World Heritage UK 2023 Annual Conference

WHUK’s 2023 Annual Conference will be held at Stirling, Scotland, at Historic Environment Scotland’s Engine Shed.

The conference’s theme will be ‘World Heritage for All‘, exploring Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity within heritage.

The conference will also be broadcast digitally via YouTube.

ONLY DIGITAL TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE.

Sunday 1st October – free entrance to Stirling Castle (open 9.30am to 5pm, last entry 4pm) to conference early arrivals. You must pre-book your visit. Book your free ticket below.

Stirling is one of Scotland’s greatest stone castles which peaked in importance in the 1500s, but its volcanic crag has been fortified since ancient times. Inclusivity is a cornerstone of the modern tourist experience, and Stirling Castle leads by example, ensuring it is as inclusive as possible. They’ve introduced British Sign Language tours, broadened the appeal of the Access Gallery, and debuted the Historiscope.

Monday 2^nd October’s Programme: Thinking around & Understanding EDI

09.30 – Arrivals/teas & coffees

10.00 – Welcomes from…

• WHUK Chair Paul Simons
• UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s Director Lazare Eloundou Assomo (by video)
• UK’s Ambassador to UNESCO Anna Nsubuga (virtually)
• Christina McKelvie, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development, Scottish Government (by video)
• Elisabeth McCrone, Director of Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland

10.30 – “UK/Scottish views on EDI” – Anila Mirza, Equalities Manager, Historic Environment Scotland

11.00 – “UNESCO’s view on EDI” – Hyab Yohannes and Tawona Sithole, UNESCO Refugee Integration, University of Glasgow

11.30 – Morning break

12.00 – Heritage & EDI” – Kim Klug, Community Partnerships Manager, Historic Royal Palaces

12.30 – Morning Q&A

13.00 – Lunch

14.00 – “Diversity and Accessibility within the heritage workforce” – Esther Fox, Head of Accentuate and Kyle Jordan, Curating for Change Fellow (virtual)

14.30 – “EDI at a World Heritage Site” – Lucy Culkin, Chief Executive Officer, Jurassic Coast Trust (virtual)

15.00 – Afternoon break

15.15 – Final Q&A with the day’s speakers

16.00 – Day 1 ends

16.15 – Depart for WHS excursions; two groups, one to The Forth Bridge and The Forth Bridges Education Centre in South Queensferry, the second to The Antonine Wall and Rediscovering the Antonine Wall Project (ANTONINE TRIP NOW FULL).

Please be aware that the weather in Scotland in October can be very changeable, and it could be cold during the Antonine Wall and Forth Bridge tours. We suggest you bring sturdy walking boots or shoes, waterproof jacket, warm layers, and hat/gloves/scarf. Please note that delegates will need to embark and disembark from a minibus to join these tours and that the terrain on the Antonine Wall visit includes a rough uphill path.

18.30 – Both groups travel to Falkirk

19.00 – Evening reception at Callendar House & Park, Falkirk; wine and buffet, hosted by HES, with welcome from HES’ Director of Heritage Elly McCrone and Lesley O’Hare, Cultural Services Manager at Falkirk Council. Click here to see the menu.

21.00 – Return to Stirling

Tuesday 3^rd October’s 2’s Programme: Practicalities & Exemplars of EDI

09.30 – Arrivals/teas & coffees

10.00 – Welcome from…World Heritage UK’s Vice Chair Tony Crouch

10.10 – “New audiences”; who are they, where are they, are they interested in World Heritage? –  Melissa Strauss, Policy, NLHF – Youth Engagement

10.35 – “Community Engagement on the Antonine Wall WHS” –  with Stephen Balfour Project Manager, Rediscovering the Antonine Wall and Christine Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Cycling Without Age Scotland, providing first hand feedback on the motivations for and benefits from engaging with the Antonine Wall WHS

10.55 – “Community Engagement” Hope Wang from University of Glasgow – on her work linking World Heritage and refugees in Scotland

11.15 – morning break

11.40 – “Accessibility for All” – Social-economic inclusivity and Neuro-diversity, Tony McCaffery, Diversity Scotland

12.00 – “Disability within heritage interpretation” – Emily Goff, Project Manager, and Karl Mercer, Digital Content Creator, both from Curating for Change (virtual)

