World Heritage UK 2025 Annual Conference

Theme – Engagement with World Heritage

Dates – Thursday 9th & Friday 10th October 2025

Venue – Victoria Hall, Saltaire WHS

Day 1 Thursday 9th October 2025:

9.30am Arrival/registration, teas, coffees, soft drinks and biscuits

10.00am – Welcomes and Introductions; video from Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of World Heritage, UNESCO

10.15am – Keynote on the importance of Engagement with World Heritage – tbc

11.00am – What is Engagement and who to Engage? With Lorrainne Smyth, Chief Exec at Action with Communities Cumbria (online)

11.20am Short WHS visit, led by members of the Saltaire WHS team

11.50am Morning break

12.00pm – Engaging Politicians with WH, with Lizzie Glithero-West, CEO The Heritage Alliance

12.20pm – Using UNESCO Designations to engage audiences, with Bradford City of Film’s Rachel Bottomley

12.40pm Lunch

1.30pm – Community engagement by Bradford City of Culture, with Jenny Harris, Programme Director, Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture

1.50pm tbc

2.10pm – Local to Global with project lead Liam Smyth from UK National Commission for UNESCO

2.30pm Afternoon break

2.50pm – Engagement via Art and Installations with world-renowned artist Steve Messam

3.10pm – Engagement with Schools, with Kate Lapping from New Lanark WHS

3.30pm – Engagement by and with Pressure & Lobbying Groups, with Save Our Saltaire’s Ben Stern

3.50pm Q&As

4.15pm ‘Behind the Scenes’ visits to Salt Mills/Saltaire WHS, led by members of the WHS team

4.45pm Day 1 ends

6.00pm Evening social at Aagrah Restaurant, 4 Saltaire Rd, Shipley BD18 3HN

Day 2 Friday 10th October 2025:

9.30am Arrival, teas, coffees, soft drinks and biscuits

10.00 am Welcomes

10.15am – Realising the Benefits of WH to Local Communities 2, with WHUK’s Leah Hewerdine

10.35am – Community Engagement, with the Slate Landscape of NW Wales WHS’ Lucy Thomas and Roland Wyn Evans

11.00am Morning break

11.30am – Engagement World Heritage through Management Plans; with ICOMOS-UK’s Sarah Simmonds

11.50am – WH Engagement with technology/Academia engaging future heritage workers; Prof. Andy Wilson, University of Bradford

12.10pm Short WHS visit, led by members of the Saltaire WHS team

12.40pm Lunch

1.40pm – Light Relief: A review of WHUK over the past 10 years and thoughts towards the future, with Prof Ian Wray & Dr Sam Rose

2.10pm – Engaging audiences through public transport, with Bentham Line CRP and tbc

2.30pm Afternoon break

2.50pm – Engaging tourists/the non-engaged with Tony Watson, North Yorkshire Council’s Head of Tourism

3.10pm – Business Engagement via World Heritage Branding, with Sarah Calderbank, Head of Communications at Lake District National Park Authority

3.30pm Q&A/Conference wrap up/Thank you’s

4.00pm Conference ends

Helpful links:

Accommodation in Bradford/Saltaire – try VisitBradford‘s website for accommodation suggestions; or try the Mercure Bradford Bankfield Hotel or the Ibis Shipley

Accommodation in Skipton – try the Premier Inn

Transport to/from Saltaire: to travel from Bradford city centre to Saltaire, the most convenient options are:

• By train: Bradford Forster Square: trains run directly to Saltaire and the journey takes about 10 minutes.
• By train: Bradford Interchange: you can also reach Saltaire by train from Bradford Interchange, but it may involve a change at Shipley or requiring a short walk from Forster Square. 
• By bus – Forster Square: The Keighley Bus Company operates buses from Forster Square to Saltaire, with a journey time of around 17 minutes.
• By bus – Multiple routes: Several bus routes (662, 622, 623, 675, 677) connect Bradford city centre to Saltaire. 

Transport to/from Saltaire from Skipton:

• Direct trains: numerous direct trains operate between Skipton and Saltaire, with an average journey time of around 26 minutes. 
• Frequency: expect trains to run approximately every 30 minutes.
• Fastest journey: the quickest train journeys can be completed in as little as 24 minutes.
• Train operator: Northern Rail operates these trains.

Do Your Bit for the Environment – we invite attendees of the Annual Conference to support the Flow Country Partnership’s mission to restore the world’s only Peatland World Heritage Site – inscribed for being the world’s largest intact blanket peat bog. This vital ecosystem stores over 400 million tonnes of carbon, playing a crucial role in combating climate change. If you are travelling to the conference, please consider a donation to help facilitate future carbon sequestration. Your donations will directly aid in the restoration efforts, enhancing the peatland’s capacity to sequester carbon and support biodiversity. Please note, this initiative is not currently structured as a carbon offset programme; however, there is potential for it to evolve into one in the future, subject to interest from the World Heritage community and feasibility.  Your support today contributes to meaningful environmental impact and may pave the way for future carbon offset opportunities.

Click here to donate…thank you.

The 2025 Annual Conference is kindly supported by the National Trust and North Yorkshire Council.