This is the pre-announcement for an online symposium that Interpret Europe and UNESCO are organising on 26-27 February 2026 under the title ‘The role of narratives in 21st century heritage interpretation’.

In recent years, a shift has been observed in heritage interpretation. At the turn of the millennium the focus was mainly on entertaining storytelling. Today, however, stories are increasingly seen as offerings, encouraging and empowering people to share their experiences and to interpret for themselves. This shift presents heritage professionals at sites, parks, museums and monuments with new challenges:

• How can diverse narratives be embraced and integrated?
• How can heritage experiences foster learning around global citizenship and sustainability?
• How can interpretation become more inclusive and participatory?

These questions are at the heart of the Learning Landscapes Initiative (LLI), a joint effort by Interpret Europe and UNESCO, which is pioneering new approaches in this field.

We are now inviting experts and practitioners to contribute with ideas, share examples, and to participate in this exchange.

Please save the date. We expect an intense and inspiring symposium. Further information will follow at the end of the year.

To cite this article: Gudlin, Lucija (2025) ‘Learning Landscapes Initiative symposium: The role of narratives in 21st-century heritage interpretation’ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2025, p. 20.
Available online: Newsletter autumn 2025

Together with UNESCO, Interpret Europe has developed the Learning Landscapes initiative – an innovative approach to transforming regions into vibrant spaces where heritage connects people, strengthens communities, and inspires action for a shared future.

At the heart of this initiative is the creation of local stakeholder networks that co-design meaningful heritage experiences. The aim? To make heritage more relevant in people’s lives – and people more engaged in the stewardship of our common world.

To make this happen, capacity building plays a central role. IE experts train and mentor local interpretive agents in developing place-based interpretive strategies through a series of co-creative workshops. In parallel, trainers implement IE’s tried-and-tested course programme to support local professionals in designing plans for heritage sites and interpretive services that align with them.

The Learning Landscapes concept has been in pilot phase since 2024, with encouraging progress in several regions across Europe. As we approach the end of this initial phase in early 2026, we are preparing to launch six new Learning Landscapes – and we warmly invite you to consider whether your region could be one of them.

Are you ready to take this step?
Here’s what we’re looking for:

• A noteable number of different heritage sites or properties
• Around five committed organisations willing to form a local steering group
• A diverse network of 30–50 stakeholders ready to co-create the interpretive strategy
• The readiness of 50–80 professionals to be engaged in the training and capacity-building process

If this sounds like your region—or you’re curious about how to get there—we’d love to hear from you.

Participating regions must secure funding independently, but the programme is strongly aligned with current EU priorities – such as participation, inclusion, co-creation in tourism and heritage, community empowerment, peace building, and sustainable development. Regions are therefore encouraged to explore suitable funding sources and prepare their applications in the coming months.

If you’d like to learn more about how to join the Learning Landscapes movement, get in touch at: office@interpret-europe.net.

Let’s reimagine the role of heritage—together.

To cite this article: Vaio, Vanessa (2025)  ‘Learning Landscapes: The new call‘  in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2025, pg.26.
Available online: Newsletter summer 2025

This innovative interpretive creation became a key feature of our events throughout 2024. A mobile piece of 3D pavement art was literally rolled out at every event held within the Mourne Gullion Strangford Geopark https://mournegullionstrangfordgeopark.com in Ireland last year. However, as we prepared to launch it on its 2025 odyssey, we discovered that Storm Darragh’s fury in November had caused irreparable damage. The cumulative wear of thousands of enthusiastic feet had also taken its toll, leaving it looking decidedly tatty. And so, with great reluctance, we have retired the exhibit.

But let’s go back to the beginning and tell the story of its creation while we mourn its departure from our interpretive toolkit.

3D pavement art, also known as anamorphic street painting, is a fascinating form of public art that creates the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat surface. Using precise perspective techniques, artists craft stunning images that appear to rise from or sink into the pavement when viewed from a specific angle. Though this technique dates back to the Renaissance, it has seen a surge in popularity in modern street art. However, such works are rare in soggy, windy Ireland, where traditional 3D pavement art—often created with chalk or pastels—struggles to survive the famously unpredictable climate. The idea of painstakingly creating a detailed piece only for it to be washed away in the next downpour didn’t seem practical. We also needed something portable, as the Geopark spans a vast area, and we wanted to take the exhibit to multiple locations.

