Outreach begins with listening but grows from shared values, helping regions and professionals create interpretation that truly matters.
I have just taken over the role of Outreach Coordinator for IE and my new role begins with a question: What truly matters to the people we hope to reach?
This question will guide my work. Before anything else, outreach begins with listening. In our organisation, it also carries a deeper purpose: to help people, institutions and regions discover what Interpret Europe can offer at this particular moment in Europe’s story. And what we offer is truly unique.
Across the continent, societies face questions of cohesion, resilience, participation and meaning. Heritage often sits at the centre of these tensions. It can unify or divide, connect or separate. Everything depends on how it is interpreted. This is where Interpret Europe stands apart. We do not only teach techniques; we cultivate the ability to interpret heritage in ways that strengthen democratic values, social connection and a deeper sense of belonging. This is the value-based and people-centred approach to heritage interpretation (VBHI), and it is increasingly recognised as a response to key European priorities.
IE’s training programme, recently updated and refined, reflects this responsibility. It is not simply a series of courses. It is a capacity-building system that develops the competencies needed for meaningful interpretation: curiosity, critical thinking, emotional awareness, empathy and an understanding of how values shape the way people experience heritage. No other organisation in Europe offers this combination in such an applied, accessible and human way.
My task in outreach is to identify where this approach can make the greatest contribution. That means understanding the challenges faced by museums, protected areas, communities and local authorities, and recognising the values underlying their needs. When a director speaks about relevance, or a ranger worries about public trust, or a municipality looks for ways to strengthen participation, these are not isolated technical issues. They are signals of values seeking expression. Outreach helps recognise these signals and respond with the support that IE is uniquely equipped to offer.
Participation and co-creation, too, can be misunderstood. On the surface, they may appear as simple dialogue or doing things together. But co-creation becomes meaningful only when participants can see their own values reflected in the shared outcome. When this happens, engagement moves from something expected to something deeply felt.
This perspective also shapes how we approach the Learning Landscape initiative (LLI). The LLI is more than a project; it is a long-term vision for cultivating regions that are ready intellectually, emotionally and socially to host interpretation that strengthens communities rather than fragments them. Outreach helps identify these regions, build partnerships and prepare the ground for future capacity-building cycles.
While values also shape how we listen, the heart of outreach lies in showing why IE matters. We reach out because we believe interpretation, done well, can help Europe navigate some of its most pressing challenges. And we reach out because our training programme can empower people to make that difference.
In every conversation, I return to the same starting point: What truly matters here? From the answers to that question, partnerships emerge, trust grows and the path toward meaningful interpretation becomes clear. And, more often than not, it all begins with a smile and the right question.
Max Dubravko Fijačko is Interpret Europe’s new Outreach Coordinator. His mission is to connect, listen deeply, and support people and organisations in developing interpretation grounded in shared values. He believes meaningful change begins with genuine dialogue and the right question at the right moment. Max can be contacted at: dubravko.fijacko@interpret-europe.net.
To cite this article: Dimitrovska, Vasilka (2025) ‘Hands-on with the Romans: Re-imagining Stobi through live interpretation’ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 3-2025, p. 17.
Available online: Newsletter autumn 2025
