With regret, we must update you all not to plan your journey to Germany for next spring, as was previously communicated.

Due to some shifts in priorities and funding options, the proposed conference for next year – iecon27 – needs to be cancelled, Well, let’s call it postponed, as we hope to re-instate the concept of our fantastic in-person meeting and chance for lively debate among our network of heritage interpretation professionals in future.

For now, keep an eye on our announcements as we hope to find other engaging ways of keeping the fire alive between us.

To cite this article: Interpret Europe Management (2026) “Change of priorities: iecon27 cancelled”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 37. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

The list of funding calls below might provide some ideas to get you going. Don’t forget to check official websites for the full details and keep an eye on any deadlines. 

The Horizon list is particularly strong for projects in HI. The Commission’s work programme confirms the eight heritage topics opening 13 May 2027 and closing 23 September 2027, while the two-stage heritage topic opens in March and has its first deadline on 4 May 2027.

It’s always worth keeping an eye on the websites for Erasmus+ and Creative Europe. These two funding programmes have provided support for our members in the past. Both websites currently still show the 2026 programme, but the 2027 offer should be available to view soon.

Interreg consists of numerous programmes, each with its own calls and eligibility rules. The central Interreg site currently lists open/forthcoming calls, while the Commission specifically identifies Interreg as one of the major EU sources for cultural-heritage projects.

Good luck – and don’t forget to use the IE members’ network if you are searching for potential project partners to work with.

Some funding calls are made of two parts. March 2027 will see the deadline for LIFE projects, which is for the second stage of the 2026 two-stage call. You would not be able to enter the programme at that point as the concept-stage deadline was 3 September 2026. But this is an illustration of why planning to join a LIFE funded project needs to start very early. 

To cite this article: Interpret Europe (2026) “Funding opportunities to prepare for in 2027”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, pp. 34–36. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

Whether you’ve used the guides regularly, dipped into them occasionally, shared them with colleagues, or haven’t yet explored them, we’d really value your feedback.

The survey is anonymous and takes around five minutes to complete. Responses will help shape the future direction of the Best Practice Guides and will also be discussed at the AHI Conference 2026 in Newcastle this October.

Complete the survey here:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=LVbl49TfZkGa3TIcJel2Bb8C2S3UJGdGtuZnusjFH31UQUY3TTVaSVNSMlpHSDVYNTlZQlI1TDA5SC4u&origin=Invitation&channel=0

You can explore AHI’s Best Practice Guides on our website. A selection of guides are open access for non-members, while AHI members can access the full archive of guides, webinar recordings and resources.

https://ahi.org.uk/resource-type/best-practice-guides/

To cite this article: AHI UK (2026) “Have your say on AHI’s Best Practice Guides”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 32. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

As members have already been informed by direct newsmail, there are two important changes in Interpret Europe’s management to be aware of.

Gerald Wagenhofer’s engagement with Interpret Europe came to an end on 15 September 2026. Gerald joined the Management for a limited period to support Interpret Europe with a number of important financial and legal matters. We are very grateful for the expertise and support he has provided during this period and we thank him for his contribution.

Helena Vičič’s current service agreement ends on 31 January 2027 and she will not continue as IE Director after this date. Helena will remain in her role until then and will support the organisation in preparing for a smooth handover. The Supervisory Committee warmly thanks Helena for her outstanding commitment to Interpret Europe and for her professional and personal contribution to the organisation over the past seven years. She has transitioned IE to an organisation well-embedded with UNESCO and EU programmes, and has substantially increased IE’s visibility and impact in the natural and cultural heritage sector in Europe. 

The Supervisory Committee is now preparing the next steps for the recruitment of a new Director and members will be kept informed about the recruitment process and other relevant developments in the coming months.

We thank Gerald and Helena for their work for Interpret Europe and look forward to continuing our work during this period of change.

To cite this article: IE Supervisory Committee (2026) “Changes to IE management”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 9. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

Interpret Europe is developing a Framework of reference (FoR) through the EU-supported HI-People project. It will clarify and support value-based and people-centred heritage interpretation.

The approach begins with people’s diverse relationships with heritage, one another and nature. It supports learning and openness to new insights rather than prescribed personal conclusions, while recognising interpreters’ educational and ethical responsibilities towards people, societies and the natural world.