In my research, I came across an artist who specialises in pavement art suited to the Irish climate—Mark Cronin https://markcroninart.com. His method was perfect for our needs: instead of chalk, he paints in acrylic on the back of offcuts of flooring vinyl, allowing the artwork to be rolled up and transported easily. This approach would allow us to bring the magic of 3D art to venues across the Geopark, regardless of the weather.

The optical illusion of 3D pavement art relies on distorted proportions that, when viewed from the intended angle, create a lifelike depth effect. I envisioned using this technique to depict the underground world of the Geopark, linking the shape of the landscape to the geological processes that formed it far below the surface. A deep chasm—a classic theme in 3D pavement art—seemed the perfect way to illustrate the cooling of vast underground magma pools and their subsequent exposure through millions of years of erosion by ice and water.

Mark was inspired by the idea of showcasing the formation of the landscape, particularly the Ring Dyke of the Ring of Gullion and the Mountains of Mourne, and their deep cultural connections—from prehistoric cairns to the granite streets of Newry City. I created a storyboard with photos and illustrations highlighting key features to tell the story of the Geopark’s geology and its influence on today’s culture and traditions. Mark took this and added a brilliant interactive twist by incorporating the popular childhood game of avoiding the ‘lava’, challenging participants to balance precariously over the chasm on a favourite landmark balancing rock in the Mournes.

This mobile 3D pavement art proved to be an incredibly engaging way to attract public attention and encourage interaction. Once we had people hooked—getting them to snap photos of their children teetering on the edge of magma dykes and other geological formations—we had the perfect opportunity to share the deeper social, scientific, historical, and environmental messages of the Geopark. The piece worked best with a human interpreter to guide discussions and answer questions, drawing people toward our information stands and stalls. However, we also found that even when it was unattended, people used it to explore the landscape’s features and were entertained by it. It became a fun, accessible way to spark curiosity and turn streets into immersive, thought-provoking experiences.

Now, I just need to find funding for a new piece and, crucially, make sure it’s never left outside overnight during a red wind warning! Sure, it was waterproof, but even the best materials can’t withstand a Force 8 gale. Lesson learned.

Abby McSherry works for Newry Mourne and Down District council and can be reached at: abby.mcsherry@nmandd.org.

To cite this article: McSherry, Abby (2025) ‘Under foot‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 1-2025, pg. 18-19.
Available online: PDF Newsletter Spring 2025 

Interpret Europe’s conference on ‘Heroes, Anti-heroes and Villains’ was brilliant, inspiring, and a rare opportunity to dive into an issue where conservation often ‘shoots itself in the foot’ – narrative framing – with people that understand it so well, and from different perspectives.

I shared the Flight of the Swans film about my record-breaking expedition flying the migration route of Bewick’s swans from Arctic Russia back to the UK, which I undertook to engage people along the flyway with the conservation issues facing the species. In a Q&A session after the screening, we discussed how I learnt the hard way how different stories landed with different audiences, as I landed with each of them from out of the sky, or via national and international media. I shared how I learnt that anyone at the outset seen as ‘villains’ in a conservation problem – whether hunters, power companies, or landowners – often are the ones that truly hold the keys to the solution. You can achieve change much faster if you can frame stories so those villains see themselves instead as the potential heroes.

The conversations extending afterwards (and in to the bar) were lively, refreshingly practical, challenging and inspiring. We discussed the power of people and the stories we tell to build bridges and drive collaboration across borders when our politicians are building walls. 

I came away with plans for future collaborations on film tours, talks, a potential route to funding our ‘Finding your Wings’ education programme and a lot of food for thought. Thank you for having me at #iecon25 – I’m looking forward to bringing life to all of those ideas.

As mentioned after the film showing, I am very interested in discussing opportunities for film screenings and/or speaking tours and would love to speak to anyone that might be interested in setting up a tour or screening in your countries. I can appear live in person or online for a Q&A session to complement the film screening and spark debate amongst your groups.

