The England’s Historic Cities consortium has announced a major conference for tourism destinations and visitor attractions for this Autumn. To be hosted at Alexandra Palace in north London on Thursday 19 September, the conference – Interpreting History, what works, what’s next? – is for anyone who is passionate about interpreting, communicating and marketing history to future generations of visitors.
The conference is aimed at curators, audience developers, demonstrators, content developers, owners and operators working in visitor attractions, museums, historic houses and heritage properties. It is also expected that academics involved in digital, heritage, curation, history, tourism, events and related courses and disciplines will be attracted to the event, as will companies involved in the application of new technologies to enhance interpretation and visitor experience.
A wide range of tourism professionals, including destination managers and marketers, public sector culture and heritage managers and travel trade operators is also expected to attend.
The Interpreting History conference will be hosted by Dr. Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and self-confessed “historic buildings obsessive” whose TV appearances uncover those stories that makes history relevant to today’s audiences. Other speakers already confirmed include:
- David Eng, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, The Tenement Museum, New York City
- Dr. Nick Lambert, Director of Research, Ravensbourne University London
- Ben Moore, Managing Partner & Creative Director, Hex Digital
- Professor Deborah Ryan, Professor of Architecture & Urban Design, University of North Carolina and author of The Anarchist’s Guide to Historic Houses
- Melanie Sensicle, Chair, England’s Historic Cities and Director of the England Originals project
- Kathryn Thompson, Chief Executive, National Museums of Northern Ireland
The National Heritage Lottery Foundation, VisitEngland, The Association of Heritage Interpretation and the Heritage Alliance will also be fielding speakers on subjects ranging from the important of interpretation, to what funders are looking for and how culture and heritage can best work together. The event is being supported by English Heritage, Historic Houses and London and Partners.
Melanie Sensicle, Chair of England’s Historic Cities said, “Conference delegates will find new inspirations at the event, and will be better able to make future investment and strategy decisions on how they can interpret their product and attract new audiences”.
Alongside the conference, there will be an exhibition to allow participants to see demonstrations of new interpretive technologies, and an opportunity for everyone who attends to experience the superb £27m restoration of the Victorian Theatre and East Court at Alexandra Palace.
For more information and to book please visit the website.