Four interrelated elements will connect the approach’s conceptual foundations with guidance for practice within and beyond IE. These are: 

• a code of professional ethics
• defining principles
• a glossary of key concepts 
• practical guidelines 

Building on exchanges including the New paradigm café which took place during the IE conference in Faro in April, development of the FoR will involve a gradually widening group of contributors from within and beyond IE, working towards a coherent draft before wider consultation.

Alongside this, an online New Paradigm Café on professional ethics is being planned for the second half of November as part of the GAHI webinar series, offering an opportunity to share experiences and questions that inform the FoR. Details on participation will follow once arrangements are confirmed so keep an eye out for that if you would like to take part.

Patrick Lehnes is IE’s Cultural Heritage Coordinator. He can be contacted at: patrick.lehnes@interpret-europe.net. Max Dubravko Fijacko is IE’s Outreach Coordinator. He can be contacted at: dubravko.fijacko@interpret-europe.net.

To cite this article: Lehnes, Patrick and Fijacko, Max Dubravko (2026) “Developing a ‘Framework of reference’ for heritage interpretation”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 10. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

Have you ever visited a place that stayed with you long after you had left? Not simply because it was beautiful. Not simply because it was old or picturesque. But because you felt that something invisible was still there, perhaps a memory, an idea, a conversation that had never really ended.

In Sykia, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, Greece, there is a house that invites precisely this kind of encounter. Hidden among the pine trees of Pefkias forest, beside the Corinthian Gulf, stands the villa of the Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and his wife, Eva Palmer. Completed in 1916, the villa is one of the distinctive literary and cultural landmarks of the area. Its architecture brings together references from different layers of the Greek past, including classical, Byzantine and Ionian/Venetian influences. Yet the building itself is not the most interesting story. The first thing an interpretive visitor encounters is not the villa. It is the landscape.

Pefkias is a coastal pine forest where the trees grow just beside the Corinthian Gulf, creating a striking meeting of land and sea, enclosure and openness. The villa stands within this landscape, and its setting is essential to understanding the atmosphere in which Sikelianos and Palmer lived and created.

This immediately raises a simple question: Why there?

Instead of beginning with dates and architectural details, the question invites us to look: the pine trees, the sea, the light, the sounds. So, the landscape becomes part of the story.

For Sikelianos, nature was not merely scenery. His relationship with the natural world was deeply connected with his artistic and philosophical outlook. The house, therefore, becomes more than a residence; it becomes part of a particular environment of thought and creativity.

Then we can look at the building itself. Its architectural language is equally layered. Classical references coexist with Byzantine elements and influences from the Ionian and Venetian traditions. Rather than belonging entirely to one historical period, the villa brings different cultural layers into conversation. In a sense, the house is already expressing an idea that was central to Sikelianos and Palmer: that the Greek past could be revisited, reimagined and brought into dialogue with the present.

Furthermore, the villa became a meeting place for people connected with the intellectual and artistic life of the period. Historical sources associate Sykia and the villa with famous poets, including Nikos Kazantzakis, Kostis Palamas and Kostas Karyotakis, among others.

It would be easy to turn these names into a list of famous visitors, but a list of names does not necessarily create an interpretive experience. So instead, imagine them as voices. A poet. A novelist. An artist. A composer.

Different personalities, different ideas, different visions of Greece, sharing a physical and intellectual space. What might they have discussed? What did they disagree about? What ideas were born from these encounters? And, perhaps the most important question, What would you have asked them if you had been there?

This question changes the visitor’s role. We are no longer simply looking at a historic house or receiving information about the people who lived there. We are imagining their voices and becoming participants in a conversation that began long ago.

This is what makes the villa particularly interesting as a place of heritage interpretation, a place where literature could meet music, ancient Greece could meet modern artistic experimentation, nature could become a source of inspiration, personal relationships could develop into cultural projects. 

The relationship between Sikelianos and Eva Palmer is especially important in this respect. Palmer was not simply the poet’s wife. An American by birth and deeply engaged with Greek culture, music, theatre and traditional arts, she was an artist and cultural figure in her own right. The Delphic vision that emerged from the world of Sikelianos and Palmer eventually took form in the Delphic Festivals of 1927 and 1930.

