The opening meeting of the project “Hector. Heritage, Culture, Norms”- at the Jagiellonian University
On the 16th of March 2023, the opening meeting of the project “Hector. Heritage, Culture, Norms” was held at the Jagiellonian University via the MS TEAMS platform.
The purpose of the “Hector” Project is to provide a proper venue for academic discussion on a wide range of topics in legal heritage: from transforming fundamental / universal values into norms, through the consolidation of the latter ones into artifacts, to their presence in the present, as well as their role in the future. The main themes of the Platform will be to find answers to queries such as the following: how legal and social norms existed in the past, how these were applied and passed on in past cultures and societies, how values were transformed into norms, and how such norms have been – or might be – turned into heritage relevant for today. Another critical issue will be the question how heritage as such could or should be protected by the present norms. The core area of the “Hector” Project’s interest is Central and Eastern Europe, and its legal heritage (understood both as an immanent and emergent phenomenon), both seen, however, against a broad historical and cultural background.
The meeting was attended by the Project Coordinators and Collaborators – nearly 30 academics in all. The opening speech was given by Prof. Dorota Malec, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at the Jagiellonian University, who warmly welcomed all participants. Prof. Malec emphasised the multifaceted activities undertaken at the Jagiellonian University under the framework of the Initiative of Excellence - Research University programme. Among these there are research priorities focused on a special role that is attached to a broad concept of heritage, which integrates the past, present, and future. Prof. Malec highlighted the importance of implementing academic projects in the interdisciplinary, international, innovative, and integrity aspects (“the 4I principle”).
The Head of the Coordination Board, Prof. Jan Halberda, then presented the general aims and goals of the Project, described the planned events, and presented the project's English-language website (https://lhlab.wpia.uj.edu.pl/hector). In the framework of the Hector Project, two workshops, five seminars, and a series of open lectures will be organised. In the subsequent part of the meeting, each of the Coordinators invited the participants to the event they will organise (the list of which is available at: https://lhlab.wpia.uj.edu.pl/pl_PL/events).
The Project is funded by the Priority Research Area Heritage under the program Excellence Initiative – Research University at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.