Khaoula Stiti
Scholar, architect and writer
Street in Kochi © Khaoula Stiti 2026
This website is currently being developed.
About me
I am an architect (National School of Architecture and Urbanism, Tunis, 2015) and researcher with a PhD (Université libre de Bruxelles, 2024) focused on participatory heritage, digital engagement, and decolonial approaches to architectural and urban preservation. My work bridges architectural practice, heritage conservation, investigating how technology and participation can strengthen relationships between people and their built environments.My doctoral research examined participatory platforms for heritage awareness, asking critical questions about who gets to define heritage value, whose voices are centred in conservation decisions, and how digital tools can either reinforce or challenge existing power structures in heritage management. I have worked extensively on heritage initiatives in Tunisia, exploring how communities can be genuine partners in documenting, valuing, and protecting architectural and urban landscapes—rather than passive subjects of top-down preservation efforts.Currently, I am particularly interested in decolonial computing and the politics of participation in built environments: how we design systems that respect diverse knowledge forms, challenge Western-centric heritage narratives, and create space for marginalised histories. This includes critical engagement with different knowledge and the material practices that make architectural and urban heritage tangible and meaningful to people.As both a researcher and practitioner, I translate these investigations into written scholarship, platform design, and collaborative projects. I work at the intersection of architecture, digital humanities, heritage studies, and decolonial practice, collaborating with researchers, institutions, and communities.
Should you seek further clarification or wish to explore potential collaborations based on the content within these pages, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Research
Doctoral researchHeritage at the Nexus of Participation and Digital Platforms: Contextual Specificities in Tunis and Theoretical and Experimental FrameworksSummary :
This doctoral research project delves into the multifaceted nature of heritage, with a specific focus on the convergence of participation and digital platforms. It addresses research inquiries about the specific management of heritage in post-revolutionary Tunisia, the theoretical framework surrounding participation actors and practices, interactions with participatory digital heritage platforms, and considerations for designing a participatory mobile platform based on P@trimonia 2 research project. The aim is to provide an understanding of the intricate dynamics inherent in heritage management and digital engagement. The manuscript comprises several chapters exploring these inquiries, ranging from an examination of the contextual specifics in Tunis to the conceptualization of a participatory mobile platform. Each chapter presents contributions based on case studies, literature reviews, and workshops, exploring diverse aspects of participatory practices in heritage and the role played by digital platforms. These contributions collectively enhance the comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay among heritage, participatory practices, and digital platforms within and beyond the unique context of Tunis.Academic visits
1. Visiting Researcher to Centre Norbert Elias CNRS (UMR 8562), France for 6 months, (01/02/2023 to 28/07/2023), supported by Université libre de Bruxelles Mobility Funds.
Activities included participating in methodological experiments on the heritage perceptions project at Chartreuse de Villeneuve lez Avignon and attending the series of lectures of the seminar "Heritage in Representations".
Contact: Prof. Lise RENAUD.2. Visiting researcher to PAE3C - Architectural and Environmental Heritage research unit, Carthage University, Tunisia for 6 months, from 13/06/2022 to 16/12/2022, funded by SfaxForward project, supported by Horizon 2020 program.
Contact: Prof. Fakher KHARRAT.
Activities included a data collection campaign that aimed to gather information for the P@trimonia platform development and for my doctoral research. The results of the subsequent data analysis have led to a scientific publication. (cf. publication 3 in Scientific Contributions section)3. Visiting student to Lab for User Cognition & Innovative Design (LUCID), University de Liège, for 4 months from April to July 2021, funded by the University of Liège Mobility Funds.
Contact: Prof. Pierre LECLERQ.
Activities included developing the mockups for P@trimonia mobile application and literature review on participatory heritage platforms.4. Visiting student to PAE3C - Architectural and Environmental Heritage research unit, Carthage University, Tunisia for 6 months, from 13/06/2022 to 16/12/2022. The funding was awarded after winning The Travel Grants Competition by the Ministry of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Contact: Prof. Fakher KHARRAT.
