Riin Alatalu

Riin Alatalu is the Vice-President of ICOMOS, an Associate Professor of Cultural Heritage and Conservation at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies at the same institution. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Estonian Heritage Conservation Council and is an active member of various ICOMOS groups, including the Rights-Based Approaches Working Group, CIVVIH, ICLAFI, ISC20C, and the European Heritage Label Panel.
Alatalu has held leadership roles in the Estonian National Heritage Board, the Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department, and the Ministry of Culture. She earned her PhD in 2012 with a dissertation on “Heritage in Transitional Society: From Nation’s Conscience in the Estonian SSR to the Harasser of the Private Owner in the Republic of Estonia.”
She has been deeply involved in initiatives like the Urban Agenda Dissonant Heritage Working Group and has been a strong advocate for preserving and contextualizing dissonant heritage in Estonia. Alatalu has organized numerous courses and lectures on the topic.
Her campaigns include the Estonian National Cultural Heritage Year 2013, European Cultural Heritage Days, Visit Baltic Manors, and other awareness-raising activities. She has successfully fostered collaboration between decision-makers and the wider public to promote cultural heritage preservation.