us, in brief
The Best in Heritage is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation based in Zagreb dedicated to promoting every aspect of professional excellence in heritage occupations and doing it "by the power of example” through an annual, global conference.
vision
To remain world's unique event showcasing best achievements in the heritage sector.
mission
To select and present examples of the best and most successful practices in museums, heritage and conservation, and use their power as change-makers in spreading quality and excellence in public memory domain, contributing thus to creating a powerful profession and better societal use of heritage.
core values
We promote public value of heritage community, their art of communication and efficiency in social development. Our central value is public good and our method, - inspiration.
who we are
Professor Tomislav S. Šola
Director, Best in Heritage
He finished Art History in Zagreb, Museology in Paris, and made his PhD in Ljubljana. Starting the career as a museum curator he then became director of Museum documentation centre in Zagreb. He became Chairman of the National Committee and later on member of Executive council of ICOM. He occupied the position of Head of Department of Information Sciences, held Chair of Museology at the University of Zagreb and was regularly teaching at seven universities abroad. He was a member of jury of EMYA and head of a jury at Europa Nostra where he is now a Council member. Professor Šola lectured about 325 hours internationally and wrote eight books, chapters in nine books and about 250 articles. He founded "The Best in Heritage" conference. Visit the Mnemosophy blog here.
advisory board
John Sell, CBE
Chairman
John Sell is the executive Vice-President of Europa Nostra. Member of RIBA from 1973, he holds Accredited Architect Graduate diploma in Building conservation. John worked on many projects across Europe as consultant, architects and advisor, contributed to and started many heritage and conservation projects. He holds several voluntary and advisory positions in UK and abroad, such as chairman of Society for the protection of Ancient buildings, assessor of conservation grants to the Getty programme etc. He wrote several publications and lectured extensively throughout Europe.
Goranka Horjan
Member
Currently CEO of the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb. Since 2012 she is the Chair of the European Museum Forum, which runs the European Museum of the Year Award programme. She is active in ICOM and was a member of the Executive Council from 2010 to 2016. She also served two terms as the Chair of the International Committee for Regional Museums.For two years she was the Assistant Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and for 12 years she was the general director of the Museums of Hrvatsko zagorje and formed the new Museum of Krapina Neanderthals. She is the chair of the Europa Nostra Award jury in the category education, training and awareness-raising.
Claude Faubert
Member
Claude Faubert is a museum consultant specialising in science and technology museums and exhibitions, cultural heritage and tourism, as well as in museum training. Claude was director general of the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive science and technology museum from 2001 to 2011, and its Vice-President of Collection and Research from 2011 to 2015.Claude was a member of ICOM’s Executive Council from 2007 to 2013. He is a voting member of CIMUSET. Since 2013, Mr. Faubert has been the coordinator for the ICOM International Training Centre housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing.
János Tari
Member
János Tari holds PhD in visual anthropology, university degree of ethnography, sociology, documentary nonfiction director and cameraman. He was chief curator for 35 years the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography. Now he is Chair of the ICOM/AVICOM International Committee for Audiovisual and New Technologies of Image and Sound. As head of the Film Studio and Archive department of the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography he had produced documentary films for television programmes and exhibitions and cooperated in editing a digital multimedia and internet film catalogue. He is an Associate Professor, head of video studió of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church and at the Faculty of Humanities – Institute of Social and Communication Science in Budapest.
Roberto Nardi
Member
Roberto Nardi received a degree in archaeology from the University of Rome and in conservation at the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro in Rome. In 1982 he founded the Centro di Conservazione Archeologica and he has directed more than 50 projects and training courses in 14 countries, including the Arch of Septimus Severus in the Roman Forum, the town of Zeugma in Turkey. In 2007 he received the Aga Kahn Award for Islamic Architecture for the restoration of the Madrasa Amiriya in Yemen. In 2015 he received the Europa Nostra Award 2015, Jury and Public Choice for the conservation of the prehistoric sculptures of Mont’e Prama and, for the same project, the Best in Heritage Project of Influence Award 2016. He is President of the ICCM Foundation. Roberto Nardi is visiting professor at the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro (former ICR) and at the American University of Rome. In 2017 his project at the Monastery of Saint Catherine was awarded with the Europa Nostra Award.
