Cultural managers drawn from Georgetown, Fort Bullen in Barra and Stone Circle sites recently completed a three-day heritage management organisation workshop on Heritage Interpretation for Site Managers.

The event, held via virtual was part of the Organisation's HerMaP Gambia project, which is being held in partnership with the National Centre for the Arts (NCAC).

The Heritage Management Organisation's "HerMaP Gambia" is a programme aimed at developing the business skills of heritage and cultural managers to enable them to establish and better support heritage and cultural enterprises.

Supporting The Gambia's heritage sector would promote greater community solidarity and provide high-quality opportunities for local talent, hopefully helping the country address brain-drain by providing better employment opportunities. The program is co-financed by the European Union with funding partly matched by the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

NCAC Director General, Hassoum Ceesay, described the session as a great success, saying the training enables participants to communicate on diverse and important areas relating to heritage development, supporting tourism and the creative industries.

"The event has offered me and my fellow participants useful insights and guidance on aspects like turning phenomena into experiences, provoking resonance in visitors, drawing a stakeholder and conservation-led map of heritage sites, and many more," said participant Aba T. Hydata, an independent artist and President of the Fort Bullen Festival.

About the project

The initiative seeks to train professionals in the management of heritage sites, independently of project specifics. Since its founding, Heritage has trained hundreds of individuals and organisations in more than 85 countries and is now on course to impact a quarter of global heritage hotspots by the year 2025.

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