Europe’s maritime and fluvial regions exist in great diversity, yet show parallels in spatial and political challenges. The cultural heritage of these regions form an essential part of coastal landscape. This heritage is considered vulnerable for exposed to spatial changes in transport, industrialisation of fisheries and use of coastal zones for tourism.
The HERICOAST Interreg Europe project aims to improve regional policies for heritage management and finding a better balance between exploitation and preservation measures when redeveloping coastal landscapes by facilitating policy learning and supporting exchange of experience.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s interdisciplinary Research Institute for Culture, History and Heritage CLUE+ is an advisory partner in this project and researches how heritage and tourism are related in coastal regions in Europe, continuing its role of bridge builder between academic and non-academic partners in the field of heritage. One of the tasks is developing a conceptual and methodological framework for the exchange of knowledge for the regional partners, who are very different, but share many characteristics as well.
Pori, Finland, is an ideal location and HTHIC2017 with its focus on heritage preservation, (re)presentation and development of spatial heritage an ideal event to work on the HERICOAST project. On behalf of HERICOAST project manager Linde Egberts Mara de Groot (Centre for Global Heritage and Development) presented the ‘framework of understanding’ and toolbox that are being developing for the purpose of enhancing knowledge exchange between regional policy makers and stakeholders on the management of cultural heritage in coastal landscapes.