Urban Heritage Strategies
Heritage as an asset for inner city development
Dates
June 13 – July 1, 2011
Tuition
N.A. (Fully funded)
Application Deadline
March 28, 2011
Partners
The programme is offered in collaboration with the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Target Group
The course is directed towards heritage professionals, working in the nine countries involved in the policy framework on mutual heritage: Suriname, Brazil, Russia, Ghana, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia and The Netherlands. Per country a maximum of three places are available, preferably from different organizations, related to the same case. Participants are requested to prepare their own case and to formulate their own course targets.
Introduction
Heritage plays an important role in a city; it reflects an image of the city, reveals stories about its past and gives character. If understood and managed properly heritage can effectively contribute to the overall quality of urban areas and serve as a vital asset and attractor for future urban development. The course on urban heritage strategies aims to develop a better understanding of the complex relationship urban environment and heritage conservation.
The course has been developed by The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency in collaboration with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies. It is tailored towards professionals who work in a number of selected cities and countries with heritage that (partly) has Dutch roots. It aims to build their capacity in the field of developing and managing urban heritage.
The legacy of a shared past
The course on heritage strategies is organized within the Dutch policy framework on mutual heritage. It is directed towards collaboration between nine countries, based upon their historical ties. These countries are, besides The Netherlands, Suriname, Brazil, Russia, Ghana, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Mutual heritage is considered a residue of the history these countries share. This shared history may have been determined by the exchange of goods and ideas, or by colonial rule. The policy framework developed in the course aims at conserving this heritage as far as it contributes to the present needs found in these cities.
Most of the built heritage with a mutual past is located in inner cities and most of these inner cities are presently under pressure. For this reason the historical inner cities are one of the focal points within the policy framework on mutual heritage.
Course Objective
This course aims to build the capacity of its participants to formulate and implement strategies for heritage in cities with its focus on urban heritage in inner-city locations.
After the course the participants will have obtained the main tools and strategies to strengthen their skills for their work at home concerning the management of urban heritage.
During the course the following questions and topics will be addressed:
- What is the value of shared heritage?
- What is the use of urban heritage in its social, cultural, and economic environment?
- What are various urban heritage approaches?
- What is the role of maintenance and preservation?
- What opportunities does redevelopment, reconverting or reuse of urban heritage offer?
- How to define and implement urban heritage strategies?
- How to identify potentials and risks?
- How to define goals and objectives?
- How to move from problems and challenges to strategies and actions?
- How to create urban heritage awareness?
- How to use public education?
- How to approach stakeholders and mobilise tenants, media and private sector?
- How to create an institutional infrastructure (policies, legislation, financial, activities)?
Course Content
The content of the course will be tailored around the cases that are presented by the participants themselves. Foreseen cases are: revitalization of historical inner cities, management of World Heritage Sites, post-disaster reconstruction, development of historical railway stations, refurbishment of old city parks, conservation of dilapidated cemeteries, etc.
Participants will share their experiences amongst each other and learn from each other. Besides, the participants will be supported by a range of internationally renowned experts, who will lecture on general subjects. These subjects will be related to economic development, social cohesion, real estate issues, city management, spatial planning, tourism, environment and the like. The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency will provide relevant excursions and comparable examples. The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies will supervise and facilitate participants on a daily base.
Travel, accommodation and living expenses
Round-trip travel form country of origin to Rotterdam will be covered for the selected participants. Also accommodation during the course, insurance and visa will be covered. Meals are not included.
Admission requirements
To obtain an effective group of participants for the heritage strategies course a selection process is necessary based on five requirements. Participants from the partner countries Suriname, Brazil, Russia, Ghana, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and The Netherlands will all be selected according to these requirements. In this way we aim to attract effective, dedicated participants for the heritage strategies course. Invited institutions of each country are requested to put forward three candidates. Based on the submitted requirements of the three candidates, the IHS will select one candidate per institution for the course, with a maximum of three per country. Candidates should realize that they have to interact and work with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Note: the IHS favours a reasonable distribution of female/male participants.
- It is necessary that the candidates provide a copy of a bachelor or higher degree from a recognized university or comparable institution in a discipline related to the course.
- The candidates need to send proof that they have sufficient oral and written command of the English language. An English language test is required if English is not their mother tongue. We accept certificates from TOEFL or IELTS as official language tests. The minimum requirements are for TOEFL: 550 (paper-based) / 213 (computer-based) / 79 (internet based) and for IELTS a minimum score of 6.0, and the subtest should not be lower than 5.5. Information concerning TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) can be found at www.toefl.org. IELTS– (International English Language Testing System) can be found at www.ielts.org/default.aspx
- The candidates must indicate that they have clear working or academic experience, relevant to the topic of heritage.
- Although each application will be evaluated on its own merits, it is preferred that the candidates are professionally involved in heritage management, be it as policy officers within (local) government, the private sector, or a relevant civil society organization.
- Most importantly, the candidates must write a motivation letter (max 500 words, Arial, font size 12) indicating why they wish to participate in the urban heritage strategies course. In the letter it must be made clear
(1) what the issue is they want to bring forward during the course
(2) what they expect to learn from the course
(3) in what way the course will be profitable for the issue at stake
(4) in what way they will profit themselves from the course. It must also be evident that the candidates have experience in the topic of urban heritage conservation.
The required documents of the three candidates need to be submitted by the applying institution, preferably jointly with the two other applying institutions per country, to the IHS. The selection board will only select candidates if the documents of the six requirements are complete and if the deadline has been met - 28 March 2011.
Apply on-Line now
Application and selection process
The online application form has to be submitted before 28 March 2011. If interested parties do not have internet access, then hard copies of the application forms can be requested from IHS. However, if hardcopies are posted by standard mail they need to arrive at IHS on the 28th of March 2011. To guarantee a fair procedure, any late submissions will not be considered. Once all submissions are in, the organizing committee will select participants on the basis of a fair selection procedure. The criteria of this procedure are
(1) that the five requirements stipulated above are met,
(2) that the motivation letter is attractive,
(3) that there is a fair distribution of participants from different countries, and
(4) that there is a fair male/female distribution of participants. The selection committee reserves the right to select participants based on these criteria without further consultation with outside parties prior to or after the selection has been made.
