EU delegation in Inverness this week as part of an international project to develop the cultural heritage sector
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Inverness has welcomed 30 EU delegates to the city this week as part of an international project to develop new business opportunities in the cultural heritage sector.
The visit is part of the CUPIDO Interreg Cultural Heritage project and has been organised by Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) who is a partner in the project.
The European delegates are getting a flavour of the region’s cultural heritage with the final conference being held at the Inverness Creative Academy tonight.
The two day visit has consisted of visits to local cultural heritage sites such as the Highlander Museum.
Keynote speakers have included Arthur Cormack, chief executive of Fèisean nan Gàidheal who spoke about the organisation’s work to engage young people in traditional Gaelic arts and how it supports them to take up careers in the creative industries sector.
Delegates have also heard from HIE’s head of creative industries, Iain Hamilton about XpoNorth, the agency’s specialist business support programme for the region’s creative industries sector.
Throughout CUPIDO, HIE has been working in partnership with the University of St Andrews on a programme of digital heritage activities with communities and social enterprises working in the culture sector.
The projects involved organisations adopting relevant technologies to modernise their cultural offering and enhance commercial growth.
The visit to the Highlanders Museum highlighted one of these projects - a digital reconstruction of a prisoner of war camp exhibited via a VR experience telling the story of a soldier’s experience of being held captive.
Chantal Geyer, senior development manager at HIE, said:
“We are delighted to host the European delegation and look forward to showing them some of our region’s cultural heritage.
“We will discuss key challenges and opportunities that organisations can offer from creating jobs to uniting communities. The visit gives us a great opportunity to hear about other countries’ experiences.
“Having previously met with the CUPIDO partners, we are confident that sharing the excellent best practice we’ve all undertaken in this area is going to help us continue to provide a dynamic environment for our cultural heritage sector in the region to thrive and prosper.”