Therefore, we do not simply interpret what survives. We interpret what connects the surviving place with questions that still matter. 

Today, the villa exists in a very different context from the world of Sikelianos and Palmer. Its surroundings and use have changed, and the people who filled the house with conversation are long gone. Yet the place can still provoke questions.

Standing among the pines, looking towards the house and the sea, we can imagine the conversations that once took place here and, for a moment, create a new one. That is where interpretation can begin. Not with just an instruction to admire a historic building, but with an invitation to enter into a relationship with it. A heritage place does not necessarily have to give us every answer. Sometimes it gives us better questions.

How can the past become a source for creating something new? How can encounters among people shape cultural ideas? What happens when different perspectives meet in the same place? And finally, What conversations deserve to continue today?

Perhaps this is what makes the Villa of Angelos Sikelianos more than a historic residence. Its walls preserve a past. Its landscape preserves traces of a particular way of life. But its greatest potential may lie in the questions it can still inspire. Because heritage is not only what survives… It is what continues to speak!

There is also a more personal reason why this place continues to speak to me. I spent my childhood summers in Sykia, growing up with memories of Pefkias — its pine trees, the sea, the paths through the forest, and the quiet presence of this particular house. Long before I approached it as a heritage site, I knew it simply as part of the landscape of my childhood. Perhaps this is why, when I return to the villa today, I find myself thinking not only about the people who lived there a century ago, but also about the way places become part of our own stories. A landscape can hold memories that are deeply personal, while at the same time carrying memories that belong to a much wider cultural past. The two can meet in the same place. And perhaps this is where my own encounter with the villa begins.

Georgia Pyriovolis is an English teacher, certified tour leader and mountain guide, as well as a pioneer of Forest Bathing practice in Greece, recognising the profound link that nature plays in cultivating health and wellness. She facilitates nature-based experiences that foster reflection, dialogue and meaningful connection with place. She can be contacted at: gpyriov@gmail.com.

To cite this article: Pyriovoli, Georgia (2026) “Where the pines still hold their voices”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, pp. 28–29. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

Do you think that living in the countryside is quiet? What would London be without the melodious sound of Big Ben? What would Mediterranean summers be without the chorus of cicadas?

In heritage interpretation, we often talk about multisensory experiences: smell, taste, touch – and, of course, sound. Sound can be particularly powerful. Music has always played an important role in intangible cultural heritage, and today technology gives us new ways to bring sounds, songs and stories into heritage experiences. Folklore songs, for example, can be reproduced during a tour, or incorporated into living heritage experiences, adding another layer to the visitor’s sensory journey.

But recently, I encountered a type of sound that made me think differently about what we consider heritage. The sounds we don’t notice. I often remember someone saying to me, “Wow, you can still hear hawks around your house!” For me, this was almost surprising. Not because I couldn’t hear them, but because I had never really thought about them.

In cities, we often talk about urban white noise. We become accustomed to it and eventually stop consciously noticing it. The same can happen in nature. Depending on where we live, the sounds of birds, bees, insects, sheep and goat bells, cats, rustling leaves and the wind can become part of our everyday acoustic environment. They are so familiar that we stop listening to them.

Yet these sounds can also be references to place. They tell us where we are, who inhabits this place. They can evoke memories, seasons, landscapes and ways of life. And, just like smells or tastes, they can carry cultural meaning.

This question became particularly relevant to me during a recent project on Andros Island in Greece, where we developed two interpretive walks exploring the heritage of the lemon. As part of the project, a large library of soundscapes was created.

At first glance, these might seem like ordinary recordings. But perhaps that is exactly the point. How should heritage interpreters deal with sounds that are so familiar that we hardly notice them? How can we transform an everyday sound into an element of interpretation? And, more importantly, how can we use sound to make visitors listen differently?

Digital interpretation gives us some exciting possibilities. A sound does not necessarily have to be the main attraction. It can work subtly in the background, create an atmosphere, accompany a story, or become the story itself.

