En/counter/points: (re)negotiating belonging through culture and contact in public space and place (2019-2022)

​Public Spaces: Culture and Integration in Europe (2019 – 2022)

En/counter/points: (re)negotiating belonging through culture and contact in public space and place (2019-2022)

The Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) is a collaborative partnership of 26 national research funding agencies from 25 European countries. In summer 2026, two AHRC interns, Princess Kunadu and Sammy Morgan, explored the long-term impact of UK involvement in HERA-funded research by contacting project leads to gather stories about what their research has achieved since completion. The team developed six responses into stories highlighting the lasting value of European collaboration.

Learn more about the process of collecting the stories

Credit: en/counter/points: (re)negotiating belonging through culture and contact in public space and place

Across Europe, rising political and social polarisation has intensified debates about where people feel they belong, and how diverse communities can coexist within shared spaces. Belonging, however, is not simply a matter of identity but largely shaped through people’s connections to communities, places and histories. Understanding how these connections are formed and challenged is increasingly important for cultural organisations, communities and policy makers seeking to build more inclusive societies during a time of European migration.

In 2019, UK based researchers led by Professor Susannah Eckersley at Newcastle University, in collaboration with Poland, Germany and the Netherlands, investigated how belonging is understood and shaped. En/counter/points: (re)negotiating belonging through culture and contact in public space and place used comprehensive analysis of case studies, including museums, religious centres and community spaces to establish that more inclusive forms of belonging critically depend on constructive collaboration between communities, cultural organisations and public institutions. This knowledge underpinned two policy briefs and a range of practical resources produced by the team and currently used to support inclusive community practices across Europe.

Most notably, the project produced a Toolkit on Belonging for Museum Professionals, which has been adopted by major institutions including Manchester Museum, Sunderland Museum and Vienna’s Volkskundemuseum, helping embed inclusive approaches into exhibition development and public engagement. The toolkit translated the research findings into practical guidance that museum professionals could apply to their own institutional contexts, supporting them to reflect on whose histories and identities are represented, how communities are involved in decision-making, and how exhibitions and engagement activities can create more inclusive spaces of belonging. Its adoption by these institutions demonstrates a direct pathway from the research to changes in professional practice, enabling museums to strengthen relationships with diverse communities and incorporate more participatory approaches into their work.

The research also informed guidance for urban planners, policy makers and designers, providing evidence-based approaches to the regeneration of neglected public spaces that support community participation and social inclusion. The guidance highlighted the importance of involving local communities in shaping the spaces in which they live, recognising that successful regeneration is not only a physical process but also one through which people develop connections to place and a sense of ownership. By translating the research evidence into practical recommendations for planners and designers, the project provided a framework for developing public spaces that are more responsive to diverse communities and that can strengthen social connections, participation and belonging. This has extended the impact of the research beyond cultural institutions into wider debates about inclusive urban development and the role of public space in socially cohesive communities.

Download the stories

Professor Susannah Eckersley | Newcastle University | [email protected]

Written by Sammy Morgan