On 12 September 2026, the My Sporting Heritage project celebrated an important milestone with its international conference, “Preserving and Promoting Europe’s Sporting Heritage”. Hosted at the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla in Zagreb, Croatia, the event brought together experts, researchers, educators, museums, sport organisations and cultural heritage professionals from across Europe and beyond.

Participants also joined online, making the conference an inclusive opportunity for international exchange.

Organised by Radiona.org – Zagreb Makerspace and Sport & Citoyenneté, on behalf of the whole My Sporting Heritage consortium, the conference provided an opportunity to reflect on the value of sporting heritage and explore innovative ways to preserve, interpret and share it with different communities and generations.

Sporting heritage, memory and identity

The morning programme opened with institutional greetings from the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla and the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport, followed by an introduction to the My Sporting Heritage project. The keynote presentation by Niek Pas from the University of Amsterdam set the scene for a day of discussion and exchange. A presentation by Danira Nakić, Director of the Croatian Sports Museum, offered a valuable local perspective on the preservation and public presentation of Croatia’s sporting heritage.

The first panel discussion, “Europe’s Sporting Heritage: Between Memory, Identity and Education”, brought together representatives from academia, museums, traditional sports and cultural heritage practice.
Participants explored what sporting heritage means in contemporary Europe, why it matters for collective memory and identity, and how it can be preserved and made accessible through digital technologies.
The discussion underlined the importance of looking at sporting heritage not simply as a collection of objects, photographs and documents, but as a living resource connected to communities, personal memories, shared traditions and European cultural identity.

Digitisation and gamification for learning

A central part of the conference was the focus session “Digitization and Gamification for Learning about Sport Heritage”, which examined how digital technologies and playful approaches can support education and engagement. Deborah Hustić from Radiona.org presented two educational games developed within the project: The Rift – Escape Card Game and The Sport Heritage Trails – Geocache Game. These tools demonstrate how storytelling, collaboration, movement and problem-solving can help learners discover sporting heritage in engaging and memorable ways.

The subsequent roundtable brought together perspectives from the Croatian Olympic Academy, Radiona.org and Michael Culture Association, represented by Pier Giacomo Sola. The discussion explored the educational potential of gamification, the role of digital tools in cultural heritage learning and the ways in which playful experiences can make sporting heritage more accessible to younger audiences and diverse communities.

The programme also included a global perspective, with an online presentation by Marcelo Contineli from the Football Museum in São Paulo, Brazil. His contribution highlighted the international relevance of sporting heritage and the different ways in which museums can use storytelling, collections and public engagement to communicate the cultural significance of sport.

Learning through participation

The afternoon was dedicated to participatory workshops, allowing participants to experience the educational tools developed by the project. Michael Culture Association contributed with the Treasure
Hunt Game on Sport Heritage, organised by Maria Teresa Natale and Pier Giacomo Sola. Using selected artefacts from the Croatian Sports Museum and the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla, participants explored sporting heritage through a series of challenges and questions. The activity demonstrated how a treasure hunt can encourage observation, collaboration and discovery while connecting museum objects with broader historical and cultural narratives.

Two additional workshops offered opportunities to test the Sport Heritage Trails geocaching game and The Rift escape card game. Through location-based clues, QR codes, puzzles and collaborative challenges, participants experienced how physical and digital activities can be combined to promote learning through play.

Throughout the conference, participants could also explore the My Sporting Heritage Virtual Gallery, developed by Michael Culture Association. The gallery presents selected stories, collections and digital materials developed within the project, offering new ways to discover and experience Europe’s sporting heritage online. Interactive sport installations presented by the Museum of ZGSports Stories further contributed to the atmosphere of experimentation, combining sporting heritage, playful interaction and electronic design.

From project to legacy

The conference concluded with a reflection on the future of My Sporting Heritage and the potential legacy of its results. The closing session emphasised the importance of continuing to share the project’s educational resources, digital tools and approaches beyond the lifetime of the project. The event demonstrated that sporting heritage can be a powerful vehicle for education, intercultural dialogue, participation and intergenerational exchange. By combining research, museum practice, digital technologies and gamification, My Sporting Heritage is helping to develop new ways of connecting people with Europe’s sporting past.

The successful conference in Zagreb was an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the project, strengthen cooperation among partners and look towards a future in which sporting heritage is not only preserved, but actively experienced, shared and reinterpreted by new generations.

Curious to learn more? You can find all the pedagogical resources on the My Sporting Heritage website: My Sporting Heritage.org