Here is a link to the film trailer: https://youtu.be/9YLcTq53CUg?si=Jpvt8PI7hXSZ7Nwd

And a preview version of the full film:https://conservation-without-borders.notion.site/Flight-of-The-Swans-Documentary-84ffc156f28c4f459b1b732c9fd52950?pvs=4

Sacha Dench is the CEO of Conservation Without Borders (www.conservation-without-borders.org), a wildlife conservation charity that she set up in 2019 to deliver story-focussed action to protect migratory species. Following the Flight of the Swans expedition in 2016 Sacha became known as The Human Swan and she was the Ambassador for the UN’s Convention on Migratory Species 2019-2024. Sacha can be contacted at: sacha@conservation-without-borders.org.

To cite this article: Dench, Sacha (2025) ‘The Human Swan landed in Poland‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 1-2025, pg. 8.
Available online: PDF Newsletter Spring 2025 

Whilst this document is not new, it was recommended by an IE member and may be relevant to some of our members who work in natural area conservation, or interpretation of natural areas.Published in 2021 by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) along with several other organisations, it forms part of the Best Practice Protected Areas Guidelines.
From the abstract: The cultural and spiritual significance of nature has been defined as the spiritual, cultural, inspirational, aesthetic, historic and social meanings, values, feelings, ideas and associations that natural features and nature in general have for past, present and future generations of people – both individuals and groups. These guidelines respond to a growing need to make conservation more inclusive, effective and socially just by accommodating multiple worldviews; by treating natural and cultural heritage as interlinked; and by suggesting ways for engaging and empowering all relevant groups and stakeholders in protected area design, governance and management. The guidelines also assist with creating common ground, resolving conflicts and implementing rights-based approaches that recognise human rights and legal pluralism.
Many of the aims of these guidelines seem to align with our approach to heritage interpretation.
You can download the document as a PDF from IUCN here: https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49268

To cite this article: IE News Team (2024) ‘The cultural and spiritual significance of nature‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2024, pg.19. Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Newsletter-2024_4.pdf

Since the ’90s, the Dadia National Park in NE Greece attracted visitors from all over Europe. The reason was simple: 428 sqkm of Mediterranean forest with an impressive variety of birds of prey. Here the mild human activities were enriching instead of harming biodiversity, which included species of birds, mammals and reptiles.  The star of it all was the Cinereous Vulture, one of the four European vultures, which chose Dadia as its sole nesting ground in SE Europe.
Interpretive services included a visitor centre, an observation post and hiking paths, whilst carrying capacity and safety rules were accepted by both visitors and inhabitants. Locals had been trained to offer interpretive walks, and the local community felt proud and lucky as the stewards of this place and its ‘kartalia’, as they call all raptors.It only took 17 days to abruptly change everything. A mega-fire that started in mid-August 2023, after weeks of unprecedented heat and drought, burnt almost 940 sqkm, exceeding by far the limits of the national park and having the sad privilege of being the biggest recorded wildfire in Europe since 2000.
A year on, nature is recovering. Scientific monitoring shows that most birds still nest here, and natural forest regeneration has begun. And yet the sense of the place is completely different. The vast green areas of pines and oaks have turned to black, causing ominous thoughts and pessimistic feelings. The fire affected interpretation too. The content of the visitor centre now seems almost irrelevant, the observation post is burnt to the ground, and local guides feel overwhelmed by the huge loss. Finally, the fire and its effects have been extensively communicated by mass and social media, giving a sense of complete disaster, and dissuading people from visiting the area.
For all these reasons, when the management of the Dadia NP contacted us, Alli Meria, for help, it was obvious that a new narrative had to be found, along with new or updated interpretive services to match today’s situation. To achieve this, it was necessary for all NP employees (scientists, local guides and rangers, management) to bring forward their own knowledge, understanding, creativity and ideas. We decided that we would be more useful as facilitators of that discussion, offering our interpretive expertise when wrapping all the above into a new narrative that emphasises concepts like rebirth, resilience and adaptability.
Time and money were limited, but it was still obvious that the only way to develop an interpretive proposal that would prove useful and resilient, and that would re-establish optimism for the local people would be to co-create it with those who knew, first-hand, the previous and current situation.
The project is now over, and its effect remains to be seen. But on a broader scale, signs are already positive: this process offered a renewed sense of purpose to the NP employees, the Ministry of Environment supported our reasoning, understanding the challenges that the climate crisis has on heritage interpretation. And whilst we all wait patiently for the Dadia forest to recover, visitors have a reason to come back.

Valya Stergioti is the founder of Alli Meria, an interpretive consultancy agency. Through projects in Greece, Europe and Africa, Alli Meria empowers local communities so they can create their own interpretive content and services. She can be contacted at: vster@outlook.com.