For example, in an audio tour or digital interpretive app, we could use familiar sounds in several ways:

• A sound carpet – A natural soundscape playing quietly underneath the interpretive guide’s narration, creating a stronger sense of place.
• A phenomenon to be interpreted – Instead of simply using a bird sound as background, why not invite visitors to stop and listen? And consider what its presence tells us about the landscape?
• An interactive sound game – Visitors could be challenged to identify sounds around them, match recordings with places, animals or elements of the landscape, or even distinguish between sounds that belong to different places or seasons.

These approaches turn listening from something passive into something active.

Learning to listen again: Perhaps the most interesting opportunity is not to introduce visitors to sounds they have never heard before. Perhaps it is to make them notice sounds they have heard all their life. And once we start listening, the landscape changes. We begin to realise that sound is not simply an accompaniment to a heritage experience. It can be a way of understanding place. 

So perhaps the question for heritage interpreters is not simply: What can visitors see here? But also, What can visitors hear? And, What have they stopped noticing?

Because there is no silence in nature. We just need to learn how to listen.

Penelope Gkini works as an interpretive guide and mountain leader. She is an Interpret Europe certified interpretive trainer. You can contact her at: porizocrete@gmail.com.

To cite this article: Gkini, Penelope (2026) “There is no silence in nature”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, pp. 26–27. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

The idea for Cats of Cres was created during an IE Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course organised by the town of Cres in Croatia. The course included a lot of practical fieldwork, where each participant developed and explored their own interpretive ideas.

The IE trainers noticed something else: I seemed to know almost every cat in the old town by name. One of them asked me, “Why don’t you create a tour about the cats of Cres?” Something immediately clicked.

With their guidance, I developed the idea further, and Cats of Cres became my final course project. This summer, it also became a real interpretive walk in Cres.

But Cats of Cres is not really a tour about cats. The cats are our guides. They experience the town differently from us. They see details we often pass without noticing, hear things we do not hear, and disappear into narrow passages and hidden corners we rarely explore. During the walk, I invite participants to imagine seeing Cres through their eyes.

Instead of focusing on the town’s most obvious landmarks, we stop at small details that are always there, but that we rarely consider important. A fragment of old street paving tells us how people once moved through the town. A symbol on a façade introduces a noble family. Even the terrace of a café reveals a piece of the town’s history.

At the beginning of the walk, participants receive cat ears. It is a playful invitation to become cats themselves for a while: to slow down, observe, listen and look more carefully. Participation is an important part of the experience. We observe, exchange ideas and discover the stories together.

The real cats of Cres are an important part of the experience too. They are friendly, used to people and regularly spend time around the old town, so we often meet them during the walk. Guests also receive a few cat treats, which makes these encounters especially fun for children. They can offer the cats a treat, pet them and get to know some of their names and personalities. Some cats have owners and some do not, but they are all part of everyday life in the town. Of course, there is never a guarantee that a particular cat will appear – they are cats, after all.

My hope is that after the walk participants will continue looking differently – not only at Cres, but at other places they visit. Perhaps they will notice a small detail they would previously have passed by, or see a cat disappearing around a corner and wonder: What would that cat show me if I followed it?

I would love Cats of Cres to inspire interpreters elsewhere to find their own cats, small details and local stories. Every town has a different story to tell.

Dunja Sladić is a licensed tourist and hiking guide and heritage interpreter from Cres, Croatia. Through her tour agency, Cres Fun & More, she creates local experiences connecting visitors with the island’s heritage, traditions and everyday life. She can be contacted at: info@cres-fun.com. 

To cite this article: Sladić, Dunja (2026) “Cats of Cres: Seeing the town through feline eyes”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 19. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

The Tourism Association of Vorpommern is working to develop our region as a place where people can experience nature deeply and responsibly. High‑quality visitor experience is a key part of this vision. In June, we had the opportunity to host an Interpret Europe Certified Interpretive Writer (CIW) course in the Hanseatic city of Greifswald – five intense days fully dedicated to interpretive writing. 

Nine participants from different professional backgrounds – guiding, nature conservation and tourism – came together with one shared goal: to create visitor texts that truly touch people and make them think. Under the guidance of our IE trainer, the course offered a well‑balanced mix of theory, reflection and hands‑on practice.

