Association Européenne des Humanités pour la Gestion Culturelle Intégrée des Paysages
Humanities European Association for Culturally Integrated Landscape Management
Today’s Discussant: Prof. Renaldas Gudauskas
Year of Foundation:
Year of Affiliation to CIPSH: 2016
Prof. Gudauskas, General Drector of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, represents Apheleia Project.
Apheleia aims at structuring a convergent set of strategies based in the methodology of the Humanities that will foster the need for a properly Integrated (as opposed to dispersed) Cultural (i.e. human and diverse) Landscape Management (rooted in human understandings and leading towards governance through awareness and critical thinking) for Local and Global Sustainability (addressing the great global dilemmas, but also focused on individual anxieties and needs). Such a program implies a high degree of complexity to be dealt with by the academia, but also requires efficient operative tools, that render such complexity simple for non-academics and for daily lives. Apheleia , the spirit of simplicity in ancient Greece, stands as the leading and inspiring word for the current partnership, since rendering simple the complexity of things is an academic obligation and an urgent need to foster tangible down-the-line convergent actions. For instance, Cultural Landscapes result from past effective behaviors facing local natural disasters, climate impacts, etc., thus being a true paradigm of past sustainable and integrated territory’s management. Yet, academic courses are “physiologically” specialized and often fail to enhance such examples, so the contribution of multiple institutions, including non-academic, is necessary.
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is a national cultural institution open to all users, active in the areas of dissemination of information, culture, science and education, performing library activities and ensuring implementation of the national information policy falling within its competence. Mission: to be the Lithuanian space of knowledge creating value for the public. Vision: to become an integral part of the State information policy, culture, education, science and economic progress. The role of Libraries is beyond any dispute a major component of the current common efforts of CIPSH and UNESCO to resume the role of the Humanities in our society and the experiences.
The National Library of Lithuania plays an important role in the fields of the national documentary heritage preservation, mainstreaming and integration into the areas of the European cultural heritage. Excellent collaboration in the strategic and knowledge management projects, one of the most significant – International project of the Apheleia European Strategic partnership (The strategic partnership Apheleia / Ἀφέλεια was established aiming at structuring a convergent set of tools that will foster the need for a properly Integrated Cultural Landscape Management for Local and Global Sustainability) which sponsored by the European Commission and endorsed by the CIPSH and the UNESCO-MOST. The National library of Lithuania is the “Apheleia” project partner which is responsible for all project strategic communication.