Trevor White
Member
Born in Dublin in 1972, Trevor White is founder and director of the Little Museum of Dublin, the number one museum in Ireland (TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Awards 2017). An erstwhile publisher and the author of three books, Trevor is also a mediocre tennis player.
Dr AN Laishun
Member
Dr An is the Vice President of ICOM and Vice President and Secretary General Chinese Museums Association. He is the Deputy Director, New Cultural Movement Museum of Beijing, Beijing (since 2012), Executive Editor-in-Chief, Chinese Museum Magazine, Beijing (since 2003). He was Deputy Secretary General, Chinese Society of Museums, Beijing (2002-2008); Guest professor in heritage/museology studies in three Chinese Universities, Deputy Director, International Friendship Museum of China, Beijing (2007-2012) and many more. He holds Ph.D in Chinese History, Nankai University, China (2005); Master of Arts in Museology, Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam School of the Arts, the Netherlands (2001); Bachelor Degree in History and Museology, Nankai University, China (1984).
Dr Viv Golding
Member
Viv was elected President of the International Council of Museums of Ethnography (ICME) for a second term at the triennial conference in Milan (2016-19). She is Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester (2017-), which she joined the in 2002. Previously Viv had a varied professional career in London, organizing formal education provision at the Horniman Museum (1992-2002) and art and design courses for further education students (1980-1992). She publishes extensively and is widely funded to speak internationally on her research themes of museums as sites of antiracism and feminism most recentlyby the Rijksmuseum, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the British Council. Read more
Dr David Fleming, OBE
Member
David Fleming is Professor of Public History at Liverpool Hope University, having been Director of National Museums Liverpool for 17 years. Before then he was Director of Tyne & Wear Museums in the UK. He has a Master's degree and a PhD from Leicester University. He has twice been President of the UK Museums Association (the only person to have been elected twice in the organisation's 130-year history). He is a Board member of Katowice's Muzeum Slaskie, of Liverpool's SS Daniel Adamson, and of Rosario's International Museum for Democracy. He is a member of ICOM's Ethics and Museum Definition Committees, and is a former President of INTERCOM and Vice Chair of EMF. David is Founding President of the Federation of International Human Rights Museums (FIHRM). He has published extensively and has lectured and advised museums, municipalities and governments in fifty countries on museum management and leadership, city history museums, museum ethics, cultural heritage management, social inclusion and human rights
Dr Wim De Vos
Member
Born in Mechelen, Wim de Vos has a PhD in Literature, Specialisation in Semiotics. Formerly he was in charge of the outreach activities of the Royal Library of Belgium and communication Manager of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels. He was Advisor to the Belgian Minister in Charge of the Federal Museums 2009-2011 and currently serves as Advisor to the Belgian Minister of Agriculture for Middle Classes and Social Integration. Wim is a member of the Executive Council of ICOM and of the Judging Panel of the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), of which he was the chair 2012-2015. Amongst other activities, in his free time he enjoys cycling and polyphonic singing.
Alex Palin
Member
Based in Stockholm, Alex is responsible for sales, communications and marketing in Northern Europe for izi.TRAVEL. Alex has more than 20 years of experience in ICT, where he was involved in various innovative ventures. As a Business Developer of izi.TRAVEL, he participated in more than 50 international conferences dedicated to museums and cultural heritage and has lead many workshops.
Antonia Rusković Radonić
Member
Antonia Rusković Radonić studied Philosophy, Indology and Art at the University of Zagreb. Since than she has been engaged in the research and presentation of traditional embroidery techniques, yarn production and women's intangible heritage. After her studies, through the civil sector she organized numerous educational programs based on cultural and natural sustainability. Since 2006 she has maintained regular studies on traditional Konavle silk production. In 2014 she collected and cataloged all Konavle embroidery patterns, resulting in it being listed as part of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
honorary members
the team
Stephen Harrison
Honorary Chairman
Vladimir I. Tolstoy
Honorary Member
Hartmut Prasch
Honorary Member
Luka Cipek
Project Manager
Ida Marija Šola
Associate
Koraljka Alavanja
Associate
