Tag Archives: online training
Introducing our Online Academy: Build your skills and learn at your own pace.
At The Heritage Management Organization we are expanding our training offer and making our training expertise available to all at their own time with the launch of the HERITΛGE Online Academy. The Academy makes our specialist training available through flexible, self-paced online courses in heritage management.
Developing your skills should be possible alongside the demands of your work and everyday life. You can now choose a course, enrol directly without an interview, and work through the learning materials at times that suit you. There are no scheduled classes to attend: you decide when to study within your course’s access period.
For those already familiar with HERITΛGE’s trainer-led online workshops, the Academy offers a new way to learn. It complements our existing training programmes with courses you can take independently, without waiting for a workshop date or coordinating your schedule with live sessions.
Practical knowledge for your heritage work
The Academy offers courses and programmes across six subject areas to start with, all with heritage organizations and sensitivities in mind, curated jointly by our international faculty and the organization’s education team:
- Heritage interpretation: explore how to communicate heritage through engaging narratives, talks and walks.
- Principles in Heritage conservation: understand conservation principles, values, ethics and professional collaboration.
- Project management: build knowledge across the project cycle, including planning, budgeting, risk management and grant applications.
- Strategic planning: strengthen your approach to setting priorities and making organisational decisions.
- Human resource management: explore the challenges of managing people and volunteers in heritage organisations.
- Climate change adaptation: understand climate-related threats to cultural heritage and their implications for conservation and management.
Whether you care for a heritage site, work in a museum or cultural organisation, contribute to a community initiative, or want to develop your professional skills, the Academy offers opportunities to expand and deepen your knowledge.
Courses developed by specialists combine focused content with learning outcomes relevant to heritage practice. Affordable options allow you to choose training that addresses your interests and needs, while organisations can explore opportunities to support the development of their teams.
These courses can also function as a project management tool, around the work that you are currently doing. Use each section for doing the relevant work, or thinking around that topic and move forward as you make progress in your work.
Explore the course descriptions, choose the subject that matters to you, and check the study time and access details before enrolling.
Build your heritage skills. Learn at your own pace.
Heritage Professionals Explore Strategic Planning
Professionals from across the global heritage and cultural sectors came together this May for HERITΛGE’s Strategic Planning Workshop, an intensive training programme designed to strengthen strategic thinking, organisational resilience, and long-term sustainability within the heritage field.
The workshop took place over two sessions, on 14–15 May and 21–22 May 2026, bringing together 18 participants from Greece, Rwanda, Malawi, Puerto Rico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Jordan, Turkey, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
Led by Dr. Alexandros Papalexandris, the HERITΛGE strategy workshop offers a dynamic introduction to the core principles of strategic management and its critical role in shaping successful individuals and organizations. Participants explore how strategy is formed and applied, gaining insight into organizational vision, mission, and values, as well as how to translate them into clear, actionable strategic goals while effectively navigating change. A strong emphasis is placed on understanding stakeholders and aligning strategies with their expectations.
The program also develops participants’ ability to scan the external environment and industry landscape, using key analytical tools to identify opportunities and market segments. In addition, it highlights the foundations of competitive advantage, essential organizational resources and capabilities, and the key success factors behind effective strategy execution, including the basics of feasibility studies and business planning.
“The Strategic Planning Workshop aims to provide heritage professionals with practical tools and critical perspectives to help them navigate increasingly complex and uncertain environments,” said Foteini Giannoulidi, Educational Programs Manager at HERITΛGE. “What made this workshop particularly valuable was the diversity of experiences and perspectives brought by participants from different regions of the world. The discussions demonstrated how strategic thinking, collaboration, and adaptability are becoming essential skills for safeguarding and sustainably managing heritage today. It was also a great honour to welcome Ivan Verbytskyi, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, whose insights into managing culture and heritage during times of crisis offered participants an inspiring and deeply important perspective on resilience, leadership, and adaptability.”
The workshop was further enriched by a series of inspiring guest lectures and discussions on cultural resilience and leadership in times of uncertainty.
Among the guest speakers was Ivan Verbytskyi, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, who shared powerful insights into the unprecedented challenges faced by Ukraine’s cultural and heritage sector during the ongoing war. His lecture highlighted how heritage managers and cultural institutions can respond effectively during periods of crisis and instability.
One of the key takeaways from his presentation was the importance of flexibility and adaptability in strategic management. In rapidly evolving and unpredictable situations, the ability of managers to adjust quickly and make informed decisions under pressure becomes critical for sustaining institutions and protecting cultural heritage.
Participants also heard from Rafika Mokhtari, architect, co-founder of Izourane Algeria and HERITΛGE fellow. Rafika presented the heritage initiative in Algeria and shared practical lessons from its implementation, including the operational and strategic challenges encountered during the project’s development.
Her presentation offered participants valuable insight into real-world project execution, risk management, collaboration, and the importance of strategic planning in overcoming obstacles within the heritage sector.
