ANCHISE Workshop and Demonstrations of Technological Tools in Bosnia and Herzegovina

michaelculture
1d
5 min read

From Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 September 2025, ANCHISE held three major events in Bosnia and Herzegovina: two Demonstrations of Technological Tools, respectively targeting Cultural Heritage Professionals (on 10 September, at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo) and Law Enforcement Agencies (on 12 September, at the Agency for Education and Professional Training, Mostar). A third event, namely a workshop dedicated to Systemic Challenges and Operational Solutions in Cultural Heritage Protection, with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, took place on 11 September at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These events - which gathered more than 80 attendees over the three days - were the culmination of a hard, long-term work, involving host institutions, representatives from various units facing challenges of cultural heritage protection, and members of the ANCHISE consortium. The achievements of these events should also pave the way towards future activities.

ANCHISE Demonstration of Technological Tools for Cultural Heritage Professionals (Sarajevo, Wednesday 10 September 2025)

This Demonstration was organised at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. The introductory session took place in the main exhibition room, dedicated to archaeology. Mr Misrad Sijaric, Acting Director of the Museum* and Mrs Ivana Grujic, Chair of ICOM BiH, welcomed the participants. Remarks on the Demonstration agenda were delivered by Hélène Ventimiglia (ICOM). Like in the previous ANCHISE Demonstrations, the audience was then split into two groups, to experience four successive workshops, each one dedicated to one of the ANCHISE Technological Toolbox. Four replicas, which allowed manipulation by the attendees, were provided by the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina to ANCHISE, together with a relevant dataset, in order to support the Demonstration. Resources on the tools were shared in advance to ensure better immersion and efficiency. After each tool workshop, the participants were requested to fill an online Evaluation Form, aiming to collect their feedback on specific aspects of the tool.

*The position of Acting Director has been undertaken by Ana Marić since October 2025

The morning was dedicated to GUARDIAN-CH’s and ART-CH’s workshops. Valentina Vassallo and Avgoustinos Avgousti (The Cyprus Institute) demonstrated GUARDIAN-CH Shared Database in the Museum’s Ethnology room. QR codes wereshared with the attendees to allow direct exploration of the tool. In the Museum’s Library, Axel Kerep (PARCS) provided a presentation of Arte-Fact. In the afternoon, Nikolaos Peppes (ICCS) delivered a presentation of ART-CH in the same room. Huajian Liu (Fraunhofer) presented KIKu-Mon Tool in the Ethnology room.

Following the tools’ workshops, one collective Focus Group gathered the attendees in the archaeological exhibition room. Animated by Pier Giacomo Sola (MCA), the discussion aimed at collecting feedback from the participants on several aspects of the tools: strategic concerns, adoption barriers, cross-tool insights and potential replicability.

At the end of the Demonstration, Sophie Delepierre (ICOM) and Mariana Vasilache (University Lyon 2) addressed the audience in a conclusive speech, expressing warm thanks on behalf of ANCHISE for the opportunity to hold the event in such an inspiring venue, gathering key experts and sharing experiences throughout the day. Lastly, in the evening, Dr Ana Marić, Deputy Director of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, guided the participants through a visit of its impressive collections.

ANCHISE Workshop (Sarajevo, Thursday 11 September 2025)

The following day, another kind of ANCHISE initiative took place in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a workshop entitled “Cultural Heritage Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina: From Systemic Challenges to Operational Solutions”. This event gathered Cultural Heritage Professionals from Bosnia and Herzegovina and featured three sessions. Before leaving the floor to the panellists, Dr Ana Marić delivered an opening speech, followed by an introductory presentation by Hélène Ventimiglia, who recalled the approach of the workshop: adopting a bottom-up perspective to identify the challenges and needs specific to local contexts. In the first session titled “Assessing the Situation of Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, a mapping of current threats was provided by Stipan Dilber, Curator at the Franciscan Museum in Tomislavgrad and by Filip Ćubela, Curator, at the Franciscan Museum and Gallery Gorica - Livno. . The second session was dedicated to Structural Challenges in Addressing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Aida Bičakčić, Curator at Sarajevo City Museums, delivered a speech titled “The Institutional Maze: Why Fragmentation Weakens Protection”. Then, Milica Kotur, Head of Cultural Heritage Department in the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republic of Srpska, gave a presentation on “The Documentation Gap: Missing Inventories, Vulnerable Heritage”. The third and last session was a roundtable gathering the panellists under Alma Leka’s moderation, discussing “Solutions in Combating Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Sophie Delepierre, Head of the Heritage Protection Department (ICOM) took part in this discussion, providing key insights on ICOM tools and recommendations.

ANCHISE Demonstration of Technological Tools for Law Enforcement Agencies (Mostar, Friday 12 September 2025)

The third event was a Demonstration of Technological Tools dedicated to Law Enforcement Agencies. The event took place on 12 September 2025 in the Agency for Education and Professional Training, in Mostar.

Expert practitioners from the officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically from the anti-smuggling teams, and from the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina, attended the event. Simultaneous and consecutive translations were ensured by two interpreters all day long. The welcoming address was delivered by Mr Marko Vujevic, Director of the Agency. Afterwards, Marine Lechenault (ENSP) provided a presentation of the Demonstration synopsis and agenda, including the two groups’ rotation among tools’ workshops and the following evaluation step to be completed. This Demonstration also offered the opportunity to present the Cyprus Institute’s GUARDIAN-CH Shared Database by Valentina Vassallo. As in Sarajevo, four tools workshops were scheduled: two of them took place in the following part of the morning, dedicated to KIKu-Mon (by Huajian Liu, Fraunhofer) and to ART-CH (by Nikolaos Peppes, ICCS). In the afternoon, the participants attended two more workshops, one dedicated to Arte-Fact (by Axel Kerep, PARCS) and the next one to SFS Spectroscopy (Manuscript Dating, by Armando Fernandes, INOV).

Once all the workshops were completed, a Focus Group took place to collect impressions and additional feedback on pros, cons, concerns, barriers and potential replicability of the tools that had been presented. This discussion was animated by Pier Giacomo Sola (Michael Culture Association) and Marine Lechenault. Mariana Vasilache shared information on ANCHISE’s next activities. The last part of the event saw conclusive speeches, delivered by Marko Vujevic and by French Ambassador His Excellency François Delmas.

These three days of intensive collaboration in Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated the transformative potential of combining technological innovation with local expertise in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. By uniting over 80 professionals from cultural institutions and law enforcement agencies, ANCHISE successfully showcased practical tools while addressing the systemic challenges—institutional fragmentation and documentation gaps—that continue to threaten the region's heritage. The enthusiastic participation, constructive feedback, and rich discussions across all three events confirm that the path forward requires precisely this type of cross-sector dialogue and technological empowerment. The foundations laid during these demonstrations and workshop will serve as a catalyst for strengthening capacity to protect cultural goods while contributing valuable insights to the broader European effort against heritage crime.

Conclusive speeches, delivered by Marko Vujevic and by French Ambassador His Excellency François Delmas.