A series of inspiring speeches, workshops, presentations and expert talks brought together heritage professionals from 23 countries of Europe to Toulcův dvůr in Prague for this year’s Interpret Europe Spring Event. Taking place between 19th and 21st of May, the event offered a rich programme dedicated to ongoing developments in heritage interpretation and encouraged idea sharing on a number of associated topics.

The 2017 theme Crossing Borders opened up a possibility to observe heritage interpretation theory and practice from a variety of angles and cover a range of relevant aspects. Participants were invited to debate on the different ways to bring heritage closer to citizens and consider how individuals and organisations can work together to make this endeavour more successful. The programme showcased various use cases and best practice examples, particularly through motivating keynote speeches.

Among the keynote speakers, Jelena Močević, European Heritage Days Programme Manager, discussed the unique driving forces behind the success of European Heritage Days. Covering the stories on crossing borders in both the real and the online world, she examined a range of aspects that helped make European Heritage Days one of the most welcoming European cultural traditions.

“Last year was record-breaking for us. We organised approximately, and I would say even more, than 70,000 events in Europe. One of the reasons why this happened, and I truly believe it, is the fact we started introducing the celebration of pan-European themes. [] Last year, we started with celebrating “Heritage Communities,” so our entire focus for all 50 countries was “Heritage and Communities. And heritage interpretation that came out of that was absolutely amazing,” noted Ms Močević.

In addition to her, Lenka Mrázová, UNESCO Chair of Museology and World Heritage, covered The role of interpretation at the borderline of heritage declarations and reality, while Steven Timoney, UHI MSc programme on heritage interpretation, explored how we cross the border between interpretation theory and practice.

Together with a set of expert sessions and workshops covering the themes of migration, heritage education, mobile media interpretations and many others, the speeches provided insightful comments and valuable suggestions on how heritage interpretation can be used to enhance citizen's appreciation of their cultural heritage. The conference thus provided a comprehensive overview of trends, ideas and movements in the field, reflecting on the important role of heritage interpretation in making heritage more meaningful to Europeans.   

About Interpret Europe

Interpret Europe is a Germany-based organisation acting as a European platform for cooperation and exchange in the field of heritage interpretation. Interpret Europe earlier released a case study paper outlining the ways to use interpretative approach for the 2017 European Heritage Days theme “Heritage and Nature.”

Photo Credits: Wikipedia