Czene, Zsolt; spatial development expert, researcher of cultural heritage

Zsolt Czene (1972) is presently a programme designer of VÁTI Hungarian Public Nonprofit Company for Regional Development and Town Planning. He attained a PhD degree about regional science.

Professional experiences:

regional development expert as a private entrepreneur (1998-2003); VÁTI Hungarian Public Nonprofit Company for Regional Development and Town Planning (2003-)

Research areas:

cultural heritage in territorial coherence; relations between cultural heritage and regionalism, its location in science and regional science; role of cultural factors in area development; spatiotemporal relativity of area development and the state of development; the idea of cultural heritage and its interdisciplinary correspondence; the significance of cultural heritage in area development; cultural heritage in practice (of area development)

Intellectual profile:

The author graduated from the University of Agricultural Sciences of Gödöllő, at the Department of Environmental and Landscape Culture (1996), as a cert. agrarian engineer of environmental culture. He wrote his theses upon the examination of competence of the Mórahalom area. Through this work he started to engage in area development. After his works in local areas, he has been a designer research assistant at the VÁTI Rural Development Office since 2003, where he participates in designing national action plans concerning rural development. His interests turned to the factors of area development beyond those of the economics, especially the cultural heritage, during his PhD-research at Doctoral School of Regional Politics and Economics at Science University of Pécs, (1997-2004). His dissertation titled “Role of cultural heritage in area development” focused on the significance of role of cultural heritage in area development, a rather new subject in Hungary. The author’s main issues are the further examination and substantiation of the matter by extending the subject to a research program, the promotion of the interdisciplinary discourse concerning his subject and getting involved in the international “heritage discourse”. He also targets the exploration of its practical utilization by further applied researches. He considers cultural heritage as a definitive element of culture, of individual and communal identity, which, being the most precious value-medium, has a more general meaning to its significance in “heritage industry”. The author joins the value-based science, emphasises the importance of the holistic view as well as the scientific and ideological synthesis, and stresses the significance of the intellectual and cultural contents.

Major publications:

A kulturális örökség területfejlesztési megközelítése (The cultural heritage in regional development’s approach, Tér és Társadalom (Space and Society) 2002/4); Pusztuló falvak – teremtő élet; kulturális örökség és regionális megújulás (Dying villages—creating life; cultural heritage and regional renewal, Évkönyv 2002 (Annual for the year 2002) Mezey ed. Pécsi Tudományegyetem Közgazdaságtudományi Kara Regionális Politika és Gazdaságtan Doktori Iskola, Pécs, 2003)

Other activities:

The author’s interest in castles is uninterrupted since his childhood. His enthusiasm to touring and gardening is rooted in his admiration for nature. He is also devoted to literature, especially poetry.

e-mail: zsczene@vati.hu