Activities included conducting historical research on the historic urban landscape of Tunis and its colonial heritage and a literature review on the historical urban landscape approach of UNESCO.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Contributions2025Stiti, K. (2025). Challenges in the Collaborative Design of Participatory Heritage Platforms between the Global North and Global South: Towards Decolonial Computing. In T. Lähdesmäki, J. Turunen, A. Terian, & R. Garcia-Bardidia (Eds.), Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage. Routledge.Stiti, K., Achour, S. & Ben Rajeb, S. (2025). Questioning Heritage Values: Lessons Learned from an Inventory of the Architectural and Urban Landscape of the 19th and 20th Centuries of Tunis. In T. Teba & A. Di Raimo (Eds.), Conservation of Architecture and Urban Heritage: Indigenous and Global Sustainable Practices. Springer Cham.2024Stiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2024). Assessment of Non Researcher Generated Data within the Framework of Heritage Attributes: Insights and Challenges. In Cooperative Design, Visualization, and Engineering. CDVE 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer, Cham.Stiti, K. (2024). Navigating Identities and Building Support Community through Art: a Beyond Academia Journey in Brussels. Culture Caleidoscoop, 2(1).Turki, S. Y., & Stiti, K. (2024). Heritage Management in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia: a Case Study from Mhamdia. Revista de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Cuenca, ESTOA, 13(25), 113–125.2023Stiti, K. (2023). To Appreciate (Or Not) the Colonial Downtowns in Tunisia: an Essay from Tunis, About Tunis. In M. Schalk, K. Reisinger, E. Markus, U. Leconte (Eds.), Material Practices: Positionality, Methodology, and Ethics (pp. 3). Munich: TUM Press. ISBN 78-3-948278-41-0.Stiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2023). Participatory Heritage Platforms for Raising Awareness of Endangered Heritage: Usability and Acceptability Study in the Historical Urban Landscape of Tunis. In I. Saleh, N. Bouhaï, S. Leleu-Merviel, I. Roxin, M. Zacklad, L. Massou, & P. Useille (Eds.), H2PTM’23 : La Fabrique du Sens à l’Ère de l’Information Numérique : Enjeux et Défis (pp. 218-234). ISTE Group.2022Stiti, K. (2022). Revisiting Participation in Research: a Literature Review to Rearrange the Definitions of “Research With” in Heritage. In S. Brusaporci, P. Maiezza, A. Marra, I. Trizio, F. Savini, & A. Tata (Eds.), Proceedings of 4th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Images and Imagination (pp. 580-587). PVBLICA. ISBN 978-88-99586-32-4.Stiti, K., Jeunejean, A., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2022). Participatory Collection and Dissemination of Architectural and Urban Heritage Information: P@trimonia platform. In Y. Luo (Ed.), Cooperative Design, Visualization, and Engineering. CDVE 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 13492). Springer, Cham.Stiti, K., Achour, S., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2022). Valuing Built Heritage through the Promotion of Oral Heritage via Participation in the Digital Age. In Proceedings of COLLA 2022: The Twelfth International Conference on Advanced Collaborative Networks, Systems, and Applications (pp. 9-16). ThinkMind. ISBN: 978-1-61208-976-8.Stiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2022). 2Ws + 1H Systematic Review to (Re)Draw Actors and Challenges of Participation(s): Focus on Cultural Heritage. Architecture, 2(2), 307-333.AcceptedStiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (accepted). La Participation via les Technologies d’Information et de Communication pour une Prise de Conscience du Patrimoine. In Patrimoine(s) et Nouvelles Technologies. Éditions de l’Université de Bruxelles.
Conferences & Talks
2024
Stiti, K. (2024). If You are a Migrant in Academia, don't be Ashamed: The Role of Migration Studies and Migrant Scholars in Dismantling Shame in the Neoliberal University. 21st Annual IMISCOE Conference: Migration as a Social Construction - A Reflexive Turn. Lisbon.
Stiti, K. (2024). Colonial Heritage at the Nexus of Digital Participation: Contextual Specificities in Tunis and Theoretical and Experimental Frameworks. In Towards Sustainable Rural-Urban Development of Human Settlement International Conference - The Asian-African Collaborative Network. Shanghai.
Stiti, K. (2024). Exploring Marginalised Realms: Navigating Academia at the Intersections of Coloniality and Power. In Doing Mobile Ethnography Early-career Scholars’ Training Workshop in Urban Methodology. Shanghai.
2023
Stiti, K. (2023). Bridging Contextual Divides: Exploring Decolonial Computing for Participatory Collection and Dissemination of Information of Architectural Heritage in Diverse Settings. Proceedings of Revisiting Cultural Heritage. Sibiu.
Stiti, K., Renaud, L., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2023). Digital Platforms and Participatory Narratives: Unveiling the Influence of Social Media on Heritagization. Proceedings of Life Narrative and the Digital 2023: Interdisciplinary Conference. Vienna.
Stiti, K., Achour, S., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2023). Questioning Heritage Values: Lessons Learned from an Inventory of The Architectural and Urban Landscape of the 19th and 20th Centuries of Tunis. Paper session presented at the Conference of Conservation of Architectural Heritage. Portsmouth (online).
Stiti, K. (2023). Quel rôle pour le numérique participatif dans la réponse aux enjeux de la patrimonialisation? Transformations sociétales en Afrique et en Haïti: Action publique, participation citoyenne et représentations culturelles. La Chaire UNESCO Défis partagés du développement : savoir, comprendre, agir. Casablanca.
2022
Stiti, K. (2022). Application of action-research in research projects aimed at raising awareness of heritage: Case of the 19th and 20th centuries architectural and urban heritage of the European city-center of Tunis. Poster presented at Séminaire inaugural de l’Ecole Doctorale 62 Thématique Architecture, Urbanisme, Ingénierie Architecturale et Urbaine. Brussels.
Stiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2022). Digital participatory approaches to raise awareness about historic urban landscapes, a step toward patrimonialisation. Paper presented at Patrimoine(s) et Nouvelles Technologies. Brussels.
2021
Stiti, K., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2021). Participation and collaboration between research institutions and civil society organizations in digital heritage projects in Tunisia. Paper session presented at Living Digital Heritage Conference 2021. Sydney (online).Stiti, K. (2021). Heritage in Conflict in Tunis. Paper session presented at Approaching Research Practice in Architecture 2021. Munich (online).Stiti, K., & Cherif, S. (2021). Participatory Approaches of Built Heritage Promotion and Appropriation in Tunisia: Case of European Neighborhood of Downtown Tunis. Paper session presented at Heritage Borders of Engagement Network. Tunis (online).Stiti, K. (2021). Approches participatives au service de la valorisation du patrimoine par le citoyen en Tunisie. Paper session presented at 2010 – 2020, Une décennie de changements dans le monde arabe. Tunis (online).