: Workshops
2023-2024 Training Calendar for Heritage Professionals
Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers | 6 – 8 October 2023
Transform a visit into a captivating experience. Acquire the skills to create meaningful and unforgettable experiences for visitors, during this 3-day online workshop. Only accepting last-minute waiting list applications.
Project Management for Heritage Managers | 7 – 9 October (US only) & 9 – 10 December 2023
This intensive 3-day online workshop led by Tim Healing will show participants the way to run a successful project from inception through planning to implementation and closure. A special US pilot program is still accepting last-minute applications.
Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage | 27 – 29 October 2023
During this 3-day workshop, we aim to develop a different approach to community engagement based on social (and art) research with community-led initiatives. By adopting a research-led approach, we can foster collaborative design and actions that truly resonate with the unique cultural and social dynamics of each specific group or community, as well as their interactions with others. We will explore methodologies grounded in ethnography and oral history, while also engaging in practical exercises to reinforce learning.
Interpretive Writing for Natural and Cultural Heritage | 10 – 12 November 2023
Written text that grabs and holds the visitor’s and reader’s attention is the key to effective word-based heritage interpretation. During this 3-day online workshop with Steven Richards-Price you will discover and practice a wide range of techniques to engage visitors and master the techniques of interpretive writing.
Climate Change, Community Engagement & Interpretation | 1-3 December 2023
Brand new, 3-day workshop on climate change, heritage interpretation, and community engagement that seeks to empower participants with the tools and skills necessary to engage local communities in climate action through the lens of heritage interpretation.
Temporary Exhibition Design: Agile Exhibitions in a rapidly changing environment | 2-4 February 2024
This up-to-date 3-day workshop focuses on how temporary exhibitions can enhance and promote an institution’s mission, create new audiences and generate revenue, from building an institutional strategy for exhibitions and partnership-building to planning and putting on temporary exhibitions for display at home and on tour. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own ideas and projects to the workshop and time is allocated for 1:1 consultation with the workshop facilitators.
Community and Economic Development | 16-18 February 2024
Cultural heritage managers increasingly have to both demonstrate and create economic benefits for local, regional, and national economies. This workshop will provide attendees with a firm understanding of the motivations for mobilizing cultural resources for economic benefit; the limits of that mobilization; different strategies for creating economic benefits; and how economic impacts are measured and communicated. The workshop will then guide attendees through the development of a plan for the creation of economic benefits for their own case studies, including the development of goals; selecting appropriate strategies; judging economic feasibility; and monitoring and evaluation procedures. As a result of the course attendees will be able to implement economic development strategies in their own community.
Communication Strategy & Strategic Marketing for Cultural Organizations | 8-10 March 2024
You have organized the best exhibition of the year or set up a ground-breaking educational program. You have worked hard with curators, conservators, educators, and everything is ready to rock, but now you wonder… how can I bring people in? How can I reach my audience, and what should I be telling them? This 3-day course is a focused learning experience that provides a systemic approach to successfully attract key audiences’ attention through traditional, new, and social media.
Fundraising for Cultural Heritage Organizations | 22 – 24 March 2024
This 3-day workshop provides a survey of fundraising strategies and skills needed to start-up and build an organization’s contributed revenue with the aim of increasing its impact in the world. Participants learn best practices and apply them to create the case for support and letter of inquiry for their own organization or project.
Conservation II: First Aid for Finds | 12-14 April 2024
The workshop will provide step-by-step instruction on the best practices in the care of freshly excavated archaeological and historic objects as well as in the care of objects belonging to collections that have just been damaged. It will also examine the case of providing first aid measures to architectural heritage. It will go through all the processes that are essential during preparation, application of treatments and monitoring.
Strategic Planning for Heritage Managers| 26 – 28 April 2024
Strategy is a key factor for success in all areas of human activity. This 3-day interactive course aims to provide the tools and methodologies to effectively address the topics of successful strategy formulation and implementation in organizations managing cultural heritage in today’s complex environment.
Conservation I: Introduction to the General Principles of Cultural Heritage Conservation | 24 – 26 May 2024
Following the success of your first Conservation workshop in 2023, we are again accepting applications for this 3-day interactive course that aims to teach the principles and objectives of conservation, and in so doing to introduce its methodology. The workshop will deliver the fundamentals, the ethics, the evolution, and the contemporary international context of conservation.
HERITΛGE provides scholarships to most participants in its training programmes. These scholarships can cover up to 90% of the cost of attendance, depending on the circumstances of the participants and the availability of funding. On average, participants contribute around 300 euros to attend one of our 3-day training workshops.
Empowering Ethiopia’s Heritage Sector: HERITΛGE’s First In-Country Workshop
Preserving cultural heritage goes beyond the institutional practices of protecting ancient structures; it involves engaging communities, understanding shared heritage values , and building a future that respects local perceptions of the past. It is with this in mind that HERITΛGE held its inaugural workshop in Ethiopia in July, training 22 key heritage managers in Community Engagement in Heritage Management.
