Anna Siri

This article examines women’s therapeutic knowledge through the traditional healing practices of the szeptunki (also szeptuchy, “whisperers”) of Podlachia, a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional borderland in north-eastern Poland. Their repertoire includes kołtun, urok, strach, wiatr and róża, treated through whispered Orthodox prayers, the sign of the cross, and materials such as wool, beeswax, ash, linen and flax. Drawing on published Polish-language ethnography, interview narratives, documentary films and fieldwork reported by other scholars, the article asks why a form of healing authority that remains locally meaningful is becoming difficult to transmit. It argues that the same conditions that authorise the szeptunka—older age, gendered domestic experience, religious discipline, secrecy, kin-based transmission and continual availability—also make succession increasingly demanding. The analysis links the female life course to embodied ritual practice, relations with Orthodox clergy and medical pluralism, while treating male successors and male znachorzy as important counterpoints to a simple women/men binary. It also shows how clerical delegitimisation shapes the way practitioners present their own work. Published evidence from 2010–2025 documents active practitioners while also recording growing uncertainty about succession. The szeptunki therefore illuminate not simply the persistence of a healing tradition, but the changing social conditions under which therapeutic authority can be reproduced.

Cultural heritage institutions continue to face significant challenges in addressing neurodivergent access needs, while a principled framework linking inclusive design and artificial intelligence in heritage remains underdeveloped. This article proposes and explores the transfer of a dual Universal Design for Learning (UDL 3.0)–International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework from education to cultural heritage. The framework was examined within an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme in Naples, Italy, through an exploratory mixed-methods pilot design combining pre/post questionnaires with thematic analysis of participants’ open-ended reflections. Findings suggest that the programme supported a qualitative reframing of accessibility from a predominantly physical-access model toward a broader understanding encompassing sensory, cognitive, communicative, and participatory dimensions. Site visits to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the MANN emerged as especially important in prompting critical reflection on the gap between heritage value and accessibility practice. Quantitative patterns also indicated preliminary gains in participants’ self-efficacy in applying UDL/ICF principles and in reflecting on AI ethics in heritage, although these findings remain exploratory given the small sample size and pilot design. The article contributes a conceptual and pedagogical framework for inclusive AI in cultural heritage and discusses its implications for accessibility governance, conservation-constrained settings, and future co-designed research.

This article examines gender inequalities in scientific research in the Mediterranean, with a particular focus on STEM disciplines. It draws on qualitative data from the STEP (STEM and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Research Enhancement in Portugal) project, a European Commission-funded initiative aimed at embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles across partner institutions in Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain. Using semi-structured interviews with five scientific leaders and an inductive thematic analysis, the study explores early-stage mechanisms in the institutionalisation of EDI policies and women’s empowerment trajectories from an intersectional perspective. The analysis identifies emergent patterns suggesting: (i) a gradual strengthening of EDI mainstreaming in contexts with initially limited awareness; (ii) the role of transnational collaboration in enhancing visibility, mentoring, and peer learning; and (iii) the potential of time-bounded initiatives to catalyse participant-observed shifts and institutional routines in formation. Rather than measuring longitudinal impact, the article traces how legitimation, routinisation, and network diffusion may enable EDI principles to extend beyond project lifespans and become embedded in governance structures. These mechanism-focused insights offer a transferable framework for future European cooperation initiatives and contribute to ongoing debates on sustainable gender and EDI policy implementation in Mediterranean research contexts.

Gender disparities in research productivity persist globally, limiting the advancement of women in academia and hindering knowledge production. While previous systematic reviews have documented these disparities, this study uniquely integrates Intersectionality Theory and Institutional Theory within a systematic review framework to analyse the complex interplay of structural, cultural, and identity-based barriers—particularly within the context of the Global South. Intersectionality reveals how overlapping disadvantages based on gender, geography, and socioeconomic status compound inequality, while Institutional Theory uncovers how rigid academic norms and evaluation structures reproduce exclusion. Analysing 180 studies published between 1991 and 2024, the review finds that patriarchal academic cultures, systemic biases, and limited institutional accountability disproportionately affect women researchers. It also highlights a persistent gap between gender-equity policy formulation and implementation, reflecting institutional inertia and resistance to structural change. Addressing these inequities requires multi-level policy reforms , including mandatory diversity training for grant review panels , the implementation of gender-blind review processes , and context-specific interventions tailored to the unique challenges of the Global South . However, the review also reveals a lack of rigorous methodological approaches in evaluating current interventions—a gap future research must address. This study contributes a theory-driven synthesis that informs more sustainable, culturally grounded strategies for fostering inclusive academic environments.

