First impressions count, so apart from wanting to make the new website more visually pleasing and practical to use for members and for non-members, it also underpins our credibility and image as a professional organisation, so that users should quickly understand the value of being part of our interpretive community.
The task begins now, starting with a short online survey to gather your experiences and suggestions on how the website can be redesigned to best support our membership, and attract new members. The new version of the website will be developed this summer, then tested and fine-tuned before being formally launched at the end of this year.
Your views and experiences are key to the process, so we kindly invite you to complete the user survey HERE and submit it by midnight on Friday 3 April 2026. The redesign of the IE website is supported by the HI-People EU network grant.

What the symposium left behind (and why it matters)
When a symposium ends, what actually remains? Not the presentations. Not the programme. What stays is the conversation — the kind that shifts something, even slightly, in the way you think about your work.

The Interpret Europe online symposium was conceived as a new format: a space to explore one subject in greater depth than our usual conference structure allows – not instead of it, but alongside it. Across 27 presentations and with 130 participants from across Europe, this online gathering did exactly that. We asked some of those who took part — as presenters, agents, and experts — not to report back on what was said, but to reflect on what it stirred.

The value was in the friction
The most meaningful moments, Iulia Balint observed, happened when interpretation came closest to practice — when abstract concepts met the messiness of real sites and real people. Seeing ideas “in the making”, as she put it, is what makes them stick.

Bojana Čibej pointed to something equally important: the online format, often dismissed as second-best, created an unexpectedly horizontal space. Chat threads allowed challenge and commentary in real time, producing what she described as a “colourful mosaic of ideas”. But she also raised a sharper question — does attachment to a single methodology risk producing interpreters who are “narrowly mentally modeled”? Heritage is too plural for one-size-fits-all frameworks. The more principles we share, the richer our collective toolkit becomes.

Stories are never neutral
We live in a world where information is abundant but often fragmented — and where many different actors tell stories about places and heritage across a growing range of platforms. In this context, as Sabina Viezzoli argues, narratives in interpretation matter more than ever. Not because they provide answers, but because they offer something information alone cannot: a meaningful pause — space for attention, connection, and reflection.

Yet, working with narratives responsibly means acknowledging what they do and don’t include. Stories are never neutral. They amplify certain voices and quietly sideline others. As interpreters, our responsibility is to recognise those dynamics and actively make space for the perspectives that tend to get left out — rather than smoothing complex histories into a single, reassuring storyline.

Listening is not passive
Steve Slack reminded us that interpretation is not a broadcast. Multiple narratives make our work stronger — but only if we’ve actually heard them first. If we can’t listen fully and authentically to the stories that matter to communities, we can’t responsibly shape the narratives we tell. Listening is a craft, and it deserves as much attention as storytelling.

Towards discomfort — on purpose
Jon Kohl offered perhaps the most provocative reframe: if narratives are the primary way humans make meaning of the world, then interpreters can no longer afford to be just storytellers. They need to become mediators, facilitators, negotiators — roles rarely included in interpretive training, but increasingly essential. Heritage institutions have long preferred smoothed-over consensus. But in a fragmented public space where different perspectives and values compete, an “aversion to conflict” is no longer a neutral stance. It’s a missed opportunity.

What comes next
Iulia advocates for more “show and tell” formats — spaces to observe how others translate the meanings of their sites into practice. Sabina points to something similar: shorter, more regular opportunities for exchange throughout the year — thematic online sessions, a podcast series, or simply the chance to visit colleagues at the sites where they work. For her, the symposium also reinforced something more personal: a sense of belonging to a community that shares values, questions, and a genuine commitment to the practice.
Within Interpret Europe, the work now is to keep this space open — co-creative, inclusive, and willing to sit with the questions a little longer rather than rushing toward answers.
The proceedings from the symposium will be published soon, so keep an eye on IE’s website: https://interpret-europe.net/material/. Some participants were also inspired to write articles based on their thoughts and experiences, a couple of which you can read in this newsletter, and we hope there will be more to come as we foster this open space for exchange within our network.