HERITΛGE Director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis, and Xanthippi Kontogianni, Ethiopia Programs Manager, held the 3-day intensive workshop in Addis Ababa, welcoming heritage professionals representing a diverse range of stakeholders within Ethiopia’s cultural and creative industries. Among the participants were representatives from a diverse range of stakeholders including Jinka University, Madda Walabu University, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, the National Library, and various civil society organizations among them the Waku Gutu Foundation, Heritage Watch, and Save Heritage, History and Culture of Ethiopia.
The workshop is part of HERITΛGE’s program for Ethiopia, supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program.
Nurturing Capacity for Community Engagement
At the heart of our Communities Engagement workshop lays a commitment to building capacity within heritage management. In an ever-evolving world, local communities are keepers of key information for the understanding of heritage while accountability for protecting their own history and values is indispensable and crucial for sustainable heritage preservation. HERITΛGE has structured the workshop to address these needs comprehensively.
Throughout the workshop discussion facilitated by Dr. Kyriakidis, participants shared examples and case studies from the Ethiopian context and explored the issues affecting the the management of cultural assets in the country, highlighting among others the challenges, needs and opportunities facing heritage managers.
Workshop Outcomes:
- A Network of Collaborators: The workshop serves as a nexus for like-minded professionals to network, share experiences, and collectively envision a future where heritage management is a catalyst for positive change.
- Diverse Perspectives: With participants from universities, government bodies, regional offices, and civil society organizations, the workshop brought together diverse viewpoints, sparking enriching discussions and cross-pollination of ideas.
- Community-Centric Approach: HERITΛGE’s emphasis on community engagement resonated strongly, setting the tone for a future where heritage sites become integral to community development.
- Concrete Strategies:Participants departed the workshop armed with practical strategies to enhance community involvement, integrate local narratives, and develop sustainable heritage management plans.
Project Management for US Heritage Managers
HERITΛGE is launching a pilot training program in Project Management specifically targeted toward U.S.-based Heritage Managers. The 3-day online training program will take place Oct. 7-9 2023, with participants only required to contribute a $50.00 registration fee.
“Project Management is a skill that many take for granted and is often underrated in its importance, but it affects every aspect of our work,” said HERITΛGE Director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis. “This training focuses on those working in the heritage, environmental, or social action fields, but it can equally be applied to any project by emphasizing the importance of planning,” he added.
The course will be delivered by Tim Healing, who has over thirty years of experience working as a project manager and a professional background in project management, community, and NGO development. He specializes in the coordination and support of cultural heritage and community-based social action projects and has particular experience working with local communities, national and regional museums, heritage institutions, government, and non-governmental organizations.
For this pilot program, exclusively targeted towards US-based heritage managers, participants will only need to pay a $50.00 registration fee.
Participants in HERITΛGE’s Executive Leadership in Heritage Management Workshops are automatically granted HERITΛGE Membership.
Find out more: Find out more about our Project Management for Heritage Managers Workshop here.
How to Apply: To apply for this workshop, please fill out this form before September 27, 2023.
Training the Trainers in The Gambia
HERITΛGE is very proud to have trained two groups of heritage practitioners during its Train the Trainers workshop in The Gambia in June, in partnership with the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia. The 29 practitioners completed the first phase of their training and are now ready to go ahead and train a new generation of heritage managers in The Gambia.
“The Train the Trainers workshop is of great value as it promotes ownership among local people by creating an enabling environment that empowers them to design and deliver courses in heritage management, while at the same time encouraging community participation and ensuring the sustainability and significance of their contributions.,” said Mina Morou, Africa Programs Manager for HERITΛGE.
The Train the Trainers workshop is a transformative program that empowers participants to become influential multipliers in the field of heritage management. It provides participants with the essential skills and knowledge to design and deliver effective courses for adult learners in this domain.
The workshop covers various critical aspects including course design principles, assessing student needs, tailoring instruction, building trust with learners, providing feedback, and implementing continuous evaluation processes. It promotes a culture of critical thinking and highlights the significance of understanding cultural nuances in training delivery. Practical exercises and real-world examples are incorporated to facilitate meaningful learning experiences for the participants.
By the end of the workshop, participants are equipped to disseminate the acquired knowledge and make a positive impact in the field of heritage management.
During the training, HERITΛGE was happy to host the Honorable Omar Jatto Jammeh as a guest speaker. The workshop is part of HERITΛGE’s HerMaP Gambia program.
About HerMaP Gambia: The program is aimed at developing the business skills of heritage and cultural managers to enable them to establish and better support heritage and cultural enterprises. Supporting The Gambia’s heritage sector will promote community solidarity and provide high-quality employment opportunities for local talent.