To cite this article: Stergioti, Valya (2024) ‘Co-creating interpretation from the ashes‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2024, pg.16.
Available online: PDF-Newsletter_2024_3.pdf

The Big Green Project is funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU. It unites 15 partners from 13 countries, among which are non-governmental organisations, universities, artistic groups and art companies. The project seeks to explore innovative ways of using art as a promoter of sustainability. The mission of Interpret Europe, as one of the partners, is to demonstrate how heritage interpretation can support and enhance this process. The project is in its second year of implementation. Each year, artists from various countries take to experiment with a different element of the environment in their work – painting, sculpture, visual and applied arts, music, dance, theatre and more. The environmental theme of Year 2, which is currently being explored by the selected European artists, is SOIL. Last year they worked with AIR and they will dive into WATER in the next year.
The artists gather together with all project partners for a retreat where science and creativity are united. The first retreat took place in Hungary in October 2023, and the second in Latvia in August 2024. The hosting countries for years 3 and 4 are Portugal and Poland. The results of the artists’ work are then presented at various festivals, such as the Valley of Arts (Hungary) and Homo Novus (Latvia).
More information about the project can be found here: https://proprogressione.com/en/project/the-big-green/

Simana Markovska has been a sustainable tourism expert for 25 years, promoting heritage interpretation in Bulgaria through her work as both the chairperson of the association Pirin Tourism Forum and a freelancer. Simana also started the informal community of Interpret Bulgaria. She is an IE trainer for the Certified Interpretive Writing (CIW) course. She can be contacted at: smarkovska@mail.bg.

To cite this article: Markovska, Simana (2024) ‘Going Green, and Big ‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2024, pg.9.
Available online: PDF-Newsletter_2024_3.pdf

Interpret Europe, in partnership with UNESCO, is embarking on an exciting initiative to develop a ground-breaking methodology that shall transform UNESCO-designated sites into hubs for participatory learning through heritage interpretation, while tackling global challenges through heritage interpretation.
The project, led by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and supported by the EU funded CC4WBs project, is set to pilot in Kotor, Montenegro, between 2024 and 2026. Alongside Kotor, other UNESCO sites across Europe were selected to participate as additional pilot areas, benefiting from international training and collaboration while at the same time allowing to test the new methodology in different local contexts. These other pilot areas will be announced during the first in-person training of the course, due to take place in Kotor on 28-31 October.
The collaborative vision
IE’s collaboration with UNESCO began in 2019, gradually evolving through workshops and regional courses aimed at visitor centres and heritage sites in Europe. A significant milestone was reached in 2023 at IE’s annual conference, Creating Learning Landscapes through Heritage Interpretation. Drawing from this, the new initiative extends the approach, linking it closely to UNESCO’s values of peace, intercultural dialogue, and sustainable development.This collaborative project also aligns with the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education (2024), which advocates for heritage sites as vital learning environments, both formally and informally.
The learning journey in three phases
The project will unfold in three phases. First, each region will form a local consortium and nominate two participants for an intensive Interpretive Agents training workshop, scheduled for the end of October 2024 in Kotor. Post-training, these agents will work closely with IE mentors, involving local communities, to craft interpretive strategies tailored to their regions.
In the second phase, IE certified trainers will conduct Certified Interpretive Planner (CIP) courses, creating interpretive plans for several individual heritage sites from the region.
Following this, Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) and Certified Interpretive Writer (CIW) courses will help local participants develop programmes and exhibits, integrating interpretation with the strategic goals of each site. All the plans shall link to the overarching interpretive strategy.
Moving forward
As the Learning landscapes project takes shape, a new chapter in heritage interpretation is unfolding – one that embraces education for sustainable development, global citizenship, and intercultural understanding. For all involved, from site managers to local participants, this initiative promises to deepen connections to heritage, inspire action, and contribute to a brighter, more inclusive future.
For more information and updates, keep an eye on the IE website as we continue to shape this exciting journey!
https://interpret-europe.net/initiatives/learning-landscapes-value-based-interpretive-planning-at-unesco-designated-sites-2024-2026/
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/enhancing-unesco-designated-sites-learning-landscapes 

Vanessa Vaio has a degree in Natural Sciences and 30 years of experience, cultivating her love for gardens, landscapes and the stories that connect people and places. From designing masterplans for historical sites to training educators and guides, Vanessa has collaborated with famous museums, villas and parks, such as Villa Carlotta, and UNESCO sites including Mantova and Sabbioneta. Today she is dedicated to inspiring individuals and organisations to tell their heritage stories with authenticity and passion. She is IE’s Country Coordinator Italy. You can contact her at: vaio.vane@gmail.com. 

