More than 90 partners from 30 countries join forces in 10-year Partnership to strengthen the resilience of cultural heritage in a changing climate and its contribution to climate adaptation
The European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage (RCH), a major new initiative co-funded by the European Union, will officially launch on 29 September 2026 with an international event at Mucem – Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée in Marseille, uniting researchers, professionals, policymakers and representatives of European and international organisations. As part of the Partnership project, GreenHer will specifically work on the development of a landscape analysis in the provision of training in the domain of resilient cultural heritage, and future skills needs.
With climate change directly threatening our shared global heritage through extreme weather events or rising sea levels (recent examples including the 2019 Venice flood or the 2026 severe droughts impacting Champagne growers), the launch of the RCH Partnership comes at a critical time. It marks the beginning of an ambitious ten-year initiative bringing together more than 90 partners from 30 countries in Europe and beyond to strengthen research and collaboration at the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change.
A diverse network of research organisations and universities, public authorities, research funders, cultural heritage institutions, professional networks, and civil society organisations will connect expertise and support interdisciplinary transnational research. RCH will fund research projects, build capacity, and create new opportunities for collaboration. Its aim is not only to help cultural heritage address the growing impacts of climate change, but also to explore how heritage, the knowledge it carries, and the communities connected to it can contribute to more sustainable, resilient, and just futures.
The Marseille launch will put some of the central questions that RCH will address over the coming decade at the heart of the conversation: How can cultural heritage and climate science work together more effectively? How can researchers and practitioners collaborate across disciplines, sectors, and national borders? How can scientific evidence, alongside local and traditional knowledge, better inform policy and practice? How can communities become active participants in developing responses to climate change?
The Kick-off Event is organised by the Fondation des sciences du patrimoine (FSP), Coordinator of the European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with Mucem – Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée.