Events
Bridging HERitage – Women’s
Working visit to Benaguasil for the European project Bridging HERitage
June 2026
In June, several colleagues from Heerlen visited Benaguasil, a village near Valencia in Spain. Together with representatives from eight other European cities, they gathered in Benaguasil as part of the EU project Bridging HERitage. During the visit, the participants exchanged knowledge and experiences on topics such as engaging women at a local level, diversity, and setting up and maintaining communities and initiatives in a sustainable way.
The programme included guided tours of several museums where the role of women was the central theme. The participants also visited a factory where the majority of employees are women and attended various presentations related to the project's key themes.
The colleagues look back on an interesting, educational and sunny working visit to Benaguasil, with a strong focus on inspiration, collaboration and European knowledge exchange.
Project partners:
enaguasil Ayuntamiento, Comune di Teglio Veneto, Paredes Município, TO Trstenik, RARR Official, augavpils.lv, UAT Mures, LPNU Official and CREA360.
March 10 until March 12, the municipality of Heerlen kicked off the European project “Bridging HERitage – Women’s
From March 10 until March 12, the municipality of Heerlen kicked off the European project “Bridging HERitage – Women’s Contribution to European Cultural Development” with an inaugural international working visit. Partners from eight European municipalities and universities traveled to Heerlen for the occasion. Over the next two years, they will collaborate to highlight the often-overlooked contributions of women to European culture.
By collaborating with organizations from different countries, Bridging HERitage aims to draw more attention to gender equality. The project highlights all that women have done and achieved throughout European history. It also seeks to strengthen local communities, which is why women of all ages and backgrounds are invited to participate.
The municipality of Heerlen is the project coordinator for Bridging HERitage and therefore organized the first working visit. During the second week of March, the international partners got to know the city, its history, and its residents. The program included a guided tour of Heerlen’s city center with a focus on women’s history, and the partners, together with the mayor, visited the Ukrainian refugee shelter at “Huize De Berg.” They also received a presentation and tour of the ‘Bovengrondse Vakschool’ and visited the Language Café at SCHUNCK. Additionally, there was a panel discussion with various women from Heerlen, who shared personal stories and experiences.
The kick-off meeting in Heerlen laid a strong foundation for further collaboration within the Bridging HERitage network. Together, we are working on a project in which heritage, stories, and international collaboration help make communities more inclusive and stronger.