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IE Webinar: Does nature need interpretation?
November 15, 202223 November at 18:00 CET This webinar will address, in particular, nature guides. Today, the majority of the human population in Europe lives in urban areas where there is not much opportunity to encounter nature in the wild. Despite this, there are many romantic nature lovers and environmental warriors ...Read More
Call for Entries – European Heritage Awards/ Europa Nostra Awards 2023
October 26, 2022Open for submissions until 25 November: European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2023 The European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2023 are open for submissions! Europe’s most inspiring architects, craftsmen, cultural heritage experts, professionals, volunteers, public and private institutions, and local communities now have a new chance to be ...Read More
Heritage for children through storytelling
October 15, 2022Thursday 20 October 2022, 18:00 CEST Children are the decision-makers of the future. Can interpretive programmes develop in children a sense of responsibility towards the use of the natural environment and a respect for cultural and historical heritage? I believe you will agree with me that it can ...Read More
Young European Heritage Makers
September 27, 2022Are you an ambassador of heritage? Be a storyteller, show what heritage means for your generation and share it with the rest of Europe! This competition, run by European Heritage Days (EHD), is open until 31 December 2022. Check if your country is participating and join the competition! You can ...Read More
iecon23: You don’t want to miss it
September 24, 2022Join us in Romania where a UNESCO-designated, still inhabited, patrimonial estate in the heart of Transylvania will host our next conference. If you consider coming to the IE conference, Creating learning landscapes through heritage interpretation, from 12-15 May 2023, here is what you will experience first-hand. Sighisoara ...Read More
Recognition for the blind water carrier
September 24, 2022Cultural Heritage in Action enlists the Bakar Water Carrier in its catalogue of good practices. Could your project also be eligible? We have already written about the Bakar Water Carrier project in previous editions of this newsletter. This time, we would love to share some wonderful news with you! Cultural ...Read More
It’s Frog Day, but where are the frogs?
September 24, 2022Sensitive interpretation of endangered species seeks to raise awareness in their absence – in order to help protect them. The importance of wetland habitats – lakes, streams, swamps, winter pools which are flooded annually or seasonally – is indisputable: The species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, and plants that develop in ...Read More
Re-imagining The Monument through sound. A collaboration
September 24, 2022Digital technology was used during the Covid-19 pandemic to give students a practical and creative insight into work in the cultural sector. Over the summer of 2021, teams from Tower Bridge and The Monument to the Great Fire of London, and London Metropolitan University collaborated to make use of ...Read More
The blue heart of Europe keeps beating
September 24, 2022A historic step by the Albanian government in June 2022 is a win for nature, the environment and Europe’s heritage. Vjosa is my daughter’s name, but it is also the name of a river in the south of Albania. It is a river that flows near the ...Read More
How Ukrainians are fighting on the cultural front
September 24, 2022War affects us in many ways, including loss of cultural heritage. But there is some light among the destruction, making a difference. Since the start of occupation in February 2022, Russian forces have damaged or outright destroyed more than 450 cultural landmarks, including 34 museums (according to the Ukrainian Cultural ...Read More
Interpretation of gastronomy as local identity
September 24, 2022Training and workshop about the potential of gastronomic heritage as a test for the upcoming IE Gastronomic Heritage training module. The project, ‘Interpretation of gastronomy as local identity’, supported by the EU-funded program i-Portunus was held in Macedonia between 13-18 May 2022. The host of the project ...Read More
It happened again!
September 24, 2022How we typed our way through Certified Interpretive Writer (CIW) training. It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Interpret Europe’s courses. I try to seize any possible opportunity to join one. However, that’s not always easy. While the CIG is often available in different ...Read More
Read, understand and convey the beauty of Rügen
September 24, 2022How to motivate others to communicate with natural and cultural phenomena? Interpretation as a method of giving things an emotional meaning. From March to May 2022 the Landesamt für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Geologie (LUNG) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern organised training for certified nature and landscape guides (ZNL) on the island of ...Read More
IE’s first regional panel tackles natural heritage protection
September 24, 2022Members from Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina joined together online to discuss heritage interpretation and nature. As a result of a joint collaboration between IE’s country coordinators for Slovenia (Marijaliza Fajdiga), Croatia (Andrijana Milosavljević), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Edo Mešić), together with Vida Ungar (IE’s natural heritage coordinator ...Read More
Why should heritage sites look towards UNESCO designated sites?
September 24, 2022IE has again trained World Heritage Site managers from 14 European countries. Interpretive planning is an indispensable part of their future work. Good heritage interpretation no longer cares only for educating people about heritage. The need for involving people – locals and visitors – in interpretation, for discussing critical subjects, and to ...Read More
What can European Heritage Label sites do for Europeans?
