Tag Archives: Heritage Interpretation
Introducing the principles of quality heritage interpretation for site managers
HERITΛGE kicked off its 2024-2025 Online Workshop program with the Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers workshop in early October. 19 participants from 15 different countries (Afghanistan, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Romania, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda) attended the online course which aimed to introduce the principles of quality heritage interpretation and how these can be applied to a range of sites.
The course was led by Valya Stergioti, an interpretive trainer, planner and consultant who has run a multitude of heritage training interpretation workshops all over Europe. Penelope Gkini* delivered the keynote speech where she shared insights on Heritage Interpretation from her project in Armenoi village, Northwest Crete.
Heritage Interpretation provides a well-structured framework for non-formal learning, aimed at creating meaningful and unforgettable experiences for visitors. Over the course of three days, participants were introduced to the concept of heritage interpretation and through a combination of interactive exercises, group work, presentations and discussions, participants learned how to turn phenomena into experiences.
The 3-day intensive workshop was well received and participants were able to develop knowledge of how to provoke resonance in visitors of heritage sites and foster a greater respect for all heritage across a range of sites in different countries.
“I’ve loved everything of this course. Particularly that we were able to take part in all discussions. As a person who wanted to know more about Heritage I was pleasantly surprised on what it entails,” said Miriam Uithaler, from the Jounou Arts and Culture Foundation
“What I liked the most about the course is the opportunity it gave me to learn from other heritage site managers, to see the work that they are doing in their respective countries” said Pontso Masithela, from Sereti sa Makhoarane Heritage and Tourism Network. “It really inspired me and increased my love and appreciation for heritage management. My project is going to benefit greatly because now I have acquired new skills and knowledge on ways to effectively interpret heritage sites or objects. And I am going to share it with my colleagues.”
* Penelope Gkini, studied Communication and Media in Athens Kapodistrian Univeristy, Arts and Languages in Dijon’s University and in 2022 she finished the Master of Science in Alternative Approaches of Psychology in Education at the University of Crete. She is interested in travelling, natural and cultural heritage interpretation, piano and nature. She works as a mountain guide since 2007, she has participated in the collective work of Aristotle University” Environmental journalism and communication. She conceives and implements some programs in the countryside (The postman’s road) and she runs the “Porizo” project with psycho-pedagogical objectives.
Heritage Interpretation In Rwanda
49 heritage professionals from Rwanda took part in two recent Introduction to Heritage Interpretation Workshops, led by HERITΛGE’s Valia Stergioti. The participants included officials from educational institutions, heritage sites, tourist businesses, local communities and NGOs.
During the workshop, which was led in person by HERITΛGE’s Valya Stergioti, they were introduced to the skills that allow heritage managers to transform mere phenomena into captivating experiences. They learned how to evoke a deep resonance within visitors at heritage sites of natural and/or cultural significance, guiding them towards profound insights and nurturing an appreciation for all aspects of heritage. Additionally, participants developed the ability to provide and receive constructive feedback to and from their peers.
The first of the two workshops was delivered in cooperation with the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy to 26 heritage and tourism professionals and took place on 24-26 July at the Rwanda Heritage Hub and the Kandt House Museum in Kigali.
“I learned to connect our participants to the site, which will help to increase our visitors satisfaction” said Esther Kakuze, Managing Director of ImuHira Ecotourism Rwanda who took part in the workshops.
“My project and institution will benefit through my professional practice,paying attention to all details related to heritage Management and community engagement,” said Wilhelm Mugiramahoro, Operations Officer for the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy.
The second workshop was delivered in cooperation with Nyanza District to 23 heritage and tourism professionals in the Nyanza District’s Visitor Centre.
“I have gained new skills as the heritage interpretation workshop was a new subject to me. I will use them so my visitors can enjoy our site and be our ambassadors, ” siad Sandrine Uwambayinkindi from the Girampuhwe Visitor Centre.
Both workshops are part of our HerMaP Africa program which is realised with the generous support of the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program.
New Training Calendar: Online Workshops for Heritage Managers
The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) is happy to announce a series of online training workshops for heritage professionals and caretakers for 2024-2025. A variety of scholarships and funding opportunities are available. As places are limited, candidates are advised to apply as soon as possible.