Vanessa Vaio is IE’s Country Coordinator Italy and she is a member of the Learning Landscape initiative team. She can be contacted at: vanessa.vaio@interpret-europe.net.

To cite this article:
Vaio, Vanessa (2026) “What the symposium left behind (and why it matters)”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Spring 2026, p. 9–10.
Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Spring 2026.

Retiring a costume can seem like a practical decision, but in my recent work it became a moment of deeper reflection on what distinguishes live interpretation from performance. I have embodied the medieval character of Queen Maria Palaiologina for several years, and placing her costume into archival storage allowed me to revisit the principles that guide our practice as interpreters.

The garment itself was originally designed for an AR/VR project, intended for a controlled digital environment rather than open-ended visitor interaction. Its theatrical qualities served well in virtual storytelling, but they were never meant for the dynamic, dialogic nature of live interpretation. Acknowledging this mismatch became a reminder of why our tools must support communication rather than simply visual effect.

Live interpretation, particularly when delivered through a historical character, is often mistaken for acting. Yet interpretation is not a performance presented to an audience. It is a facilitated process in which meaning is co-created with visitors. Actors are trained to project emotion outward; interpreters, instead, should cultivate a shared space where questions, curiosity and reflection shape the encounter.

This distinction is especially clear when working with visitors who arrive with diverse interests and expectations. Interpretation is interactive, and the interpreter must be prepared to respond to enquiries that go far beyond the surface of a costume or a storyline. Solid scholarly grounding is essential: visitors challenge, compare and explore, and the interpreter must offer context with accuracy and empathy.

Museum theatre provides an illustrative example. Although it borrows elements from theatre, its purpose is interpretive communication. Characterisation is used not to deliver a scripted narrative, but to open a dialogue about heritage. Visitors are not passive observers but participants whose perceptions actively shape the experience. Actors can become excellent interpreters, but they require training in interpretive methodology to shift from performance to engagement.

Working with Queen Maria Palaiologina’s costume has given me opportunities to explore how embodiment can reveal connections between past and present. Through dialogue, visitors often move from the personal story of a medieval noblewoman to questions of identity, cultural exchange and the role of women in historical decision-making. These conversations demonstrate how interpretation fosters both emotional resonance and intellectual insight.

The retirement of her costume is not an ending but a transition. The interpretive themes remain alive, and the character continues to serve as a bridge to wider historical reflection. What changes is the medium through which the dialogue is facilitated.

Ultimately, this moment reinforced a core principle of our profession: interpretation is defined not by costumes or props, but by the shared meaning created between interpreter and visitor. When that dialogue is authentic, the story endures long after the garment is set aside.

Vasilka Dimitrovska is an IE trainer for the Certified Live Interpretation course. She is the founder of Kreaktiva – The Storytelling & Experience Design Studio, and Creative Director of HAEMUS. She specialises in experience-based approaches to bringing heritage to life. Vasilka can be contacted at: info@kreaktiva.mk.

To cite this article: Dimitrovska, Vasilka (2025) “When a costume retires: Rethinking live interpretation”, Interpret Europe Newsletter 4‑2025, p. 23-24.
Available online: Newsletter winter 2025

Empaths is our second European project, a classic transnational cooperation action, funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme. 

Empaths supports IE’s work to pilot a new training course for HI professionals to facilitate participatory heritage interpretation reflecting the democratisation of heritage and the shift to value-based and people-centred heritage interpretation. It will expand our knowledge and experience in this area alongside the Learning Landscapes initiative involving a selection of UNESCO World Heritage sites and the Framework of Reference which is central to the HI-People project.