September 24, 2022Heard on Brussels’ stage: “Interpret Europe’s know-how can support heritage professionals connecting people with Europe’s heritage”. Imagine your local heritage having something in common with other European countries and regions. Yes, whole human history is connected somehow, but if you think of Roman frontiers, Enlightment ideas, the ...Read More
A recipe for Lessismoreandmoreisless
September 24, 2022Interpretive lessons learned from an old Austrian tale – and if it whets your appetite, read on for a recipe! Does anybody know of Friedrich Torberg? Austrian critic, sportsman, raconteur, journalist, and novelist. His mother Hungarian, his father Czech; Jew and anti-fascist; writer of the ‘Schüler Gerber’ and translator of ...Read More
Interpretive themes during the Ancient era?
September 24, 2022In Hellenistic times, epigrams were meant to add deeper meaning to the experience of heritage sites and monuments. The oldest surviving epigrams are inscriptions at Greek sanctuaries around 500 BC. Accordingly, the word ‘epigram’ is derived from the Greek word ἐπιγράφειν (epigraphein = to write on). Good epigrams had to be ...Read More
Storytelling and heritage.
September 14, 2022Wednesday 21 September 2022, 18:00 CEST Whether we feel we are included or have a sense of belonging, or a shared identity often results from how we relate to our surroundings, both as individuals and as groups. Heritage plays a crucial role in this; it can be used to ...Read More
Interpretation in pandemic (or post-pandemic) times. Some lessons and challenges.
August 10, 2022Wednesday 25 August 2022, 18:00 CEST For the first time in history, human activity has come to a near standstill for more than two years. Regardless of location or borders of any kind, uncertainty and fear have filled much of our daily lives. But a few months after the ...Read More
How do we interpret controversial historical figures?
July 15, 2022Wednesday 20 July 2022, 18:00 CEST Every country has its own controversial figures from the past and it is not always easy to find the appropriate words to interpret them. While the public usually views history as objective, heritage interpretation, as well as history itself, can be largely subjective ...Read More
Children and heritage interpretation – Experiences as a mum and an interpreter.
June 24, 2022Wednesday 29 June 2022, 18:00 CEST This webinar will recall Tilden’s sixth principle about tackling younger minds. Do we follow a fundamentally different approach as Tilden suggested? Which tools and methods are good to use? How do children experience heritage? The world is changing rapidly, sometimes too ...Read More
The House of European History in Brussels established a new award scheme, the European Democracy Sites.
June 2, 2022The goal for 2022 is to nominate one historical site per member state of the European Union. Being awarded the European Democracy Sites award will support the visibility of a historical site and its efforts to connect with other historical sites and educational institutions. The 2022 Special Focus Theme will ...Read More
Evaluation of holistic interpretive experiences
May 20, 202226 May 2022, 18:00 CET Evaluation of interpretive services is a part of the planning and implementation of interpretive projects. It gives us insights into the quality and effectiveness of our ideas, drafts, mock-ups, and final services. Evaluation is easier to conduct when we measure what people have ...Read More
Would you like to help organise our conference 2023?
May 14, 2022As you know, IE conferences will now be held every two years. The last one took place online in October 2021, so the next conference will be held, face-to-face, in 2023. The conference should ideally be scheduled for spring 2023 and be planned in such a way as ...Read More
A new webinar series by Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation
April 22, 202219 May, 18:00 CEST The Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation is inviting all interpreters around the world to a series of webinars in 2022. Join us for the next one: Whose Story is it Anyway: Interpreting the Cultural Mosaic of Canada Interpretation is often used as a way of ...Read More
How heritage interpretation is helping us preserve biodiversity in North Macedonia
April 22, 2022Thursday 28 April at 18:00 CET This webinar will cover the topic of how cultural and natural heritage interpretation is helping us to preserve our very own bee, the indigenous melliferra macedonica. The challenges that we were facing in the past in our efforts to protect and promote sustainable ...Read More
International Fund for Cultural Diversity
April 15, 2022The call for applications to the UNESCO fund is open. Over USD 9 million has been invested since 2010 – will your project be eligible? UNESCO has launched the 13th call for applications to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), a multi-donor fund established under the 2005 Convention for ...Read More
Open the gates of the town of the dead
April 15, 2022The secrets of Senj’s catacombs – the last resting place of many Senj citizens and dignitaries – are held under the town square. If you visit the town of Senj and open the gates of the town of the dead under Cimiter Square, you step into the mystical atmosphere of ...Read More
ZELTForum volume 12
April 15, 2022‘Real – fictional – virtual spaces’ will be the title of the next edition of ZELTForum to be published late 2022. The centre for landscape interpretation and tourism (ZELT) of the Institute of Geography Göttingen aims to demonstrate the potential and relevance of heritage and landscape interpretation for sustainable future development. The ...Read More
New steps for interpretation in Slovenia
April 15, 2022UNESCO approves a new Chair for heritage and IE’s Managing Director, Helena Vičič, attended the inaugural meeting. The Faculty of Humanities of the University of Primorska (UP FHŠ), in partnership with the Škocjan Caves Park (PŠJ), has established the UNESCO Chair of Interpretation and Education for Enhancing Integrated ...Read More
The magical power of interpretation
April 15, 2022Join us in Austria in May for an inspiring workshop using our interpretive approach at the Europarc conference. It starts with values, continues with how we engage others and inspire them, and it might end with “wow” and common growth in facilitated common ground. It’s the magic of ...Read More
Simply the best
April 15, 2022The annual awards for quality, inventiveness, and creativity in tourism, ‘Simply the best’, arrived in the small Croatian city of Nin. The award was established in 2009 and is jointly awarded by UHPA (Association of Croatian Travel Agencies) and the specialist tourist magazine, Way to Croatia. There are six categories ...Read More
A tribe of interpretive guides
April 15, 2022 The Interpret Europe family is so valuable to our profession – It is not good for a guide to be alone. It has been a year since I became an interpretive guide and a member of the Interpret Europe family. Yes, family. Because I feel supported by people who share the ...Read More
Why do I love heritage?
