IE web conference 2021: Recreating tourism through heritage interpretation
Get ready for another safe, inclusive and low carbon footprint web conference discussing ways towards more sustainable tourism in connection with heritage interpretation.
The IE conference, "Recreating tourism through heritage interpretation", was due to take place in Sigüenza, Spain, but we decided to organise another outstanding online conference which will offer access to attendees from all parts of the world. Vaccinated, or not, healthy or not so healthy, you are all very welcome! Besides, we will again contribute to a lower carbon footprint and save our travel miles for next year!
Under the theme ‘Recreating tourism through heritage interpretation’, we will merge heritage interpretation with sustainable tourism in order to offer unique opportunities along the tourist service chain to both local people and visitors. Everything you have come to expect from an IE conference – inspiring speakers, hands-on workshops, thematic discussions and networking – can be taken for granted!
We need to rethink tourism’s success, both at the destination and visitor level, by encouraging heritage interpretation. Closer cooperation between tourism and heritage interpretation could lead to new approaches from which especially smaller communities might benefit.
Our 2021 conference aims to share and exchange theory and practice of interpretive approaches to the development of tourism and to rethink the role heritage interpretation plays in tourism and in community development at tourist destinations.
Conference theme: Recreating Tourism through Heritage Interpretation
When the pandemic comes to an end, there will be a need for new ideas in tourism. What role can heritage interpretation play in this?
Experiencing heritage should bring added value to people’s lives. Encouraging more meaningful experiences can lead to more mindfulness among visitors as well as among local people. Can interpretation support communities around heritage sites to re-launch tourism in a more sustainable way?
In many countries and regions, tourism contributes to the development of heritage communities. Over the last year, the tourism ecosystem has been greatly impacted by the global pandemic which has meant a forced shift – into a more resilient, sustainable and interconnected direction.
We need to rethink tourism’s success, both at the destination and visitor level, by encouraging heritage interpretation. Closer cooperation between tourism and heritage interpretation could lead to new approaches from which especially smaller communities might benefit.
Our 2021 conference aims to share and exchange theory and practice of interpretive approaches to the development of tourism and to rethink the role heritage interpretation plays in tourism and in community development at tourist destinations.
Questions
If you prepare your proposal to present at the conference, please consider questions such as:
- Why is heritage interpretation a suitable tool to recreate tourism after the crisis?
- Can heritage interpretation empower communities and make them more resilient?
- Can heritage interpretation lead to more sustainable tourism?
- How can heritage interpretation help to foster human values as defined by UNESCO?
- How can heritage interpretation make tourists and local people more mindful towards our common future?
We also welcome presentations and workshops that focus on the theory and practice of heritage interpretation as a discipline. Theoretical essays, descriptions of case studies of outstanding sites, or remarkable practices, would also fulfil the requirements.
Format
Interpret Europe conferences attract up to 200 attendees from as many as 40 countries. Besides four keynote addresses in the plenary, 60-80 workshops and presentations are run over four days in parallel, in different strands. The call refers to these parallel sessions.
Presentations can be 25 or 55 minutes long including ten minutes for exchange of views. We generally recommend keeping presentations as short and as inspiring as possible. Workshops can be 55 or 85 minutes long and must ensure active involvement of the participants.