Scotland’s Community Heritage Conversations 2024: Connect & Create Capacity

In person at The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling, FK8 1QZ

Online via Microsoft Teams

People are at the heart of community heritage, and the health of our cultural, built, natural, and archaeological heritage is intricately tied to the passion, dedication, expertise and energy of the people who care for it. But in the face of ever-growing pressures on resources and capacity, how can the sector remain robust and adapt to address the changes and challenges that it faces?

We want to use our next Scotland’s Community Heritage Conversation to discuss how creating new connections can help us access a wider pool of knowledge and support, unlocking fresh enthusiasm and ideas. We will explore how innovative approaches to audience engagement, volunteering and workforce development can build greater capacity, foster inclusivity, aid advocacy and ensure that our activities are vibrant, relevant, and accessible to all.

Scotland’s Community Heritage Conversations (SCHC) began in November 2020 as a digital re-imagining of Scotland’s Community Heritage Conference, bringing together volunteers, community groups and heritage professionals to talk about and tackle some of the largest challenges facing us as a sector.

SCHC was developed to provide an engaging and approachable forum for sharing experiences and opportunities, discussing emerging policy and practice, and supporting one another through new and innovative solutions. The conversations are delivered through a partnership of Historic Environment Scotland, Archaeology Scotland, The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, and the Scottish Council on Archives.

Previous Conversations have celebrated resilience within grassroots community groups, looked at adapting through digital, discussed exciting new ideas in youth empowerment and examined the connections between heritage and wellbeing.

Regular attendees of the Community Heritage Conversations will find many of the familiar features that have made it such a success – a mixture of talks followed by Q&As, a panel discussion, lively discussions in interactive workshop sessions and, of course, our rapid-fire One Minute Mayhem, a 60-second soapbox open to all, where attendees will have the chance to share news and updates from their own organisations and projects – along with plenty of networking opportunities. We hope you will leave with new connections and your minds buzzing with fresh ideas and insights.

We are delighted to share our agenda below, which features a showcase of community-led approaches towards building capacities through new connections and collaboration, exploring how engagement can enhance organisational resilience and capacity.

Workshop sessions in the morning and afternoon will be delivered in parallel, with choices for both in-person and digital attendees, please select the session you would like at attend when booking your ticket. Please note that some in-person sessions will take place in Jubilee House, located a short walk away (0.1 miles) over flat ground. Ten minutes of travelling time in each directions has been allocated in the agenda, which will not impact the length of the workshop. Event staff will be on hand to direct and assist workshop attendees in getting to and from the venue. Umbrellas will be available if it is raining, but please bring an outdoor jacket in case of bad weather!

In response to feedback from our last event, this year we are including the option of a dedicated networking and marketplace session during both workshop blocks. In-person attendees will have the opportunity to make connections, share experiences and exchange ideas with each other. The marketplace will be set up all day, featuring stalls and representatives from a variety of heritage organisations, including Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Council on Archives, Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, Archaeology Scotland, Make Your Mark, Heritage Trust Network. Scottish Community Heritage Alliance and more! Pop by for a chat, to ask questions about their work or to find out about the resources and support that they have available to you. As well as this, there will be the chance to visit the Engine Shed’s Howff – a cutting-edge, immersive hub that will be showing a short film showcasing the work of Community Land Scotland on a loop.

For more information on the Engine Shed, including transport links and accessibility, please take a look at their website. We will have BSL signers available and a recording of the event will be made available as soon as possible following the event.

The conference is free to attend, either in-person or digitally. The in-person capacity is limited and we will hold a waiting list. If you have booked an in-person ticket and can no longer attend, please let us know so we can reallocate your ticket and change it to a digital one if required. Catering will be provided free of charge and we want to do what we can to avoid any waste and others missing out.

Please feel free to share these events with your networks as there are many people, groups, and communities we haven’t yet reached who could have a big positive impact on the conversation!

Host or Publisher HES