Inverness is hosting an event to discuss and develop plans for the future of Scotland’s heritage sector.
Museum and heritage representatives will attend the first Highland Heritage Conference ‘Sealladh’, meaning perspective or view in Gaelic.
The gathering is taking place at Inverness Creative Academy until this week.
Who will be attending?
The event is open to anyone who works or volunteers in the heritage sector.
Speakers from across the Highlands are joined by delegates from national organisations. These include Museums and Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Museums Association.
It is organised by Museums and Heritage Highland. The charity was formed in 2019 to promote collaborative working and provide support for the sector.
It is supported through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forums Fund project, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, museum app Smartify and Highland Tourism CIC.
Nicola Henderson, Museums and Heritage Highlands digital innovation and network manager, said: “The conference schedule is packed with sessions focusing on innovation and digital skills, managing capital projects, caring for collections and fundraising.
“There are also discussions around tourism in the Highlands underpinned by rich heritage as well as well-being in museums.”
Helen Avenell is Museums and Heritage Highlands projects and partnerships manager. She said its network of organisations stretches from Strathnaver on the North coast to Gairloch in the west and Glencoe in the south.
“Although we are a Highland-based organisation, many topics we will focus on are relevant to every heritage organisation.
“We hope to attract heritage delegates from beyond the Highland region to Inverness for this event.”
Use of Virtual Reality
Founding Director and chair of HT CIC, Yvonne Crook said: “Heritage and culture is a vital element of a visitor experience and economy, particularly for the higher value visitors we are aiming to attract in the future.
“In our work with the cultural heritage sector we have realised an ambition to provide immersive cultural heritage experiences and we are excited to work with them to achieve that goal.”
The CIC will shortly launch a Highland Heritage Trust together with a new website for the Highland region, Escape to the Highlands, which is in the process of being developed.
The conference includes a talk on the use of Virtual Reality at West Highland Museum.
A museum project recreated the old fort at Fort William in 1746 at the time of the siege of Fort William.
There will also be a screening of ‘Dùthchas’ – Home. This is a Gaelic documentary feature film exploring the effect on people having to leave an island to get an education, work, and live.
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