HERITΛGE Launches Online Winter School
The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) is proud to announce the launch of its Winter School, an intensive online program dedicated to Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage. Running from 26 January to 8 February 2026, this new training initiative builds on the success of HERITΛGE’s established training formats—its introductory 3-day workshop and its immersive summer field school.
As Foteini Giannoulidi, head of HERITΛGE’s Educational Department, explains, “our proudly launched Winter School serves as an intermediate training program between our workshops and our intensive Summer Field School. It is designed for heritage managers who seek a profound approach to community engagement in a remote format, offering the opportunity to complete an extensive, in-depth training program.”
Community engagement has become one of the most important and dynamic areas in heritage management. Around the world, museums, archives, cultural institutions, and local organizations increasingly recognize that meaningful engagement cannot rely on generic “toolkits.” Sustainable and ethical collaboration requires sensitivity to local contexts, awareness of community values, and approaches grounded in shared authority and co-creation.
The Winter School embraces this perspective. It offers a research-led, community-centred framework shaped by HERITΛGE’s extensive practical experience in Europe, Africa, and beyond. Participants will explore the principles and ethics of community engagement while developing practical skills such as applied ethnography, long-distance interviewing, digital documentation of personal and material heritage, collaborative storytelling, and interpretive planning. The program also examines how festivals, artistic practices, and community-driven initiatives can act as powerful platforms for participation and representation.
The course will be taught by Dr Aris Anagnostopoulos and Dr Lena Stefanou, with guest contributions from HERITΛGE Director Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis—a team bringing decades of experience in participatory research, community partnerships, heritage interpretation, and cultural practice.
This Winter School is designed for museum and heritage professionals, cultural managers, researchers, community organizers, and practitioners working in related fields such as archaeology, public history, archives, and tourism. Participants from all regions are welcome, and a strong command of English is required.
Applicants are invited to submit an online application. Those shortlisted will be contacted for a brief interview. Because places are limited, early application is strongly recommended.
Project Management Workshop: 20 participants from 18 countries
In December 2024, 20 participants from 18 countries joined HERITΛGE for the Project Management for Heritage Managers workshop. This 3-day online course aims to equip attendees with essential project management skills, guiding them through the entire project lifecycle.
The course instructor, Tim Healing, started day one with a discussion on the concept of a project, how it differs from everyday tasks and the key qualities of an effective manager. He then outlined the project manager’s responsibilities and essential skills before going over common pitfalls to avoid, equipping participants to recognise and address these issues early. These skills were then put into practice with a group analysis of a case study. The teams used this example to employ the project cycle framework and identify and resolve challenges, before drafting their own proposals.
The projects will be well planned, organized and with clear budgets to attract donor funding. The projects will also be evaluated and risks clearly assessed to have greater impact to the intended beneficiaries.
Walugembe Muzaphalu, Executive Director at Kanungu Empowerment and Support Organization
On the second day, training focused on the need for a structured agenda, with task outlines and risk identification the priority. Tim also introduced the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Critical Path Diagram and the SPECTRES risk assessment tool. Participants then worked on the Niger Restoration Project case study, ranking risks, proposing solutions, and identifying which risks should be mitigated before starting the project, applying the risk management techniques and SPECTRES framework already outlined.
I have found good insights in how to manage my project already in progress and it benefits to improve the rest of my project activities.
Rediat Messele, Lecturer in Archaeology and Heritage Management at Aksum University
The final day began with a session on developing project budgets, explaining direct and indirect costs through a publication case study. Participants worked in groups on the Sudan Museum Project case study, identifying monitoring concerns and strategies to stay on track, followed by group presentations and feedback.
The discussions remained lively to the end, and it was clear that participants had gained skills which they felt confident in applying in their own careers.
Participants were from Albania, Botswana, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Lesotho, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Uganda, and the United States.
Read more about our upcoming workshops here.
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.”
Introducing our Conservation II: First Aid for Finds Workshop
The importance of conservation for heritage preservation and management cannot be overstated. Conservation of cultural heritage is not merely about preserving physical objects; it is about safeguarding the messages and values embedded within them.
To delve deeper into this vital field, we are thrilled to announce our new workshop, Conservation II: First Aid for Finds.
This workshop, scheduled for 12-14 April 2024, is an online training program that allows participants from around the globe to engage in an immersive learning experience.
Conservation aims to maintain both the physical and cultural characteristics of an object, ensuring that its intrinsic value remains undiminished over time.
Led by Dr. Alexis Stefanis, Assistant Professor at the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art at the University of West Attica, it will focus on providing step-by-step instructions on the best practices for caring for freshly excavated archaeological and historic objects. Moreover, it will address the delicate task of preserving objects belonging to collections that have been recently damaged, as well as offering insights into administering first aid measures to architectural heritage.
Throughout the workshop, participants will delve into essential processes, including preparation, application of treatments, and monitoring. Dr. Stefanis, with his wealth of experience in research projects and numerous publications on conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation of architectural heritage, will guide participants through these intricate procedures.
Find out more information and apply here by 31 March 2024.
**This workshop accompanies our Conservation I: Introduction to the General Principles of Cultural Heritage Conservation workshop that will take place in May 2024.
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