Fortified heritage and the private sector

Efforts Annual Congress 2026 and 4th Annual Conference of the ‘Cooperation Platform of Flemish Fortified Cities’

Monday 8 June – Wednesday 10 June 2026

Citadel, Kolonel Blondeellaan, Diest (BE)

Today, cultural heritage is confronted with many challenges that often also represent opportunities. The need for renovation is frequently limited by budgetary constraints, while renovation and reuse are sometimes perceived as conflicting approaches to the preservation of heritage sites.

One promising path lies in partnerships between public owners of fortified heritage and private partners, who may act as funders, users or both. Such collaborations can help address financial limitations while supporting the renovation and sustainable reuse of heritage sites.

These developments raise important questions about cultural values, legal frameworks, spatial planning and governance. At the same time, they reflect a broader ambition: to ensure that fortified built heritage contributes meaningfully to society, regional and urban development, and the vitality of local neighbourhoods.

The European Federation of Fortified Sites (EFFORTS) aims to address these intrinsically interconnected issues during its Annual Congress 2026, bringing together public and private stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies for the preservation, renovation, and sustainable use of fortified heritage. Diest and the other EFFORTS cities in Flanders are grouped in the EFFORTS Flemish Fortified Cities platform.

Keynote speakers

Leen Gysen

Leen began her career at Telindus (now Proximus), rising to Corporate Marketing Communications Director. She then served as Director of Marketing, Communications and Sales at BOZAR, responsible for audience engagement, business development and marcom strategy.

She holds a Master’s in Archaeology and Art History from KU Leuven, a Master in Industrial Business Management from EHSAL Management School (Brussels), and is a Certified Guberna Director. Since 2009 she has worked as a consultant and as founder/managing partner of IPARC, which became a reference in multidisciplinary restoration and research of art collections. She was a finalist for the WOMED Award and led IPARC to be named National SME of the Year.

Leen sits on the Board of Directors of Guberna and Flanders Special Venues vzw. For twelve years, she championed the rights of women and girls at NGO Plan International Belgium. Equal opportunities, sustainability, and inclusiveness are central to her commitment. Leen lives with her family in Hageland, between Horst Castle and the Vlooyberg Tower.

Leen Gysen is the new Chief Executive Officer of Visit Flanders. She is a director, entrepreneur and expert with broad experience at the intersection of tourism, culture, heritage and policy.

Michiel van Balen

Michiel Van Balen graduated in 2006 as a civil engineer and architect. After working as an urban designer in Belgium and South Africa, he started working in 2009 as the project coordinator for the renovation of the former brewery De Hoorn in Leuven.

In 2021 Michiel Van Balen co-founded ‘Stadsmakersfonds’ (City Makers Fund): a cooperative investment fund for the adaptive reuse of historic sites and buildings. Stadsmakersfonds co-founded the temporary development project for the Citadel of Diest.

This abandoned monument had been bought by 7 local creative entrepreneurs to transform it into a creative hub and received the EU price for Cultural Heritage 2016. This alternative real estate development strategy turned out to be a powerful bottom-up approach to urban design that led to the co-founding of Miss Miyagi.

Miss Miyagi initiates and coordinates adaptive reuse projects with a social impact. Miss Miyagi initiated and coordinated (amongst others) the project of Hal5 that won the Leuven Architectural award 2019. Hal5 is also one of the exemplary cases in the New European Bauhaus Compass.

Mireille van der Meij is a strategic advisor in sustainability and regulatory transformation within the defense and manufacturing ecosystem. She believes resilience and sustainability are no longer peripheral themes, but core strategic drivers in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.

Mireille van der Meij

With over twenty years of experience advising executive leadership at organizations including Damen Shipyards and Fokker Aerospace (now GKN Aerospace), she brings a strong track record in public affairs, stakeholder alignment, and complex change processes. She translates complex regulatory, geopolitical, and sustainability developments into clear strategic choices and practical implementation.

Mireille van der Meij is member of the Board of the Platform Sustainability, Environment and Security of the Netherlands Industries for Defense and Security (NIDV) and member of the Sustainability Commission of Aerospace. Security and Defense (ASD) industries in Europe.

