HeriQ and LLIGHT on Heritage

2. HeriQand LLIGHT on Heritage Interpret Europe International Conference, 2014 Primosten, Croatia Heritage Interpretation and Tourism

3. Who we are? • Bildungswerk interpretation, Germany • National Association for Small and Medium Business, Bulgaria • Heritage Interpretation Center, Bulgaria • APARE - Association for Regional Participation and Action, France • PANGEA INSTITUTE- European Institute for Environmental Education, Interpretation and Training, Italy • The Mediterranean Centre of Environment, Greece

5. HeriQ is about Introduction and transfer of qualities and standards associated with the ParcInterpsystem to train interpretive agents and interpretive guides

6. Who is the addressee • Mountain guides • Tourism guides • Museum guides

8. The logical chain for reasoning of the HeriQ project within the LLL context: quality heritage interpretation criteria and standards - quality heritage products - heritage based sustainable activities – economic growth for communities

9. HeriQ main outcomes • Introduced quality standards in heritage interpretation in partners’ countries • Introduced innovative approach in VET training of guides • Certified interpretive agents and trained interpretive guides from receiving countries • A manual for interpreters in six languages • Best practices booklet

10. HeriQ first step: Needs Analysis in France, Bulgaria and Greece What was found during the HeriQ Needs Analysis excersize in Bulgaria, at meetings, discussions and study visits? How this relates to the IE conference issue of today?   

12. The key point: Sustainability of tourism is in the hands of tourism establishments

13. What was an issue for tourism establishments? • How to do it as to get what they want from heritage interpretation – a visible effect • How to measure successful heritage interpretation - people in a leisure setting at locations enjoy the result from quality interpretation effort, but behind the curtain there are businesses who should make profit as to be able to sustain the heritage interpretive product.

15. What did we think during the needs’ analysis? When it is correct that 80% of economic activities are related to heritage (UNESCO statistics), right ways have to be found that heritage interpretation contributes to the growth of businesses in a similar way as it contributes to the richness of mind, soul, senses, preservation and sustainable development. The learning enterprise model of the Scottish Sea Bird Center

16. Tourism, as a powerful economic development tool when done right helps both to protect our nation’s natural and cultural treasures and strengthen local economies. • Linking tourism with heritage and culture can do more for local economies than promoting them separately.

17. Tourism traditionally is selling ready products to travelers - B&B, etc. with no contribution of local heritage interpretation. When quality heritage interpretation backs up tourism offers, tourism takes more from heritage in coexistence. Then, the protection comes.

19. Some of our findings • Words like “standards” and “criteria” in heritage interpretation evoke association with engineering, technology and boundaries on creativity. • Museum workers do not like the idea that they might not exhibited/explained their items in a perfect way. They perceive technical correctness as most important, visitor is the second. Good news: the need for quality messages on heritage to visitors (content mg) was acknowledged.

20. Too much and too academic texts at sites/museums, which make visitor lose integrity and interest. • What about historical maps in museums? Is it easy to read/understand them?

21. Are museums for children as well? Are expositions attractive and understandable for children? Who explains them what they see? When the texts are mostly for adults and too specialised.

22. What to do? • Engage key professionals at sites/museums in interpretive action, build a team together with professional interpreters – as done in a classical mg consultancy job. • Build synergy and exploit heritage to achieve diversity in tourism services based on local capacity and potential integrating evident and attractive local/regional heritage.

23. use understandable words, avoid academic language • The appealing traveler’s philosophy coincides with the philosophy approach of Rudolf Steiner: food, health and spiritual development. Interpretive planning and heritage interpretation could be targeted at continuously learning good practices following these trends in tourism.

24. LidewijEdelkoort, a futurist and trend forecaster at Studio Edelkoort in Paris: “The life will slow down, leisure time will increase, and people will be categorized by rather how do they spend their free time than what do they do at work”

26. Interpretative practices • Scottish Seabird Centre • St. Sofia Church Necropolis, София • Multimedia Visiting Centre – CarevgradTurnov • National Museum of Natural History, Sofia • National Archaeological Reserve Kabile, Yambol • Archaeological Museum Plovdiv

27. Our Honorary Advisory Board • Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor, Eberswalde University forSustainable Development, Germany • GLEN MICHAEL H. – Chair of the Supervisory Committee of Interpret Europe, UK • Dr. Stefano Spinetti, President of the Italian Association of Nature Guides), Italy • Prof. TizianaBanini, PhD, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy • DionyssiaHatzilakou, Ministry of Tourism, Greece, (formerly at the Ministry of Environment), Greece • Mme Claude Bouliou, member of the APARE Board, former director for Culture and Education in the Council of Alpes de Haute Province, France • Mme Maria Ivanova, Tourism Policy Directorate, Bulgaria

28. Our approach, based on the economic impact of heritage tourism economy • Direct impact (revenues from direct spend on heritage tourism products) • Indirect (from the heritage supply chain and procurement by heritage industry on goods & services) - measured by GDP and employment • Induced (spending of staff wages on goods & services) – measured by GDP & employment

29. Success factors for heritage tourism, which seem to be valid The conclusion after discussions with tourism establishments on sustainable heritage tourism was that we need to: collaborate with “owners” of heritage phenomena; “owners” need to collaborate with/involve visitors in interpretative effort to make their experience alive; interpretation should be balanced between interests of local people (what they can afford and are capable to offer - infrastructure, etc.) and visitors; be authentic and provide quality of detail;

30. Thank you for your kind attention! Contacts: • E. Negulova, NASMB, Sofia e.negulova@nasmb-bg.org • M. Kaisheva, Center for Heritage Interpretation mborisova@bitex.com • http://heriq.org/

31. Artist:MagdalinaAngelova Schoolgirl, participant in the competitionfor comics of Europass