A heritage worker walking across a historic earthen structure in Kholm, Afghanistan

A global heritage collective
connecting research, practice,
communities and the arts.

Heritage is
not behind us.

It lives in the stories we carry, the places we protect, and the futures we choose to build together.

Explore
our work
Kholm · Afghanistan · 2009 · Photo CIE / Dilip Banerjee

What moves us

Memory can be a tool for justice.

CIE brings communities, researchers, students and cultural practitioners together around the shared work of reimagining heritage—especially in places shaped by colonial legacies, conflict and contested histories.

Through research, education, storytelling and collaborative practice, we make space for local knowledge and overlooked voices.

Discover CIE

Five connected clusters

Our work

One shared purpose, approached through justice, practice, ecology, imagination and learning.

01

Memory · ethics · recognition

Dhakira —
Heritage Justice

An ethical and memory-based framework for contested pasts, silenced histories, recognition and the right to remember.

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02

Document · connect · share

HeritageLab

Our collaborative and digital infrastructure for community narratives, case studies, Co-labs and the Heritage Universe.

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03

Land · water · living memory

Heritage Ecology
Journeys

Connecting heritage, memory, landscapes and environmental change through lived relationships between people and place.

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04

Imagine · experiment · participate

Heritage Futures

Public experiments, installations and digital stories that use heritage to imagine and make more inclusive futures.

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05

Learn · translate · exchange

EduHub

Turning research, seminars and collaborative practice into accessible learning resources, toolkits and training.

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Across the clusters

Work in motion

Programmes connect disciplines, places and people. Each becomes a public output: a story, platform, seminar, film or practical method.

People standing beneath an ancient olive tree Heritage, memory & landscapes

01 / Ecology journeys

TreeRouted

Trees are living archives.

A global project exploring how trees hold memories of migration, trade, conflict, care, ecology and everyday life—connecting community stories across borders.

Active · seeking further funding
Explore the project ↗
Dhakira2026–27

Right to
Remember

An international seminar series on contested heritage, silenced histories, public dialogue and the politics of memory.

See the programme ↗
Young people gathered at a coastal heritage site
HeritageLab

Co-labs

Communities, researchers and students make heritage stories together.

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Ocean heritageIn development

MUCH
Better

Moving from universal “best practice” toward locally grounded, context-sensitive and achievable better practice.

Follow the dialogue ↗
Heritage FuturesGaza

Where My
Street Remains

A collaborative project about place, disappearance, continuity, belonging and the survival of memory.

Explore the project ↗

A year of shared work

Annual Report
2025

From community Co-labs and ecological journeys to digital heritage futures, education and international dialogue—explore a year shaped by cooperation.

Read the report ↗

Coming together

Agenda

Selected milestones from CIE’s 2026 programme.

23 Aug–2 Sep2026
World Heritage Volunteers · Istanbul

Routes of Coexistence

CIE participates in a field programme exploring the Via Egnatia, historic water systems and the multicultural heritage of Istanbul.

Open event summary ↗
Sep2026
Platform launch

HeritageLab × MUCH

A new digital space for methods, stories and case studies in maritime and ocean heritage.

25 Nov2026
Hybrid round table · Paris

Better vs Best Practices

The role of museums in underwater archaeology and the protection of maritime cultural heritage.

Nov–Dec2026
Seminar · Istanbul

Right to Remember

An international dialogue on memory, recognition, contested heritage and repair.

A heritage educator speaking outdoors

About CIE

Rooted in Amsterdam.
Made across borders.

CIE is a non-profit organisation founded in 2006. Our digitally connected team works with communities and institutions around the world to challenge one-sided histories and create more inclusive heritage practice.

CIE works in official relations with UNESCO and holds accreditation relating to the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Meet our network ↗

Build something together

Bring your place,
question or story.