12.30 – “Sensitive Storytelling”

• Edinburgh WHS’ Slavery and Colonialism legacy project – Irene Mosota, Independent Chair of the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group (commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council)
• Caernarfon Castle’s new interpretation of English colonisation of Wales – Dr Kate Roberts, Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Cadw

13.10 – lunch

14.00 – “Who will be remembered here” Queer History project – Lewis Hetherington, award-winning playwright, director and performance maker

14.20 – “Bringing EDI into all aspects of heritage” – Liz Ellis, Policy Project Manager, Business Innovation and Insight, NLHF – Sadly Liz is no longer to able to speak at the conference. Her presentation will be covered in part by her colleague Melissa earlier in the day.

14.40 – Q&As

15.00 – Afternoon break

15.15 – Conference wrap up with World Heritage UK and Historic Environment Scotland

16.00 – Conference ends

Click here to view profiles of all speakers. Speakers and timing subject to change.

Getting to the venue

The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling, FK8 1QZ Finding the Engine Shed | Scotland’s Building Conservation Centre

For train information from Edinburgh to Stirling, click here. Average train journey is ~50 minutes and there are over 40 direct trains a day in October.

For trains from Glasgow to Stirling, click here. Trains leave from Queen Street station, take bout 30 minutes and there are ~70 direct trains a day.

Megabus runs 12 buses from Edinburgh to Stirling a day. The journey takes 90 minutes. Click here for details.

For details on buses from Glasgow to Stirling, have a look at the CheckMyBus website.

For cycling to and around Stirling, go to Cycling in Stirling.

Or try Traveline Scotland for more public transport information.

Accessibility

Approach to site:

• The Engine Shed is 350m from Forthside car park close to Vue, along tarmac paths with some raised kerbs
• Visitors arriving from Stirling train station should turn left on exiting the station and cross a bridge that has a lift at either end to allow step-free access. The route to the Engine Shed is then about 150m long on level pavements with dropped kerb crossings
• The Engine Shed entrance and its interior are on the level. There is an induction loop in the reception area and theatre

There is a fully accessible toilet near to the reception area. Assistance dogs are welcome. There is a designated quiet space for anyone who needs it. The venue offers free wifi to its visitors.

Please contact worldheritage@hes.scot, or World Heritage UK’s General Manager Alex McCoskrie on 07585 971749 or WHUK Trustee Jane Gibson on 07715 260175 if you have any other accessibility requirements. Thank you.

Catering

Catering will be provided throughout the event, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options. Please let us know if you have any other specific dietary requirements by contacting worldheritage@hes.scot

Alcohol will be served during the evening reception on Monday 2^nd October, non-alcoholic alternatives will be provided.

Photography

There will be an official Historic Environment Scotland photographer at the event.

Images may appear in:

• Our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, and Vimeo) and on our corporate websites
• Our printed and digital publications that we produce for promotional and educational purposes
• Our internal and external reports, publications, intranet, training, and presentations we provide to our co-workers within HES and the general public
• Media publications

For any close-up images we will ask for your verbal consent. For any other images we will use legitimate interests as our lawful basis under the Data Protection Act 2018. If you do not wish Historic Environment Scotland to use any images that you may appear in, then please inform the photographer.

Click here for a map of Stirling.

Click here for accommodation suggestions.

Click here for the venue’s floor plan.

WHUK’s 2023 Annual Conference is kindly supported by:

and

Images: 008-000-092-006-R © Historic Environment Scotland. ‘Stirling Castle’; 008-000-075-266-R © Historic Environment Scotland. ‘View of The Forth Bridge’; 008-000-026-105-R © Crown Copyright HES. ‘View of The Forth Bridge from Port Neuk’; 008-000-109-999-R © Historic Environment Scotland. ‘The Silvanus sculpture at Nethercroy’; 008-000-118-591-R © Neil Hanna. ‘Auchinstarry Roman Play Park’; 008-000-022-830-R © Crown Copyright HES. ‘Callendar House’; 008-000-121-634-R © Historic Environment Scotland. ‘The Engine Shed’; 008-000-121-644-R © Historic Environment Scotland. ‘The Engine Shed’.