Meet the experts, researchers and representatives who will take part in the Shrines of Europe Conference in Fátima and share their knowledge, experience and perspectives on the future of European pilgrimage and cultural heritage.
Opening Address and Conference Closing
Carlos Costa, Aveiro / Portugal
Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Shrines of Europe Association
Full Professor, Head of the Department of Economics, Management and Industrial Engineering of the University of Aveiro and Editor of the Journal of Tourism & Development Leader of the Tourism Research Unit and of the PhD Tourism Programme of the University of Aveiro. Scientific Coordinator of the “idtour unique solutions” a University spin-off company responsible for the transference of knowledge and innovation to the tourism sector. Consultant of the Shrines of Europe and Head of the Shrines of Europe Scientific Committee.
Session I – Understanding the Present
Pilgrimage, Spirituality and Visitor Transformation: New Patterns of Travel and Meaning
Keynote: „Sacred spaces and secular religion. Opening the transcendent within the immanent“
Christian Cebulj, Chur / Switzerland
Professor of Religious Education at the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Chur (Switzerland). Head of the research project ‘Religion- Culture-Tourism’, partner in the research projects‚ Swiss Religious Heritage: Experiencing sacred cultural heritage through tourism‘ and‚ MONA. Monastery landscape Switzerland‘.
SPEAKER SESSION I
Pascal Frucquet, Pau – Bayonne / France
Associate Professor of Management at the IAE Pau-Bayonne, UPPA’s School of Management. Academic Director of the second year of the Master programme in “Healthcare Organization Management,” member of the Management Research Laboratory (LiREM), and member of the OPTIMA network, which specializes in territorial public management.
Irmgard Jehle, Munich / Germany
Managing Director of Bayerisches Pilgerbüro gGmbH and Bayerisches Pilgerbüro Studienreisen GmbH. Lecturer in pilgrimage, religious education and pastoral theology, with a focus on interreligious dialogue and ecumenism. Author of publications on pilgrimage, including Humanity on the Way to God and multiple pilgrimage guides.
Alexandre Marto, Fátima / Portugal
Hospitality entrepreneur and tourism expert from Fátima. Former board member of ACISO and ARPT Centro de Portugal, involved in the international development and repositioning of Fátima as a leading religious tourism destination. Co-founder of Fátima Hotels Group and United Hotels of Portugal.
Moderation by: João Caldeira Heitor, Ourém / Portugal
Ph.D. in Tourism from the University of Lisbon; Academic Coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Management and Professor at the Instituto Superior de Gestão (ISG) in Lisbon, where he also teaches at ISLA Santarém. Conducting research in the field of religious tourism, with a particular focus on the promotion of destinations and tourist flows associated with Fátima.
Session II – Interpreting the Sacred
Shrines as Living Cultural Heritage: Art, Culture and the Experience of Sacred Places
Keynote speaker: Marco Daniel Duarte, Fátima / Portugal
Heads the Museum and the Academy of Studies of the Sanctuary of Fátima, as well as the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima. With a PhD from the University of Coimbra, he is a specialist in history, sacred art, heritage, and museology. He is the Secretary-General of the Portuguese Academy of History and a member of international academies in Portugal, Italy, and Brazil. He researches the History of Fátima, with more than 300 published studies and dozens of curated exhibitions.
SPEAKER SESSION II
Darius Liutikas, Vilnius / Lithuania
Principal Scientific Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (Vilnius). Research interests include tourism, pilgrimage, religious tourism, sacred places and spaces, and the geography and sociology of tourism and religions. Chairman of the Community of Lithuanian Pilgrims and series editor of the Tourism and Society series (CAB International).
Jakub Jakubowski, Częstochowa/Poland
Painter, art educator, and professor at Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, Poland. He combines artistic, research, and teaching activities. He regularly participates in conferences and exhibitions in Poland and abroad. He will focus on the topic of “Visual Arts as a Language of Intercultural Communication,” which explores the role of art as a universal medium for dialogue.
Elmar Walter, Altötting/Germany
Director of the vocational school of music in Altötting and lecturer in folk music (programme director) at the Institute for Artistic-Pedagogical Studies at the University of Music and Theater in Munich. Active as a tubist, lecturer, composer and arranger, including performances with the Munich Symphonic Orchestra.
Moderation by: Ana Saraiva, Ourém / Portugal
Researcher at the Network Center for Research I Anthropology (CRIA), with studies in the fields of vernacular architecture, transnationalism, cultural heritage, and museums. She directs the House of Braganza Museum-Library.
Session III – Imagining the Future
Sacred Places – Shared Futures: Resilience, Innovation and the Next Generation of Shrine Cities
Keynote: Innovation and resilience in Religious Tourism 3.0: Sustainable management models for shrine networks based on the Ibero-American experience
Jordi Tresserras, Barcelona / Spain
Director of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Laboratory at the University of Barcelona and the IBERTUR Network (Heritage, Tourism and Sustainable Development). UNESCO Consultant specialising in cultural heritage, the creative economy and sustainable tourism. Member of the European Cultural Tourism Network, the European Institute of Cultural Routes and the Federation of Friends of the Way of Saint James in Catalonia.
SPEAKER SESSION III
Shrines of Europe Representative: Ulrike Kirnich, Altötting / Germany
Tourism professional with experience in destination management, specialising in pilgrimage and religious tourism, exhibition design and cultural work. Long-standing member of the Tourism Working Group of Shrines of Europe, representing the perspective of the technical team. Her current academic interests include resilience management in tourism.
João Caldeira Heitor, Ourém / Portugal
Ph.D. in Tourism from the University of Lisbon; Academic Coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Management and Professor at the Instituto Superior de Gestão (ISG) in Lisbon, where he also teaches at ISLA Santarém. Conducting research in the field of religious tourism, with a particular focus on the promotion of destinations and tourist flows associated with Fátima.
Moderation by: Margarida Franca, Leiria / Portugal,
Assistant Professor at the University of Leiria and Oeste (Portugal), where she teaches Geography, Heritage and Cultural Tourism. Board member and integrated researcher at CITER – Research Centre for Theology and Religious Studies. Her research focuses on Cultural Geography, Geography of Religion and religious tourism, with particular interest in identities, territorialities and the relationship between religion and territory.