Members of our UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Public and Global Governance took an active part in the 3rd Congress of the Polish International Studies Association, held in Białystok on 6–7 November 2025. This year’s edition, titled “International Security Studies: The Global-Regional and Cultural-Civilizational Context of Securitization”, provided an excellent platform to highlight the growing importance of intangible cultural heritage, international norms, and cultural diversity in international security debates.
Contributions from the UNESCO Chair:
Prof. Hanna Schreiber
- Speaker in the panel “Soft Power, Hard Boundaries: Culture and Cultural Heritage in Global Conflicts of Meaning”, presenting: “Challenges of Democratizing Global UNESCO Heritage Regimes: The Case of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.”
Dr Justyna Nakonieczna-Bartosiewicz
- Participant in the roundtable “Normative Contestation in Contemporary Multilateralism – Is There Still Space for a Rules-Based Order?”
- Speaker in the panel “Diplomacy in Times of Global International Security Uncertainty”, presenting: “Green Diplomacy and Ontological Security in Practice: Taiwan’s Engagement with the SDGs.”
- Speaker in the panel “Governance of a Polycentric World Order in an Increasingly Insecure World”, presenting: “Guardians Without Power: Activists as Defenders of International Norms in a Multilateral Order.”
Mateusz Zając
- Speaker in the panel “International Institutions and Contemporary Challenges to International Security”, presenting: “Safeguarding Cultural Diversity as a Challenge for International Security in the Context of UNESCO’s Cultural Activities.”
We extend our sincere thanks to the organizers of the Congress for creating a truly inspiring academic space. The event proved to be a fruitful gathering, full of engaging discussions, meaningful exchanges of experience, and opportunities to meet and connect with exceptional scholars.