April 14, 2022Traditional embroidery creates a window into our past. We can feel, not just see, the skilled work of our elders, kept alive today. Heritage is like a prism that, every once in a while, enables me to get in touch with the things most beautiful to me. A flicker in ...Read More
Liverpool – After World Heritage
April 14, 2022An online session from World Heritage UK will look at vital lessons for the future from Liverpool’s loss of World Heritage Site status. The World Heritage UK international online conference, in association with The Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool, will take place on Thursday, 23 June. In 2021 UNESCO ...Read More
MinerAlp project: Cooperation for mining heritage
April 14, 2022The first group of Mining Heritage Guides enjoyed intensive training to keep geology and the history of mountain economies alive. The mountains have for years been considered a place for enthusiasts. In recent years, however, there has been an approach to mountain places linked in particular to the naturalistic and ...Read More
A portrait of an independent 19th century woman
April 14, 2022Tools learned on an IE CIG course were perfect to transport people to the past in Karlovac, Croatia, through the eyes of a special lady. Following two courses (for two Croatian counties), I had the great pleasure and honour of taking part in the Interpret Europe Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG ...Read More
Heritage of Solčava at the centre of the planning course
April 14, 2022The rich and exceptional heritage of Solčava was the focus of the first CIP course in Slovenia for a dozen new planners. The first Certified Interpretive Planner (CIP) course in Slovenia came at the right time for all the participants. All of us had previous experiences with the planning of ...Read More
IE Training Days 2022
April 14, 2022We invite you to join us in person later this year for five days of training workshops and study visits together in Catalonia, Spain. If you are keen on sharpening your skills in heritage interpretation, experiencing how it works in practice and exchanging ideas with interpreters from all over Europe ...Read More
#Interpretation4Children
April 14, 2022IE’s social media feeds have been brightened up with some nice examples of interpretation for younger people. ‘Join us in looking at some examples of interpretation for children’ was an invitation for followers of IE social media to read contributions from IE members about examples of interpretation for children ...Read More
Can interpretation prevent war?
April 14, 2022IE’s contribution to the GAHI series of webinars was presented by Thorsten Ludwig and considered this provocative and topical subject. The Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation (GAHI) is taking networking of interpreters around the globe to the next level. It offers a platform for meeting and exchanging between experts ...Read More
The role of heritage interpretation in exhibition planning
March 19, 202223 March 18:00 CET Exhibitions are a complex medium of heritage interpretation. Although historically linked to heritage and educational institutions, primarily museums and galleries, exhibitions have also found their place in presenting a wide range of human achievements and ideas, increasingly outside the traditional cultural sector. Assembling and running ...Read More
A new webinar series by Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation
March 12, 20227 April, 18:00 CEST The Global Alliance for Heritage Interpretation is inviting all interpreters around the world to a series of webinars in 2022. You can register here. It is the dreadful fate of humanistic education: As soon as violence starts, it is too late. What could heritage interpretation ...Read More
IE Webinar: Hermeneutics and its relevance for practical heritage interpretation
February 9, 202228 February 18:00 CET In 1957, Freeman Tilden wrote “Interpreting our heritage”. That same year, the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer was invited to the university of Leuven, Belgium, to introduce his concept of hermeneutics. His subsequent work, ‘Truth and method’, became one of the most notable philosophical ...Read More
IE Webinar: Heritage interpretation across cultures
January 20, 202227 January at 18:00 CET Interpretation is a communication medium that should promote intercultural understanding, respect, and recognition of cultural differences. Learning facts about the differences is not enough and to develop intercultural interpretive /communication skills, we must start from ourselves: we must become aware of core cultural concepts ...Read More
IE Tourism initiative – Last call to jump on train
December 20, 2021If you participate in the development of your tourist destination, check this out. You might like to join our international initiative. Most recent debates about climate and environmental issues force us to reconsider purposes of our own work at heritage sites. Do we interpreters have a responsibility to respond to ...Read More