The following article focuses on the challenges of cultural participation within the context defined by the Covid-19 pandemic. While a background noise characterized by a sort of forced, compulsive digital interaction has been accompanying the months of lockdown, making many express a renewed optimism towards the massive interest in heritage as a form of resistance, the impoverishment of the sector is casting new light on the possibilities of its agency and social impact in the next future.

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... l, in confused times it is paramount to isolate a few sustainable and innovative practices and to observe them throughout time, much as in a scientific lab. The article concentrates on two issues pertaining to the umbrella-concept of "participation", and articulates each of them through a selection of recent case-studies from within the museum field: the role and agency of museums as mirrors in times of crisis and their capability of a "rapid response", and heritage interpretation communities as a means for strengthening the social and cultural tissue through an intergenerational approach. While the focus is on the Italian context, a few international experiences are also described as potential sources of inspiration in terms of strategy and methodology.