#HeritageChat April 2022 – Places of Worship

In April 2022 #HeritageChat discussed Places of Worship from the heritage perspective. Climate change, redundant churches, the religious and historical significance of buildings were three of the topics tackled in April’s #HeritageChat.

Participants lively debated what does ‘sustainability’ mean in the context of religious buildings; the role of local communities and how to engage with them; community uses for historic churches; the management of historical and religious significance; threats resulting from climate change and adaptation. A lot of useful resources were shared over the course of the chat (e.g. Fundraising for Net Zero Carbon, Support Officers for Historic Places of Worship, Options Appraisals and Church Buildings Reports, House of Good Report, and many other).

This was one of the most successful #HeritageChats (for number of participants and tweets shared), with so many interesting points raised – thanks to all the participants!

You can read the summary of the chat here.

#HeritageChat March 2022 – International

In March 2022 #HeritageChat discussed International engagement and collaboration. The chat was led in collaboration with Lizzie Glithero-West, CEO of the Heritage Alliance (HEF member) and Graham Bell, Director of Cultura Trust and member of the Europa Nostra board.

Lots of interesting points were raised in the chat. Participants discussed how can we make meaningful and ethical partnerships, and what role digital can play in this; what is the potential of international collaboration to improve resilience in the UK; what would be needed to improve international collaboration, and what barriers are still making collaboration difficult; how to measure the success of international partnerships. Considering the current difficult Ukrainian situation, participants also shared thoughts on the universal nature of culture, and what impact will this war have.

You can read the summary of the chat here.

#HeritageChat February 2022 – Storytelling and Heritage

February’s #HeritageChat focused on Storytelling and Heritage.

Participants explored the elements that make a story really successful, giving also practical suggestions, and what is the potential of digital storytelling. They highlighted in particular the potential of reaching geographically diverse audiences. The chat then focused on community-led storytelling, with associated risks and opportunities, and the difficulties of telling stories about dark heritage.

The chat also explored how to measure the success of storytelling, and participants highlighted that the impact of storytelling is difficult to measure with numbers, as it involves emotions and reflections. Finally, participants discussed to what extent storytelling can be used to motivate the public become more engaged with important issues such as climate change. The power of giving examples and sharing stories is showcased in our report Heritage Responds, which aims to inspire heritage organisations to take action to fighting climate change through case studies.

You can read the summary of the chat here.

#HeritageChat January 2022 – The role of innovation in building the resilience of heritage organisations

January’s #HeritageChat was led in collaboration with the Rebuilding Heritage team, and discussed The role of innovation in building the resilience of heritage organisations.

First of all, #HeritageChat explored the challenges faced by the heritage organisations and professionals since the start of the pandemic. Participants listed: the ability to continue to deliver activities with reduced resources, caring for wellbeing, business planning in uncertain times, with restrictions changing frequently. We then explored the measures that the sector adopted to address the challenges, such as being flexible and responsive, improving digital skills, adopting flexible working patterns, building stronger networks. While ‘resilience’ is tricky to define, participants shared what measures they think can increase resilience: increased communications, good understanding of the organisation’s mission, contingency planning, collaboration, networking.

Participants also discussed the role of networking, the type of support they would like, and the areas where they think they need support.

You can read the summary of the chat here.

#HeritageChat December 2021 – Celebrating 2021… and looking forward to 2022!

December’s #HeritageChat provided an occasion to Celebrate what the sector has achieved in 2021 and share our wishes for 2022.

It was wonderful to see the many positive achievements of the sector in 2021, notwithstanding the challenges caused by the pandemic, and the positive wishes for the future of our organisations and the sector. Here’s a nice tweet from the Heritage Alliance: “We wish for a year of continued resilience & increased growth for the wide range of orgs across the sector, enabling them to improve protections for #heritage & maximise its benefits for a wider range of people across the country.”

You can read the summary of the chat here.

#HeritageChat November 2021 – Heritage and Levelling Up

Ahead of the launch Heritage Alliance Heritage Debate on ‘Levelling Up’ What does it mean for Heritage?, November’s #HeritageChat discussed Heritage & Levelling Up.

Thanks to Owain Lloyd-James (Historic England) who helped us facilitate the chat. Lots of great points were shared on: What do we interpret as ‘levelling up’ and why heritage organisations should engage with it, who to partner with, what risks should be taken into account. Participants also shared a wide range of successful case studies.

You can read the summary of the chat here.

If you want to continue the discussion on levelling up, don’t forget to book your place at the Alliance’s Heritage Debate (on Zoom, 30 Nov, 10.00-12.00) – book tickets, send in your questions, and even write a short blog on the topic!