A central element was the development of an individual interpretive panel. Instead of simply informing, these panels are designed to speak directly to the reader. They invite emotional engagement and offer the reader new perspectives on a place, an object or a landscape. Step by step, participants transformed initial ideas into concise texts with a clear theme, meaningful links to the site and tangible relevance for visitors.

Greifswald provided the ideal open‑air classroom. After short inputs inside, we moved outside whenever possible – to the cathedral, the market square, the harbour, and the riuns of Eldena Abbey. Concepts were tested immediately on real locations, re‑worked, and then transferred back into the design of the panels. By the end of the week, we were all impressed by how diverse and creative the final results were, even though everyone had followed the same structured method.

Despite the intensive programme, there was plenty of time for exchange and networking. 

Discussions continued over coffee and during short walks through town; experiences from different regions and institutions were shared generously. This collegial atmosphere was one of the course’s great strengths and will, we are sure, continue in future cooperation.

For us as a Tourism Association, the CIW course is more than a training opportunity. It is part of a broader effort to professionalise our Nature Guide offers within the project ‘Gemeinsam Mee(h)r Natur in Vorpommern wagen‘ (Daring more nature together in Vorpommern), also known as Lebenslandschaft Vorpommern. By investing in interpretive writing skills, we want to ensure that new trails, guided tours and visitor infrastructure in our region do not just show beautiful places, but also help residents and guests understand why these landscapes matter – for biodiversity, for local livelihoods and for a sustainable future.

We warmly thank all participants for their openness and commitment, and we wish them every success as they apply their new skills in daily practice. Our sincere thanks also go to Interpret Europe for the professional facilitation and inspiring guidance throughout the week.

Annika Lenz works as project manager at the Tourism Association of Vorpommern, where she brings three years‘ experience to the role. Her main interest is in sustainable tourism. Annika can be contacted at: lenz@vorpommern.de. 

To cite this article: Lenz, Annika (2026) “Five days of interpretation in Greifswald”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 18. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.

In the last issue of the Interpret Europe newsletter, we wrote an extensive article about IE’s involvement in an Erasmus+ project called Liberation Route, Europe’s Youth Ambassadors Network – all about creating the storytellers of the future to deal with difficult or sensitive heritage.

Now we’re bringing a short update about an opportunity to get involved. If you are no longer youthful, please help to spread the word and share this news with any colleagues who have contacts with youth organisations.

The first cycle of our online training sessions starts in November. The exact dates are 26 November, 3 December, and 10 December 2026, from 17.00 to 19.00 CET. 

The three sessions form a cycle, and participants should attend all three. 

Participation is free. Details of how to apply can be found here: https://www.lre-youth.eu/sign-up-online-training-series/

The sessions encourage participation, (self)reflection, research of your own environment, observation of the patterns that create different narratives, and creating digital stories. We will explore what war stories mean today, how to tell them effectively and how they can strengthen engagement, leadership and citizenship. The training will introduce techniques for sharing the stories and fostering understanding. The value-based heritage interpretation theory is an underlying pillar of these sessions. 

If you can’t make it this time, stay tuned. We will organise at least two more cycles. This cycle is reserved for young adults, people over 18. However, one of the next cycles could be for high school students. We would love to hear from you. Would you (or someone you know) like to join as a whole class? Is English a problem for you or your students? We may also be able to organise them in different languages and for particular age groups. 

Over the next two years, the project will build a European network of storytellers and interpreters for difficult-heritage, centred on World War 2. ​Together, we will create new tales that connect heritage with contemporary democratic values – and leave a digital footprint for the future. ​

More information:

LRE Youth Ambassadors website: https://www.lre-youth.eu/ 

LRE Youth Ambassadors Network application form: https://www.lre-youth.eu/sign-up-youth-ambassadors/ 

LRE Youth Ambassadors on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lre_youth/ 

Iva Silla and Samia Zitouni are Interpret Europe certified interpretive trainers from Croatia. They are working with experts from Studio Globo to develop a set of interactive and reflective online sessions for the LRE Youth Ambassadors project. Contact Iva at iva@questoftales.com, and Samia at samiaztn@gmail.com.

To cite this article: Silla, Iva and Zitouni, Samia (2026) “Free interactive online training sessions for the youth”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026, p. 17. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Autumn 2026.