To cite this article: Vaio, Vanessa (2024) ‘Kick-off for the Learning Landscapes initiative ‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2024, pg.6.
Available online: PDF-Newsletter_2024_3.pdf

IE has secured financial support for its activities, which so far largely depended on membership fees, and will allow us to operate on another level. We have received a considerable financial boost from the Creative Europe Networks programme, which is an activity-based grant to sole beneficiaries, and this amounts to 800,000 euros over four years. While this doesn’t seem a lot for an international organisation which has already achieved considerable recognition and developed a cutting-edge training programme, it is nothing less than 400% of our previous annual budget!
The aforementioned international recognition and all the past achievements provided an excellent basis for building a winning proposal. Out of more than 100 applications, 38 received funding. IE proved that heritage interpretation is very much relevant for EU heritage policies, challenges and solutions in the 21st century, and we will use the grant to deliver our core aims through the HI-People project.
What is the HI-People project about?
It is built around four main areas: Training, networking, advocacy and policy. We needed to fulfil the call priorities: International collaboration, culture that involves people, fostering climate action, and sustainable digitalisation. While these were only general requirements, we were keen on enhancing our existing activities as well as including some of the ones from our ‘wish list’.
What can members expect in the next four years?
We’ll organise several international courses in English language and particular groups of members will be eligible for a scholarship; a mentoring scheme will support interpreters that sell their services on the open market; a new module on digital interpretation will be developed; a new cycle of the Learning landscape initiative will involve regions that are keen on developing interpretation holistically. Published guidelines will showcase good practice and establish clear standards for interpreting sustainability and implementing meaningful digital interpretation.
IE will also work with international organisations and involve members in discussions about the guidelines and principles of value-based and people-centred heritage interpretation, a code of ethics and other policy documents that will pave the way to a more recognised profession, better working standards for freelancers and recognition of the importance of interpreters in collaboration projects.
Members will be able to securely connect with each other through a platform that will be built to meet their networking needs, and we’ll continue providing interesting career-supportive content through webinars, publications, conferences, podcasts and much more.
Another project that was approved in parallel is EMPATHS, an Erasmus+ funded collaboration project in which IE as a lead partner will, in partnership with five other organisations, further develop the training for interpretive agents. This training is now being pilot tested within the Learning landscape initiative, supported by UNESCO, and will train interpreters that are keen on promoting heritage interpretation to decision makers and launch participative processes that involve communities in the planning of interpretive strategies.
Members can count on lively engagement and timely communication about all future opportunities. We are excited to start this next chapter of IE and are ready to move up a gear. We look forward to our journey together!

To cite this article: IE Management (2024) ‘We are shifting into fifth gear‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2024, pg.5.
Available online: PDF-Newsletter_2024_3.pdf

I would like to share some of my experience of the last ten years as a trainer, and highlight some aspects that I consider relevant for the successful development and delivery of training courses for interpretive guides.

One aspect that continues to seem decisive to me is knowing who participates in the courses, what background or relationship they have with the subject and their interests in the course, and knowing where they want to apply the knowledge they will learn. These facts allow us to give a clearer context to understand their reflections, opinions and as trainers to be able to deepen our answers in the direction of their interest. A short questionnaire before the start of the course can help us in this sense. Having a basic profile of our participants through direct contact also allows us to create a behavior of fundamental trust between the trainer and the participants, in the same way as it would be between a guide and their customers.

This aspect becomes more relevant in intensive courses —of five or more days—, especially with a residential stay, and even more so when the participants do not know each other: the course turns into an opportunity for a personal process of change.

The knowledge of our participants also allows us to enhance the skills of these students by encouraging them to go beyond their comfortable limits and fearlessly delve deeper into aspects of their interest. And at the same time, knowing your participants better can ensure you create equal opportunities for participation. For example, in a remote area in Colombia it was necessary to create spaces for the children of the female participants —many of whom live alone— to be able to play safely nearby so as to allow the mothers to take part in the course, because they did not have the resources to pay a babysitter.

