Building on Heritage and Culture – A Path for Community Regeneration
Join leaders and economic change makers from the US, UK and Europe to learn about and discuss ways historical industrial communities that have experienced economic restructuring, job loss, and decline are managing a rebirth—in part building on unique assets and attributes of their industrial heritage, arts, and culture.
National and local leaders are waking up to the fact that residents of ignored and economically left-behind regions are angry and alienated, and many leaders are moving to ameliorate the economic, social and political divides undermining our polities from within. Today, There is a convergence of interest and effort on both sides of the Atlantic, to learn from each other, and identify and enact the policies, programmes, and practices that are effective in closing these geographic economic divides. Where communities recover, it returns community pride and optimism about the future, diminishes the appeal of polarizing political movements and the demagogues who stoke them.
One of the many paths that have been successfully trod to new economic growth and community regeneration is that of building and leveraging the heritage and cultural assets of older industrial communities and heartland regions. Reanimating former industrial and historic districts, infrastructures and buildings, for new uses in the society and economy of today. Celebrating and educating new generations about the communities' unique history, culture, and contributions to the nation. Bringing current residents together and attracting newcomers through arts, heritage and cultural events, activities and spaces. All have been fulcrums for renewing economies as well as reestablishing community pride in place.
The next transatlantic discussion organized via the Heartlands Transformation Network will bring forward leaders and community change makers with success and insights into how arts, culture and history can be levers for community regeneration. This transatlantic hybrid conversation will center on the approach, tactics, strategies, insights and lessons learned from leaders in similarly situated communities in the US, UK, and across Europe.
Zoom Webinar: Virtual Event
Date/Time: Thursday, June 19, 10AM to 11AM EST
Admission: FREE
The Heartlands Transformation Network is a transatlantic collaborative partnership dedicated towards closing geographic economic divides and reconnecting residents of rural and former industrial heartland communities to economic opportunity. The initiative works to return community pride and optimism about the future, and diminish the appeal of polarizing, resentment-driven, isolationist and ethnonationalist political movements that threaten our democracies.
The initiative, its learning exchanges, convenings, events, study tours, presentations, publications, and other learning products, are conducted with partners including the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, the Brookings Institution; the Georgetown University BMW Center for German and European Studies; the Jefferson Educational Society; the Ruhrkonferenz of North-Rhine Westphalia; Policy Manchester at the University of Manchester, U.K.; the University Allianz Ruhr; the German Consulate General in Chicago; the University of Michigan; the European Commission Directorate of Regional and Urban Policy; and the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, among others.
Jurgen Hein Managing Director of the Research Alliance Ruhr a cooperation of the three universities in the Ruhr area – Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen Before joining the Research Alliance, Mr. Hein headed the Ruhr Conference, an initiative of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia to aid the Ruhr area’s economic transformation.
Jane Robinson sits on the University Executive Board and leads the Engagement & Place Strategy, focussing on building partnerships to enhance the societal benefit of the university. She is also executive lead for sustainability and social justice. Previously, Jane was Durham University’s Chief Operating Officer with strategic oversight of operations and external engagement.
Before taking up her position at Durham, Jane was Chief Executive of Gateshead Council, playing a central role in the culture-led regeneration of the borough. Jane has also held leadership positions in the cultural sector, including Director of External Relations at Arts Council England.
Jane is a Deputy Lieutenant for Tyne & Wear and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She chairs the North East Confederation for British Industry (CBI) and Insights North East and holds a range of non-executive positions, including the Centre for Cities, the Centre for Life in Newcastle, North East Museums, and Energy Central Campus in Northumberland.
Pascal Anselmi is currently leading the 'European Workshop for Culture and Democracy' as part of Chemnitz's European Capital of Culture 2025. His work focuses on capacity building, civil society participation, strengthening the resilience of democratic actors, and cultural transformation in East Germany. Drawing on the unique historical and social dynamics of the region, he seeks to promote inclusive dialogue and cultural exchange across European contexts.
Pascal's background is in press relations, science communication, podcast production, and German language and literature. As a cultural manager, he translates complex ideas into accessible formats, fostering engagement, democratic discourse, and development of civic structures in post-transformation societies.
For 27 years, George Moroz served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for External Relations at The Henry Ford, representing the organization’s strategic interests and objectives in its relations with the public, private and non-profit sectors. In this role, Moroz identified, established and maintained external relationships which afford the greatest opportunities for advancement in terms of institutional positioning, leadership and resource development. As its principal government relations representative, Moroz established and maintained excellent working relationships with federal, state and local government officials and served as The Henry Ford’s primary government affairs advocate.
Moroz has served as President and Board Member of the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM) and as Chairman of its Advocacy Committee; Co-Chairman of the Michigan Travel Commission’s Standing Committee on Communications and Collaboration and its Public Policy and Government Support Committee; member of Independent Sector’s national Public Policy Committee; member of the Michigan NonProfit Association’s Public Policy Council for Southeast Michigan; a field reviewer for the Museum Leadership Initiatives of the Institute for Museum & Library Services in Washington, D.C.; and member of the Leadership Advisory Council for the Henry Ford (Health Systems) Innovation Institute
Moroz has a Ph.D. in Analytic Philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. Prior to joining The Henry Ford, Moroz served as acting Vice President for Development at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Administrator for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, and Assistant Professor, co-founder and Chair of the Liberal Arts Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Perpetually curious, Ben Speggen is a learner, writer, editor, interviewer, reporter, connector, researcher, educator, traveler, and administrator. A Swiss-Army-knife-kind-of-person, he thrives working at a Swiss-Army-Knife-kind-of-institution – the Jefferson Educational Society.
Ben joined the JES, a nonpartisan think tank headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, which focuses on civic engagement and education, in 2015. He’s held various roles, and today serves as the think tank’s Vice President, overseeing and contributing to the JES’s various divisions – from developing the curriculum for the more than 150 annual programs and the more than 180 annual publications.
Ben also directs the think tank’s signature Civic Leadership Academy, which immerses participants in a hands-on learning opportunity to explore the form and function of local government and how it relates to state government, while asking the individuals to come together as a whole to produce meaningful research and clear-eyed recommendations of how to address a critical issue facing the region with national implication.
The son of a coal miner and direct-care assistant, Ben was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and grew up in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania in the small town of Carmichaels. He is a first-generation college graduate and studied literature, history, and journalism at Gannon University at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
