We deeply cherish our natural and cultural World Heritage, so it seems; when historical monuments and sites are destroyed by war or natural disaster, we are mourning collectively. But what if this World Heritage status is not just a preservation label, but a smokescreen for social and political conflicts…

Debate

- Case study of the Hungarian Archaeological Mission in Abdallah Nirqi in 1964 –

Last week, the Ravenna School of Law hosted the UNESCO conference on World Heritage between Education and Economy: A Legal Analysis, at which Freya Baetens presented her paper entitled The new generation of EU Free Trade Agreements: heralding the end of public financial support to maintain cultural…

The La Galigo manuscript at Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has been digitized. The manuscript, which was inscribed in 2011 on UNESCO's ‘Memory of the World’ Register, is now freely available online and can be used for teaching and research. La Galigo is the world's longest epic, written in the Buginese…

Mind of the Universe is a series of portaits of worldwide leading scientists broadcasted summer 2017 by the VPRO. This populair series gets a follow-up in an online learning programme: ‘Mind of the Universe Online Learning Experience‘, developed and executed by scientists and learning developers of…

The head of MCS is also Director of the Leiden-based LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development, President of LeidenGlobal, and staff member of the Heritage and Museums department of the Faculty of Archaeology. Joint activities are being developed at the interface between heritage and museum stu…

A scientific assessment of the site selection for the ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ Unesco World Heritage Site.

Lecture, Contemporary History and International Relations Research Seminar (CHIRRS)

Lecture

Just behind the entry gate of Angkor Wat, known as Gopura 4 West, through which every year millions of tourists enter the most iconic temple of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, ground-penetrating radar surveys revealed a set of masonry structures: six ‘tower’ bases in geometrical alignment, possibly…

The project aims at contributing to the safeguarding of Palestinian cultural heritage and the enhancement of economic situation through tourism development, by presenting and managing one of the most important archaeological resources, the archaeological site of Tell Balata.

Urban development and lack of appropriate management has been threatening the archaeological site of Tell Balata. In order to save it from further destruction, in 2010 the Tell Balata Archaeological Park project was started.

Lecture, Seminar

Andrea Giolai defended his thesis on 3 May 2017.

Amy Strecker assesses the institutional framework for landscape protection, analyses the interplay between landscape and human rights, and links the etymology and theory of landscape with its articulation in law.

The International Day of Light (IDL) celebrates the ubiquitous role light has in our lives. From Argentina to South Africa, Japan and Pakistan, several events have taken place across all continents on May 16. The date is a token for people around the globe to connect with the importance of light in…

This section provides an overview of online tools for the study of the medieval Low Countries. It has been launched in Dutch, but its translation into English is envisaged for the (near) future.

Developing methodes to understand the evolution of patches in natural ecosystems

Digitally Preserving Heritage at Risk

This project investigates ancient water management of streams, springs and runoffs on the archaeological site of Monte Albán, Mexico, as a means to contribute with different stakeholders in the development of sustainable solutions to water problems today such as floods and scarcity.

This project aims to identify, quantify and map the exposure of Dutch national monuments to four climate change effects: flooding, waterlogging, drought and heat.

Leiden and The Hague are home to many museums with large numbers of artefacts and archives. Leiden University also and Leiden University also houses special collections. Museums, Collections & Society stimulates research and education and raises ethical questions regarding the collections’ origin.

The Central Asia project, funded by Asian Modernities and Traditions, has engaged in strengthening the Leiden University library collection in the areas of material culture, history, languages and geopolitics in Central Asia. UNESCO International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) and the Embassy…

On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could…

On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could…

The goal is to develop educational materials for Dâw, Hupd’äh, and Nadëb Indigenous peoples (Naduhup family; Middle and Upper Rio Negro; Brazilian Amazon). In order to achieve this, first of all, the fieldwork data collected during a collaborative project among anthropologists and linguists (2017-2020)…

Researchers have the whole world as their work area. Dutch researchers collaborate with Chinese, Australians give lectures in Lithuania, Koreans move to America and back. Who can contribute to academic knowledge, who benefits from it and who pays for it? A fair and effective system for this has not…

What are the impacts of digital educational resources on rural teachers and their teaching in China?

International partnerships in which Leiden University participates.

Our goal is to prepare you to make a difference in your future career.

The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) aims to demonstrate its relevance to society by means of high-quality research, excellent education and various outreach activities. A few highlights:

From Roma standing up for their rights in Ghent, to the comeback of African fashion in Ghana. The documentaries from Visual Ethnography students showcase the beautifully diverse world we live in. On UNESCO Audiovisual Heritage Day, they show why it's so important to document.

A group of 18 Leiden students and alumni are advising the University on diversity and inclusiveness. Portraits of 11 members of the Diversity Policy Feedback Group.

It is difficult to imagine a society other than a hierarchical nation-state. This is in part because we neglect alternative forms from the past, argues archaeologist Lewis Borck in the Journal of Contemporary Archaeology.

The European Youth Award (EYA) is a leading pan-European competition honoring excellence in the use of internet and mobile applications for social empowerment.

The research project ‘Adaptive Semi-Strong Ecosystem Dynamics’ of Prof.Dr. Arjen Doelman is selected for funding as one of the 7 research projects within the program Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE) of NWO.

The opening and inauguration of the Visitors Centre, and the visitors trail on the site, are an important result of the Tell Balata Archaeological Park project that is jointly being implemented by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, the Faculty of Archaeology of the University…

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of the Faculty of Humanities with two partners in Uzbekistan.

Below you can find lists of Leiden-based and international organizations working on Central Asia, and an overview of useful resources on Central Asia.

In the summer of 2011, from June 14th until August 5th, the Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology conducted an excavation on the former cemetery of Middenbeemster in cooperation with archaeological company Hollandia. The cemetery, which is located next to the church of Middenbeemster can be dated between…

Together with members of indigenous communities Leiden researchers preserve and disseminate philosophical, historical and medical knowledge.

Visual Ethnography graduate Ildikó Plájás received the Best documentary award in the student competition at the international Astra Film Festival in Romania.

Sandrine Gallois, a post-doctoral research in the HARVEST project, was awarded second place in the prestigious L'Óreal UNESCO For Women In Science Rising Talent prize. Sandrine, along with her supervisor Amanda Henry and collaborator Tinde van Andel attended the awards ceremony at the Koninklijke Hollandsche…

Jaap de Jong, Professor of Journalism and New Media, is one of the organisers of the Academic Conference (9 December) as part of the World Press Freedom Conference 2020 -Digital Edition. We managed to speak to him briefly about the upcoming conference.

Linguist Sara Petrollino has written the first detailed grammar of Hamar, a language spoken in south-west Ethiopia that has some unique characteristics. PhD defence 10 November.

Register now for the World Press Freedom Conference 2020 digital edition (9 – 10 December 2020)!

The Centre for Global Heritage and Development has been successful in applying for a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on the topic of threatened heritage at ICTO, the platform for innovation and education at Leiden University.