The rapid deployment of AI reveals persistent socio-technical and data-driven biases that reflect profound epistemic limitations in knowledge production. These biases are not accidental, but symptomatic of deeper epistemic limitations in the way AI knowledge is produced — often by homogeneous teams within technocentric paradigms that exclude alternative perspectives. This paper argues that the underrepresentation of diverse social actors in AI development not only perpetuates inequality, but also severely limits the epistemic and ethical robustness of AI systems. The focus of this paper arises in particular from the preliminary findings obtained in the Horizon Europe project STEP, which highlight the potential of the framework to improve the inclusivity and trustworthiness of AI. The central thesis is that social diversity must be considered as an epistemic condition and not just an ethical or demographic ideal. Drawing on sociology, psychology and educational science, the authors show how integrating plural forms of knowledge, lived experiences and cultural perspectives into the design and development process can lead to AI systems that are more context-sensitive, equitable and trustworthy. Rather than proposing inclusion as an external corrective, this paper discusses a paradigm shift in AI development - a paradigm shift that embeds diversity into the infrastructure of knowledge production itself. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes a theoretical model of integrative knowledge production that identifies mechanisms through which interdisciplinary collaboration can challenge dominant epistemologies and promote systemic reflexivity. Second, a participatory design framework is outlined to operationalise this model through concrete methodological tools, including dialogic co-design workshops, ethnographic participation in data selection and cross-functional team structuring. These practises aim to break through technocratic compartmentalisation by creating space for social critique and situated intelligence within AI development cycles. Finally, the authors reflect on the transformative potential of this approach and suggest that rethinking who is involved in AI knowledge production will not only change the outcomes of AI systems, but also the normative foundations of the technological future. From this perspective, ethical AI is not just explainable or compliant — it is structurally inclusive, responsive to different lifeworlds and open to critical reinvention.

In the context of museums’ transformation into active social agents, the Entre Luces (Between Lights) project, developed at the Pablo Gargallo Museum in Zaragoza, serves as a compelling example of accessibility understood as a shared cultural responsibility. Implemented within a listed heritage building, where structural modifications were not possible, the project deliberately shifted the focus from architectural accessibility to communicative, cognitive, and sensory dimensions, placing the quality of the cultural experience at the centre. The study employed a qualitative case study design based on document analysis, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with museum staff, educators, and members of disability organisations. Through a participatory and iterative co-design process, curators, educators, vocational students, and disability organisations collaborated to develop inclusive solutions. People with disabilities were not regarded as passive users but as co-authors of the process: they contributed to the creation of tactile replicas, audio descriptions, sign language resources, braille, pictograms, and motion-activated audio systems. The project generated three main outcomes. It expanded cultural participation among people with diverse disabilities, enriched the sensory and emotional experience of all visitors, and initiated an institutional transformation that reshaped staff training, interpretive approaches, and the museum’s mission towards inclusivity. Entre Luces demonstrates that even small and medium-sized museums can overcome heritage constraints and promote cultural equity and social innovation through inclusive and sensory-based approaches.

In the context of the evolving role of museums as social agents, the Entre Luces project, developed at the Pablo Gargallo Museum in Zaragoza, stands out as a notable example of accessibility conceived as a shared cultural responsibility. This study investigates the co-design of a multisensory space within a listed historic building, aimed at fostering the inclusion of people with disabilities. Adopting a qualitative and participatory research approach inspired by bottom-up methodologies, the study combines document analysis, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with museum professionals, technicians, educators, and users. Central to the process was the active involvement of individuals with disabilities, who were engaged not merely as beneficiaries but as co-authors of the design process. The findings highlight a significant transformation in museum practices and the implementation of inclusive educational pathways, enabled also through collaboration with vocational craft students. Despite operating on a small to medium scale, the museum has developed strategic indicators to assess the social and cultural impact of the project. Entre Luces is proposed as a transferable model for cultural institutions seeking to embed inclusive design within their institutional identity.

This article analyses the role of informal learning in contexts of vulnerability and discusses its implications for an ontological reconceptualisation of education in relational terms. Adopting a non-individualising definition of vulnerability—understood as a position produced by institutional structures and structural inequalities—the article offers a conceptual review of the literature on poverty, forced migration, socio-economic marginalisation and systemic crises. It argues that the informal sector supports three interrelated functions: daily survival, biographical and cultural continuity, and agency (individual and collective), while often remaining invisible within educational systems regulated by epistemic hierarchies that privilege formal and certified knowledge. The article then develops a five-step framework (produced vulnerability, functions of the informal, epistemic (in)justice, learning ecologies, relational ontology) and discusses its implications for recognition-oriented research, practices and policies.

In recent years, international migration has become a widespread phenomenon within the European Union and the global economy. It involves the movement of people who cross national borders either temporarily or permanently and leave their home country. Modern migration is characterised as a global, multidirectional and large-scale process and is of great interest to Europe and the EU in particular. After a brief introduction to the data on recent migration trends in Europe, this article presents an EU-funded project that has dealt with the specific case of humanitarian corridors, which emerged from civil society in Italy and have been implemented in several European countries since 2016. As an alternative to uncontrolled migration flows and based on solid experience, the humanitarian corridors are described as the only acceptable alternative to the lack of a common migration policy and presented as a solution to a current and timely challenge for our society today.