After a year of research and development, we have produced a methodological framework for an online and on-site course, a curriculum and syllabus, and an Empaths Manifesto, an easily accessible document for all heritage stakeholders that sets out the case for participation (or heritage communities) and the role of interpreters as facilitators of personal meaning-making. You can find all these documents and more on the project website: www.empaths-project.eu.

Our partners in Northwest Greece, Austria/Slovenia and Southern Italy had the pleasure of sharing their work at a recent webinar of the Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation (GAHI) and are now preparing the learning materials for the training. The focus then turns to recruiting ‘local’ participants to take part in the pilot training, beginning with a series of six online sessions in May next year, followed by on-site community labs in the autumn.

Click here for past GAHI webinars, a service which is also supported by the HI-People project. 

Visit the www.empaths-project.eu for more details and free-to-access documentation and please register to receive the Empaths newsletter. We are also on social media, so do follow us from the website links.

Alexander (Sandy) Colvine is IE’s Project Manager for HI-People and Empaths. He can be contacted at: alexander.colvine@interpret-europe.net.

To cite this article: Colvine, Alexander (Sandy) (2025) ‘European project update: Empaths’ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 4‑2025, p. 8.
Available online: Newsletter winter 2025

While principally intended for IE members, the programme will also reach out to non-member heritage professionals to join and share in this collaborative process. Participants can be freelance consultants and/or trainers, whether recently established in, or brand new to, heritage interpretation. It is also open to senior professionals with mentoring experience who would like to support early career interpreters. The programme will provide personalised guidance and support for professional development and promote sustainable business growth.

Help us by completing this online survey by Monday 22 December 2025 so we can shape the mentoring and peer support programme to your needs.

Please note that completing the survey is not conditional on you committing to participate in the mentoring programme. We simply want an accurate snapshot of professional development needs among the interpretive community so that the subjects and content of this initiative address those needs as far as possible

Heritage interpretation can sometimes feel like a solitary occupation, so this initiative aims to draw on our combined strengths to enhance and share the expertise within the interpretive community. This includes structured opportunities for dialogue, networking and practical tools to help individual interpreters make the most of the skills they have learned and drive collective growth in a fast-expanding and dynamic sector.

In addition to growing businesses, market demand, client-provider relationships and project design, etc., the focus will also be on soft skills where people can exchange ideas, develop new skills, and strengthen existing ones in a safe, collaborative space.

The programme begins this winter with (i) mapping your needs through an online survey, followed in early 2026 with (ii) annual cycles of online workshops with sector experts on the identified needs, training on mentoring, matching, and peer mentoring sessions. Each cycle includes monitoring and evaluation. Participation is free for IE members with a small charge for non-members*. Participants can stay for more than one cycle as they wish.

Why join?

Taking part in this mentoring and peer support programme means investing in your professional development and joining a community that values collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and meaningful connections around heritage. Each participant will:

• receive personalised support through a peer mentoring pathway with someone who knows your sector and its challenges
• become a mentor and learn to channel your experience to assist those new to the profession in other countries
• access high-quality training with experts on topics such as, for instance, entrepreneurial development, fundraising, communication, and digital tools
• strengthen your professional profile with practical strategies for growing as a trainer or freelance interpreter
• exchange ideas and practices with colleagues from across Europe, broadening your perspective
• build lasting connections within the Interpret Europe network and beyond
• contribute to the sector-wide debate on the future of heritage interpretation, centred on people and values

If you would like to apply to take part, please send an email to office@interpret-europe.net by 30 December 2025 briefly stating your professional situation, your ambitions for a career in heritage interpretation and what you would like to gain from mentoring.

Thank you for your interest. We think this will be an ideal opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow together.

*Non-IE member heritage professionals can access the mentoring programme by either joining IE from 2026 at individual membership fee level, or by remaining as non-members and instead paying an annual participation fee indexed to your country of residence as applies to IE membership fees (see below).

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Interpret Europe’s Conference Coordinator Bettina Lehnes and Country Coordinator Portugal, Pedro Morais, are just back from Faro where they spent some packed and exciting days. It’s now time to bring all their impressions together to provide a memorable conference programme for you.