Online Workshop Calendar 2024-2025
Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers | 01–03 October 2024
Master the principles of high-quality heritage interpretation and gain hands-on experience in implementing them at your site/organization in order to create meaningful and unforgettable experiences for visitors.
Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage | 11–13 October 2024
Understand the community engagement process, a key heritage management strategy. Master the challenges of working with local communities discern between communities and audiences and understand audience segmentation, get introduced to ethnographic approaches to creating collaborative research-based programs, and learn the methods and techniques of oral history to elicit and document tangible and intangible heritage.
Conservation III: Preventive Conservation (pilot) | 15-17 November
A pilot workshop only open to heritage managers that have previously completed Conservation II: First Aid for Finds.
Interpretive Writing for Natural and Cultural Heritage | 25–27 November 2024
Learn how to write text that grabs and holds the reader’s attention. Discover and practice a wide range of techniques to engage visitors and master the techniques of interpretive writing. Participants will work to become a HERITΛGE-accredited Interpretive Writer, after successfully completing, and being assessed on, the exercises and activities.
Project Management for Heritage Managers | 13-15 December 2024
Gain the skills and knowledge to run a successful project from inception, through the planning and implementation phases to closure. Create a work breakdown structure, a critical path diagram and a Gantt chart. Research potential funders and write a grant application. Improve personal time management skills. Learn to think critically, identify risks and create solutions.
Organising Temporary Exhibitions from your Collections and Touring Strategies | 14–16 February 2025
The focus of this workshop is to give you the skills to ensure temporary, touring and partnership exhibitions can enhance and promote your institution’s mission, create new audiences and mutually beneficial partnerships. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own exhibition ideas to the workshop for discussion and development.
Communication Strategy and Strategic Marketing for Cultural Organizations | 07-09 March 2025
Join a focused learning experience that provides a systemic approach to successfully attract key audiences’ attention through traditional, new, and social media. Acquire a working guide to effectively communicate news, initiatives, and announcements of your organization and manage communication around a crisis or issue.
Successful Fundraising for Heritage Managers: Strategies and Best Practices | 28-30 March 2025
Start-up and build an organization’s contributed revenue to increase 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. Workshop sessions combine live and asynchronous lectures, case studies, class discussions and interactive exercises.
Conservation I: Introduction to the General Principles of Cultural Heritage Conservation | 4-6 April 2025
Learn the fundamentals, the ethics, the evolution, and the contemporary international context of conservation. At the end of the course, participants will be able to understand the potential of conservation, together with the processes which are necessary to maximize it.
Strategic Planning for Heritage Managers | 9-11 May 2025
Successful strategy can lead to success and this course will provide participants with the tools and methodologies to successfully formulate and implement strategy in organizations managing cultural heritage. Learn the methods and tools of strategic analysis that will enable you devise and evaluate alternative strategic choices and comprehend the demands of a strategy implementation project.
More workshop dates will be announced soon. To apply visit our Executive Leadership Training page.
Plan ahead, check out our upcoming training opportunities
HERITΛGE is happy to announce three upcoming training workshops for Heritage Professionals.
At HERITΛGE we train professionals in the management of heritage sites, independently of project specifics. We have trained more than 1000 individuals and organizations in over 77 countries and are now on course to impact a quarter of global heritage hotspots by 2025.
Our upcoming opportunities include:
Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage – Online and In-Person
This course draws from our long experience with community engagement through heritage and will discuss several examples from our own and others’ work. At HERITΛGE aim to develop a distinct approach to community engagement, based on social (and art) research with community-led initiative.
Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers – Online
Heritage Interpretation is a structured approach to non-formal learning, specialized in making visitors’ experience meaningful and unforgettable. In this 3-day course, participants will familiarize themselves with the principles of quality heritage interpretation and will practice how to use interpretation on their own sites.
Interpretive Writing for Natural and Cultural Heritage – Online
The key to effective word-based Heritage Interpretation is written text that grabs and holds the reader’s attention. During a 3-day online course, participants will discover and practice a wide range of techniques to engage visitors and master the techniques of interpretive writing.
*There is funding available through the Benefactor Scholarships of the Heritage Management Organizations. The scholarships are available for qualified candidates and cover a large part of the cost, excluding travel and hotel expenses for in-person training.