It is also relevant to know about the place: the local culture, especially of those places that are little known, are more inhospitable or with minority languages. One of the most noteworthy aspects is to understand that the use of intermediate languages ​​is often a source of misunderstandings, the result of ignoring (or not understanding/ incorrectly interpreting) the nuances that comes with each language. We can translate the meaning of the words but often the language does not imply the cultural context. This can occur in many places in the world with the use of a language such as English, or the use of Portuguese or Spanish in Latin America. The nuances of the words allow us to understand their deep conception of the world.

Knowing the local culture allows us to begin to have a wider picture, beyond the literal translation of words. For example, saying in many Latin American countries that we will continue “in a moment” has several interpretations in minutes, because the culture of time is inherent in each place and climate. I have learned not to use the word moment, but to specify the precise minutes in which a task must be carried out.

In this sense, a determining role in many of the places where I have taught is the relevance of giving value to very local aspects, both natural and cultural heritage. Everyday life often makes us lose the reference to the authenticity of what we see, so sometimes the inhabitants of the place take away value from what could be interpreted as something extraordinary by a visitor. Thus, it is important to give relevance to small, unknown or traditional phenomena outside of the spectacle of what the world of tourism often sells. This can also become a source of conflict, if the local public feel that the process of interpretation is discrediting aspects that highlight their simplicity of life, their way of thinking or their origins based in places far away from the admired western world.

In a course I delivered in the Amazon, some of the participating professional guides shied away from acknowledging their status as natives and their identification with their local languages, which are totally minority and unknown to the rest of the planet. For many of them, it was seen as a disadvantage to show that their native language was not known, and they preferred to show that they spoke languages ​​of European origin. However, throughout the course they realised the importance of having a unique, genuine knowledge that gave meaning to their “natural home”, which is the jungle, and that from here visitors could deepen their understanding of their holistic world where everything is interrelated and where culture and nature merge into one. Interpretively, you recognise yourself from the authenticity of the place where you grew up, because it allows you to create depth and connect with the audience in very diverse aspects that are all linked (emotional, cognitive, spiritual, etc.).

Another determining factor that many students emphasise, especially those with more professional experience, is the ability to have a simple —but at the same time very practical— context to use the various tools that are given throughout the course. It is still very common to see that the training given to guides in many countries is still based on the guide’s own story, leaving aside the element of public participation.

Having a knowledge structure of each of the tools and a practical and simple context of the fundamental bases of interpretation, far from any particular school or author, gives personal freedom and a lot of creativity to those who use it.

The structure creates a space for personal growth, instead of a space of imprisonment —as many believe—, in the same way as allowing the information to be the context that gives meaning to the interpretation and not the centre of its performance, which gives space for public participation and the creation of a true dialogue.

In the same way, enhancing the use of imagination beyond conventionalisms allows you to enhance your natural capacity for imagination and create inventiveness on how to involve the public, the material to be taken, or to reconsider many elements of the immediate environment that easily become phenomena with high impact potential. Thus, it is still very common to see that interpretation is understood as what is reported about heritage, more than how our heritage is interpreted.

Sustainability is an important aspect of any course, even more so since Covid left its mark on us. The very broad conception —following the parameters of United Nations— gives wings to its application to many of the participants, where the social and economic aspects are often forgotten by the more official discourse that reaches remote places and that give a more complete visibility to the problems and environmental virtues. It is crucial to consider how sustainability can be brought into every aspect of the course, from the physical aspects of delivery through to the content and discussions that ensue, to maximise instilling these principles in our participants and thereby helping them to inspire more mindful, planet-conscious visitors and travellers after experiencing their guided events.

Finally, I highlight the need to value working on abstract aspects far removed from their cultures, such as themes or messages, because some participants really find these difficult to consider. The tools of interpretation remain the gateway for many guides to an authenticity found at every step.

Enjoy the trip!

Evarist March Sarlat is the director of NaturalWalks based in Barcelona, Spain. He is an experienced IE trainer and has delivered many courses in Europe and South America. He can be contacted at: evarist@naturalwalks.com. 

To cite this article: Sarlat March, Evarist (2024) ‘Lessons from South America‘in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2024, pg.12-13.
Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PDF-Newsletter-2024_2.pdf