The old town of Faro enchants and captivates with a labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets lined with seventeenth- and eighteenth-century houses and a Gothic cathedral at its centre where you find many traces of its history and feel the spirit of the city’s eventful past.

Off Faro’s shore lies the Parque Natural da Rio Formosa, a labyrinth of canals, islands, salt marshes, mudflats and sandbanks which attracts a great range of marine life and migratory birds and is the most important natural resource in the south of Portugal.

While we are still discussing the possibilities, developing new ideas and discarding others to create the next exciting conference for you, it is certain that we cannot possibly gather in Faro without talking about the Faro Convention. The Council of Europe’s Faro Convention of 2005 was a groundbreaking milestone towards a value-based and more inclusive understanding of heritage. Although written for the field of cultural heritage, its values and principles can inspire nature interpretation in the same way. Today, the Faro Convention is even more relevant than ever, while its potential to enhance theory and practice of all heritage interpretation is still not fully embraced.

Let’s come together and reflect on the ethics and methods of heritage interpretation related to the Faro spirit, aiming to engage diverse heritage communities in interpretive co‐creation.

You can learn what the Faro convention is about here: https://rm.coe.int/1680083746 

If you want to find out a little more about Faro and our hosting partners, please keep an eye on the conference website and information will be added as we have it: www.interpreteuropeconference.net. We will use the summer to provide more information soon and issue the call for papers by October.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions, or would like to offer your support, please contact Bettina Lehnes at: bettina.lehnes@interpret-europe.net.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Faro in April 2026!

To cite this article: IE Conference Team (2025)  ‘Interpret Europe conference 2026 – Save the date!‘  in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2025, pg.25.
Available online: Newsletter summer 2025

HI-People is a 4-year project funded by the EU Creative Europe programme designed to capitalise on IE’s efforts over the last ten years to promote and develop value-based heritage interpretation and cement IE’s position as an international reference, or hub, in the matter.

This focuses on fostering a common understanding, or Framework of Reference, among European heritage stakeholders of people-centred and value-based heritage interpretation. This refers to what exactly is meant when we use the term, its component parts, common principles and ethical guidelines to use it consistently in different situations. 

Over the next four years, a small team led by IE’s Cultural Heritage Coordinator, Patrick Lehnes, will prepare and run a consultation process to identify those essentials mentioned above, starting with a research and scoping core group of expert advisors from the European heritage sector then to a wider, inclusive consultation, ultimately including all IE members. The Framework of Reference will be a platform for exchange with the potential to evolve further instead of ceasing at a fixed standard. The work begins now, so look out for further updates on the HI-People projects page from this autumn onwards.

HI-People is also designed to grow the IE network, build the capacity of interpreters, promote their role and the contribution of heritage to critical challenges in European society. Training, a keystone of IE’s offer and identity, consequently features highly. In June, we held our first trainers’ summer school in Vrsar, Croatia, as part of the project, where participants took part in modules and module upgrades, capacity building and trainer workshops. Such occasions to meet in person over several days are invaluable to inject new energy, ideas and a sense of community. The post-event evaluation is underway and we will act on the findings to further improve and shape an annual programme of summer schools that best responds to real needs. 

The Learning Landscapes initiative also features in HI-People, notably as it is a very important test-bed to train heritage professionals from outside IE in value-based heritage interpretation principles and practice. The plan is that HI-People will help support a second cycle of territories to co-create interpretive strategies and deliver IE courses, with additional opportunities for our expanding community of trainers.    

A further exciting development is a new Certified Interpretive Trainer course to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 2-6 February 2026, when we look forward to welcoming a new generation of IE trainers! Linked to this, work is starting with an experienced Italian cultural consultancy firm, Melting Pro, to provide a mentoring and peer support programme for interpretive trainers and freelancers.

