Local Info Day - Ljubljana

1 February 2018 Ljubljana

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGE CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES?
Forget Heritage Project Information Day
Programme
09.00 – 09.30 Registration
09.30 – 09.45 Greetings:
  - Lilijana Madjar, M.Sc., Directress, RRA LUR
  - Mateja Demšič, M.Sc., Head of Dep. for Culture of City of Ljubljana
09.45 – 10.00 Presentation of FORGET HERITAGE Project
  Nataša Mršol, FH Project manager, Regional Development Agency of Ljubljana Urban Region
10.00 – 10.45 Presentation of project's results:
  - Policy Handbook for Revitalization of Abandoned Historical Sites in Central European Cities -
    Damjan Kavaš, Ph.D., FH Project Manager, Institute for Economic Research
  - Guidelines for the Citizens Involvement in Historical Sites - Nataša Mršol, FH Project Manager, RRA LUR
  - Management Manual - Nika Murovec, Ph.D., researcher, Institute for Economic Research
10.45 – 11.15 Coffee Break
11.15 – 12.00 Planning of Content in Cultural Heritage
  - example: Ljubljana – Jerneja Batič, Under-Secretary, City of Ljubljana, Department for Culture
12.00 – 12.45 Finding a Sustainable Reuse for Historic Buildings:
  a Management Toolkit of Good Practice - Toby Ebbs, Freelance Heritage Consultant, United Kingdom
12.45 – 13.15 Discussion
The conference will be held in Slovene and English (without translation). Participation at the event is
only possible with advance registration. Applications will be accepted until Monday 29 January 2018.
Please register here spletni obrazec (an online Form).
More information about the project:
http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/Forget-heritage.html#SUMMARY
Welcome to visit Forget Heritage/Facebook in Twitter.

Presentations of the Forget Heritage project deliverables

First of all, Nataša Mršol, Project Manager in RRA LUR, presented the project itself – the aims, development of the project activities and inclusion of various stakeholders/target groups, already prepared results/deliverables and the following activities. She also presented pilot actions in brief. 
Damjan Kavaš, Project Manager from IER, presented the Policy Handbook and its main goals: (1) supporting the implementation of cultural heritage valorisation projects, (2) an overview of international framework, (3) knowledge transfer, (4) awareness and (5) a framework for policy makers. He spoke about several levels of analysis of the Policy Handbook: international, European, national, regional and local.
His presentation was followed by the presentation of Guidelines for the citizens’ involvement in historical sites valorisation. Nataša Mršol presented the process – focus groups with various stakeholders => Local citizens needs analysis => Local stakeholder involvement plan  - and the most important steps when including different (cultural and creative) initiatives, NGOs and local communities by a bottom-up approach. The practical work map – 4 steps – was also presented. 
Nika Murovec, Communication Manager from IER, presented the Management Manual. She emphasised the added value of this important tool for better management of historical sites: (1) guidelines and information for policy makers and public administration staff on new types of collaborative development and (2) a practical guide for various initiatives that would like to revitalise historical sites and for future managers of cultural heritage sites.

Lecture: Planning of Contents in cultural heritage - example: Ljubljana
The lecture was based on the analysis of examples of good practice in the management of cultural heritage through various forms of cooperation, which were allowed by the legislation in Slovenia. The procedures that have been used in Ljubljana for the last ten years in the revitalization of cultural heritage with new contents were presented. The presentation highlighted the key points that a planner of new cultural heritage programmes had to take into account. In particular, that referred to the preparation of a programme task as a basis for all subsequent procedures. The design (concept) had to resolve the reflection on the history of the building and its future use. While preparing the programme, the planner had to include in the team all those experts whom the programme has been designed for in the cultural heritage building. The programme concept should also outline the future management and financing method, therefore knowledge of legislation in the field of culture and cultural heritage was needed.

Lecture: The sustainable reuse for historic building
There are many challenges facing the custodian of a historic building when its original purpose has expired. In many cases, when the conservation deficit (the amount by which the cost of repairs exceeds the market value of the asset when repaired) is too high, government or charitable organisations must intervene with grant-led initiatives to meet the financial shortfall.   
However a grant-led initiative to support the future reuse of a historic building is not viable without an economically sound business plan or an efficient management strategy. If a business / management plan for the adaptation of a historic building cannot demonstrate its preservation and continued use for (at least) another 10 years, the government / charitable organisation will not supply the funds to meet the conservation deficit.
The lecture applied a case-study approach to identify the key elements of a successful business / management plan that could help to secure the reuse of a historic building. In the current economic and political climate, the demands for a highly sustainable business / management plan have been becoming increasingly difficult and the challenge has been set to find new sources of ideas and inspiration.
The speeches were first followed by a led discussion and later on also by an informal one about the presented topics.