible heritage as integral parts of urban culture and spatiality of cities. The concept of intangible heritage is underexplored, yet inherently intertwined with urban life.
The Conference seeks to offer new perspectives and strategies towards a better understanding of urban intangible heritage and to push the traditional theoretical and practical boundaries by applying a holistic approach towards integrating potentials of intangible heritage to inform urban policies and practices as well as the arts and humanities. Ultimately intangible heritage is envisaged as tools for sustainable development and resilience.
The Conference will, therefore, foster international dialogues between multiple disciplines, namely: (1) Urban Studies, (2) Art and Culture, (3) Heritages, History and Mapping, (4) Literature, (5) Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy and Geography, and (6) Politics, Economics and Geopolitics.
The selected themes are: (1) Cultural expressions of diverse communities, (2) Physical and digital dimensions of the urban experience, (3) Urban economy, temporal activities and everyday life, (4) Intangible heritage and resilience to disasters and disruptions, (5) Urban governance, policies, instruments, and practices, (6) Social mobilisation, future memories and right to the city, (7) Sustainable tourism, heritage, and local identity, and (8) Partnerships, cooperations, and participatory practices.
The conference is peer-reviewed and collaborates with Springer’s book series, “Cities, Heritage and Transformation”. A peer-reviewed edited book will be developed based on a selection of full papers submitted after the conference to be published in the series.