HI-People is also about networking, advocacy and visibility. To that end, our community of country coordinators will hold a series of regional/national networking events to promote heritage interpretation and IE to professionals from heritage, tourism and more as a common thread to connect different sectors and disciplines. We plan to hold the first events towards the end of the year. The idea is that coordinators can mobilise growing numbers of national members to present, demonstrate and promote the merits of HI and generate collaborative opportunities in their countries.  

IE will finally have a formal communication and dissemination strategy by the end of the summer. Recent online consultations and workshops have also been held to identify annual themes for membership campaigns as well as materials for trainers and coordinators to promote IE and deliver their activities. Improved consistency and quality in our communication, from podcasts to video pills, GAHI webinars and world cafés, coupled with a redesigned website with greater opportunities for exchange among members, is vital to IE’s next stage in its growth and development which the HI-People will help us achieve over the next four years.   

Our second project, Empaths, is a 30-month European Erasmus+ transnational cooperation project with Greek, Italian and Austrian partners. It began in October 2024 to research, design, test and promote a training programme on participatory heritage interpretation. The aim is that it can be used by heritage professionals to better run co-creation processes involving local communities, reflecting the democratisation of heritage and the shift to value-based heritage interpretation.

The research phase to gather details and experiences of participatory practices in the heritage and heritage-related sectors is now complete and the results will gradually be published on the project platform: https://empaths-project.eu. Many thanks to those of you who responded to questionnaires and took part in online consultation meetings. Your contributions are invaluable. 

Work to draft the training programme guidelines and content has now begun, starting with interviews with our piloting partners and other local heritage stakeholders to identify needs and local contexts when running the pilot training in autumn 2026. This was all the more important as the interviewees are also potential training participants.

We are also producing a skills manifesto, a document designed to promote the subject, the course and benefits to future participants.

The remaining tasks include the creation of the training programme curriculum and syllabus with online and onsite training materials (by September 2025), an independent evaluation (by EVTA) and uploading the learning materials to the Empaths website.

Special thanks must go to our IE friends, Claudia Grünberg and Sebastian Zoepp, for their expertise and experience to help us produce the training course and training guidelines.

Empaths is smaller and shorter in comparison to HI-People but will expand our knowledge and experience in participatory value-based heritage interpretation in other territorial settings alongside the ongoing Learning Landscapes Initiative involving a selection of UNESCO World Heritage sites.    

Look out for more news on both HI-People and Empaths on the IE website and social media!

Alexander (Sandy) Colvine is IE’s Project Manager for both European projects. He can be contacted at: alexander.colvine@interpret-europe.net. 

To cite this article:  Colvine, Alexander (2025)  ‘European projects update – Where are we now?‘  in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2025, pg.7-8.
Available online: Newsletter summer 2025

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

Besides team-building and bonding, the primary reason for IE trainers to gather in person for a five-day long training was to acquaint themselves with the principles of value-based heritage interpretation and discuss its applicability in the IE training courses.

23 trainers from 12 countries, from Portugal to Hungary and from Greece to Sweden, worked hard all day long, but also found time to enjoy time on the beach, feast on local food and discover the natural and cultural heritage of Istria.  While the term ‘value-based heritage interpretation’ has been used for some time, there were very few opportunities for the trainers to explore and discuss the ideas behind it.
A summer school for IE trainers had been on IE’s wish list for some years, but with the covid-19 pandemic and lack of financial support, it remained on the wish list until now. Finally, this school was organised within the Learning landscape initiative for 2024, with the help of UNESCO’s co-financing.
Ever since the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Venice published recommendations for this approach in 2019, the main developer of IE’s training programme, Thorsten Ludwig, has worked hard to adapt all IE certification courses to them. UNESCO’s aim is that IE trainers offering their service within the Learning landscape initiative can pass on these ideas and know-how to UNESCO sites and areas surrounding them. 