The program is co-funded by the European Union.
Summer School Insights: Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage
From 18 to 30 June 2023, a transformative two-week online Summer School on Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage was held, bringing together 14 heritage managers from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Led by HERITΛGE’s Dr. Aris Anagnostopoulos and Dr. Lena Stefanou, the annual program aims to cultivate a fresh approach to community engagement in cultural heritage, emphasizing social and artistic research with community-led initiatives.
Expanding Perspectives on Community Engagement
The Summer School provides a platform for participants to explore the principles of community engagement, collaborative research, and heritage values. Through dynamic and tailored modes of research, this year’s participants gained insights into reaching specific target groups, including university students and rural communities. Training sessions on applied ethnography, oral history interviews, and documentation of personal narratives and material objects equipped them with practical tools for engaging with communities effectively.
One of the highlights of the Summer School was the opportunity for participants to delve into the curation of multimedia content. By conducting interviews with community leaders Habtamu Gizawu Tola and Amar Tuldhar about their projects, “Peaceful Understanding and Reconciliation for Pastoralists Livelihood Enhancement” (PURPLE) and “Attending the Unattended” respectively, participants developed a deep understanding of how cultural heritage can be preserved and presented through various digital mediums. These interviews will be transformed into podcasts, ensuring that the stories and experiences of these communities find a wider audience.
Insights from Invited Lectures
The Summer School featured three distinguished invited lectures, enriching the learning experience for the participants. Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis, founding Director of the Heritage Management Organization, shared his expertise in Mycenaean administration, Minoan religion, and iconography. Dr. Vicky Papadimitriou, a managing director with a background in archaeology and cultural management, provided insights into event planning and cultural tourism. Aba Hydara, the founder of the NIUMI FORT BULLEN COLONIAL HERITAGE FESTIVAL, shed light on community-led initiatives and the challenges of waste management for sustainable tourism.
HERITΛGE is already receiving applications for our next Community Engagement for Cultural Heritage Management Summer School that will take place in June 2024.
Highlights from our Summer School: Digital Tools for Cultural Heritage Management
In May and June 2023, HERITΛGE’s Online Summer School on Digital Tools for Cultural Heritage Management brought together 14 heritage managers from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Led by Dr. Cornelis Stal, this annual immersive program aims to equip participants with advanced skills in GIS, Photogrammetry and image-based 3D modeling, and laser scanning.
Let’s delve into the key highlights and the impact of this transformative experience.
GIS: Unlocking the Power of Spatial Data in Heritage Management
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a crucial role in cultural heritage management. During the summer school, participants were introduced to open-source GIS software and gained insights into transforming manuscript plans into comprehensive geographical databases. The importance of cartography in heritage preservation was emphasized. Through hands-on instruction, participants learned practical techniques and implemented them in real-life scenarios, enabling them to harness the power of GIS for effective cultural heritage management.
Photogrammetry and Image-based 3D Modeling: Capturing Heritage in Three Dimensions
Photogrammetry and image-based 3D modeling provide an immersive and detailed way to document and preserve cultural heritage. Participants in the summer school familiarized themselves with various digital tools, such as photography, photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and model referencing. From image acquisition to data processing and model publishing, the entire workflow was covered. Participants were provided with a free license for Agisoft Metashape Professional, allowing them to create their own 3D models. This hands-on experience equipped them with the skills to capture heritage sites in stunning detail and share them with the world.
Terrestrial Laser Scanning: Unveiling the Secrets of Ancient Sites
Terrestrial laser scanning is a cutting-edge technique for acquiring precise and detailed point clouds of archaeological sites. In this specialist course, participants learned the principles and best practices of laser scanning. With a focus on 3D recording for conservation purposes, heritage managers gained the ability to create accurate representations of historic locations. This technology has the potential to revolutionize how heritage sites are documented and preserved, ensuring their legacy for future generations.
Case Studies: Putting Skills into Action
To apply their newly acquired skills, participants selected their own projects as case studies. This personalized approach allowed them to address specific challenges and gain practical experience. Projects ranged from the Roman Theatre at Palmyra in Syria to the Fort Jesus Heritage Site in Mombasa, Kenya. Each participant had the opportunity to work on their project using the digital tools and techniques they learned, making the summer school experience directly relevant to their work.
The success of our Digital Tools Summer School, that takes place annually online and in person, owes much to the expertise of Dr. Cornelis Stal, Lecturer at the Ghent University College (Department of Real Estate and Land Surveying), and Visiting Professor at the Ghent University (Department of Geography) with a significant experience in the field.
This year’s graduates are already putting their newfound expertise into action, ensuring the preservation of iconic sites for future generations.
HERITΛGE is already receiving applications for next year’s summer school and is still accepting applications for its Certificate in Digital Tools for Cultural Heritage Management, let by Dr. Stal and run in cooperation with HOGENT University.