Schedule

Sunday 7 June: Arrival

Informal get-together of those already arriving

Dinner at restaurant in Diest, own costs

Monday 8 June: Board meeting & Annual General Meeting (Citadel)

11.00-13.00 Board meeting

13.00-14.00 Sandwich lunch Board Members

15.00-17.00 Annual General Meeting

- Budget and activities 2025 and preview 2026-2027
- Board member election

18.00 Standing Dinner at City Hall, Grote Markt, Diest

- Keynote: Leen GYSEN, CEO Toerisme Vlaanderen, Opportunities and challenges in sustainable heritage development

Tuesday 9 June

7.30 Run around the Citadel : voluntary free sporting moment (running the citadel and its hill steps, meet at Citadel Place d’Armes)

9.00 Congress

9.30 Welcome: Geert CLUCKERS, Mayor of Diest and John ADAM, president of EFFORTS

PART 1 Congress – Flemish Fortified Cities (John Adams presiding)

10.00 Keynote: Ewald WAUTERS, Partipatiemaatschapij Vlaanderen, BE, Financing public authority actions in Flanders and discussion, Tractebel-Engie, BE (tbc)

11.00 Bart SEVERI, Spatial Planning Department Diest, BE, Issues on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in fortified heritage development

11.45 Panel discussion – The aspects of PPP in fortification heritage sites reuse

- Leidsman, BE
- Ion, BE
- Anouk van HEESCH, hoofd Erfgoeddienst ‘s-Hertogenbosch, NL
- Fort Vurig Utrecht, NL

13.00-14.00 Walking lunch

PART 2 Congress – Public-Private Partnership BE – NL (Anne-Wil Maris presiding)

14.00 Keynote: Michiel VAN BALEN (Miss Myagi, Stadsmakers) and discussion

15.00 Flemish cities presentations on Public Private Partnership and discussions

- Joke BUIJS / Karen MINSAER, City of Antwerp, BE (tbc)
- Annelies BRYSSINK, The Dendermonde bomfree barracks, City of Dendermonde, BE

17.00 Activity of choice:

- Walking tour of the Leopold fort park of Diest (by bus)
- Tour of the citadel
- Historic guided tour ‘Nachtwacht’ through the William of Orange City Diest, BE

19.00 Standing dinner at the Citadel

Wednesday 10 June

7.30 Run around the Citadel

PART 3 Congress – Partnerships and Resilience (Bart Severi presiding)

9.30 Keynote: Mireille VAN DER MEIJ, sustainability strategist, Resilience in today’s societal challenges, NL

10.30 Presentations with lead to discussion (15 min presentations and 15 min discussion time)

- Fortified Futures – the case of climate resilience and partnerships, Laurène MANSUY, director Vauban UNESCO Network, FR
- The resilience case of Stichting Vestingwerken Westelijk Noord-Brabant and Zuiderwaterlinie : Dennis van NIEUWENHUIJZEN, president ICOFORT Europe, NL
- Wartime Resilience in Ivano-Frankivsk – Public-Private Initiatives in a Fortified City: Olha TIKHONOVA, U. Sevilla ES, UA
- Future project cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, Egidijus BAGDONAS, Kaunas Fortress Park, LT, Baltic Route
- Jan ZILA, Spatial planning in the City of Jaromĕř, CZ (tbc)
- The case of spatial planning and resilience in: Marika AUVINEN/Sanna NIKKI, Cities of Hamina and Kotka, FI

13.00-14.00 Walking lunch

PART 4 Congress – Break-out and resumé (Daniele Sferra presiding)

14.00 Break-out sessions on the main congress subjects

- Private funding and partnerships for heritage reuse: best practices (with the EU Recovery and Resilience funded Diest Citadel operator)
- The role of the private sector in climate change resilience (with the Vauban UNESCO Network, FR and Fortified Futures secretariat)

15.00 Panel discussion – Public Private Partnerships and city planning (mediation by Maarten de Winter)

- Jiri HOFFMAN, City of Terezín, CZ
- Kaire TOOMING, Heritage Department City of Tallinn, EST
- Paula KOUKI, The case of spatial planning and resilience in Hamina/Kotka, FI

16.00 Plenary presentation of the break-out sessions, discussion and final resumé

16.40 Presentation of the 2026 Annual Efforts Award on the innovation of fortified heritage reuse and communication

16.50 Presentation of the 2027 EFFORTS congress by the host city

17.00 End