However, dealing with environmental and social sustainability is no longer in the domain of the United Nations only, and value-based products and services seem to be a promise of a better future, including when it comes to heritage interpretation. IE trainers should, therefore, in future, run courses according to the new programme which even more emphasises the importance of a dialogue between people and interpreters, encouraging even more self-interpretation, and renegotiating various narratives about heritage which might be only one-sided interpretations.  

Guides, writers, planners and other interpreters will be even more able to direct our thinking and emotional processes towards active listening and active communication in order for visitors to see, hear and consider various points of view. These aspects give the value-based interpretation its name. Interpreters are sometimes worried that they need to reinforce values upon people, but this can’t be farther from IE’s proposition. The mode of interpretive presentation, active listening and opening space for people to interact are at the heart of the proposed approach to interpretation. To the satisfaction of many trainers, this is not far away from what they were already practising all these years; the renewed training programme only emphasises further a dialogue and an open space as currently the best tools for self-interpretation by people. 

Let’s hear from some of our IE trainers who participated in this year’s summer school:

“The Summer School was a rare opportunity for a get-together of so many Interpret Europe trainers. Five intense days together gave all of us a chance to discover more about each other. Learning how many unusual and inspiring persons we have in our training network is my biggest discovery. If anyone considers joining one of our trainings, it doesn’t matter which trainer you choose – I am now certain that you are in good hands. Buckle up and get ready for a journey full of discoveries.” (Iva, Croatia)

“You always learn and re-learn, get inspired, gain new perspectives among IE’s Certified Interpretive Trainers (CITs). Meeting in person during the summer school elevated these to another level.” (Zsuzsa, Hungary)

“As interpretation is about connection, nothing less could happen between so many interesting and inspiring people that gathered with a summer mood in a forest by the sea. Meetings and exchanges that offer new paths and new friends.” (Penelope, Greece)

“Amazing summer camp: an alive picture of diversity and compromise with interpretation from the training team. I hope it will be the first of many!” (Evarist, Spain)

“I learned from the different experiences with other participants here that there should always be enough space to understand one more perspective.” (Arpad, Hungary)

“To meet and learn together with all these experienced trainers and nice persons has been so rewarding and fun!” (Per, Sweden)

“I have a sense of time well spent. I leave with satisfaction and a sense of training fulfilment. It was a fantastic work, laugh and talk. I already miss my training colleagues.” (Mateusz, Poland)

“Meeting all the trainers in the House of Nature in Kontija was a great experience! All our meaningful conversations about value-based heritage interpretation reminded me of how much I enjoy being a part of our inspiring interpreters’ tribe.” (Vida, Croatia)

With these ideas, and upskilled trainers, we are entering the first phase in the Learning landscapes initiative. Right now, the call for participation is closing and the UNESCO areas that have applied to take part are being selected. In autumn, the representatives of participating areas will become newly trained interpretive agents who will start engaging their local communities in the interpretive process and gather for face-to-face training in Kotor (Montenegro). Then next year, the training and planning process will take place. 

You can read more about the whole Learning landscapes initiative in the article published in the previous edition of IE’s newsletter. 

To cite this article: IE Management (2024) ‘Back to school to practice value-based interpretation‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2024, pg.5-6.
Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PDF-Newsletter-2024_2.pdf

Five years ago, UNESCO defined value-based heritage interpretation (VBHI) to meet the challenges of the 21st century. IE decided to support this initiative. It revised its mission and aligned its training programme with this approach.But what does VBHI actually mean? What is new and what challenges and opportunities does it bring? The webinar aims to answer these questions. It is based on an introductory event currently being tested by IE and scheduled to launch in October. If you would like to join for this webinar, register here.

Thorsten Ludwig (Germany), MSc Interpretation, worked in a national park until 1993, when he founded Bildungswerk Interpretation as his own company to provide interpretive training and planning. As IE Managing Director (2015-2021), he worked with UNESCO on the development of VBHI.