The Andros Routes project “travelled” to Africa!
On Sunday, 27 November 2022, the Andros Routes project was presented to representatives of bodies/organisations, mainly from the African continent, in the framework of a training workshop on heritage interpretation and management.
The 3-day training workshop, entitled “Introduction to Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers”, was organized by HERITAGE and was attended by the majority of representatives from our neighboring continent, namely Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Namibia, Sudan and two representatives from Turkey and Greece.
Through the presentation of the Andros Routes project, the participants of the workshop had the opportunity to discover Andros and to hear about the non-profit work that has been carried out over the last 12 years in relation to the footpaths, aiming at the preservation and promotion of the natural and cultural heritage of our island and the reutilization of the old hiking network with benefits for the local community.
The emphasis of the presentation of the Andros Routes project was, as requested by the trainers, on how the project sought and to what extent it succeeded in involving and engaging the local community of Andros, as an example and good practice for the participants of the workshop.
The Heritage Management Organization (HERITAGE) has been carrying out this educational programme since 2016 with the aim of transforming World Heritage properties from disintegrating objects of study into dynamic sources of learning, into elements of strengthening local communities and into bodies of sustainable economic development.
The organization’s activities are mainly educational. Up to now, some 1400 people from more than 90 countries have participated in the organization’s core programmes, which are provided in English and aim at both professionals and aspiring heritage managers.
We could not end without mentioning the warm compliment of a representative of the Rwandan Heritage Academy, who wrote “that they were inspired by our example in Andros…”; the most honoring thing we have heard over the years about the efforts of the Andros Research Centre.
We thank him!
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