Opening Minds – Overcoming Barriers
“Schoolchildren and
their teachers are set to play a central role in a symposium. In the company of
experts from across Britain and Ireland, the focus will be on the need to
inspire the Greta Thunberg generation with enthusiasm for heritage and culture.
‘Opening Minds and Overcoming Barriers’ will be as much about the adults
listening to the children as about explaining to them the importance of walls
for the walled town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.” (Berwick Advertiser 10th Oct 2019)
Hosted by the Berwick-upon-Tweed Conservation Areas
Advisory Group (CAAG)- a Forum that
comprises organisations and representatives from the local community, from
elected Members and from the local planning authority. Originally created in
1999 as a partnership forum with the former Berwick Borough Council, it
superseded a partnership’, whose principal remit was to oversee
Berwick-upon-Tweed and Holy Island of Lindisfarne Conservation Areas. Its interests
cover the three Conservation Areas at the mouth of the River Tweed - Berwick,
Tweedmouth and Spittal.
Programme
Chair of the Meet-Up - Vicky Macdonald MA
Vicky has been a member of the European Walled Towns and Walled Towns Friendship Circle for over 20 years attending many symposia in walled towns all over Europe. She is also a member of the local Walled Towns Link with Denbigh, Conwy, Beaumaris and Caernarfon. She is a Councillor on Conwy Town Council and has been Mayor of Conwy and Constable of Conwy Castle twice. She is Chairman of the Deganwy History Group and gives local history talks throughout the area. She has a book about the Deganwy Bathing Pool, 1933 -1962, currently at the printers.
Keynote - Dennis Rodwell,
“Communicating”
Drawing
on experiences working in historic cities across Europe and beyond, Dennis will
discuss the challenges and opportunities of engaging both the interest and
active contribution of young people in the multiple values that can be
attributed to urban heritage, encapsulated as: community, resource, usefulness,
and culture (broadly defined). In this, he will make connections beyond the
conventional focus on archaeological, architectural and historical interest to
key agendas of our time, including the 2030 United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals and subsuming environmental awareness and climate change,
with which young people are increasingly and vocally engaged.
Dennis
Rodwell, consultant architect-planner based in the Scottish Borders, works
internationally in the field of cultural heritage and sustainable urban
development. Following a series of assignments 1998 onwards for UNESCO and
others, he has been closely involved in the evolution of initiatives directed
at promoting a holistic and inclusive approach to management of historic
cities. He researches, writes and publishes widely on the theme of conservation
and sustainability in historic cities alongside issues of energy efficiency and
climate change.
Website, www.dennisrodwell.co.uk; uploaded publications, https://independent.academia.edu/DennisRodwell.e-mail, dennis@dennisrodwell.co.uk; website, www.dennisrodwell.co.uk
After lunchtime discussing the questions posed (see last page)
Presentation by Tweedmouth West First School, School Council. 6-8 pupils
with Head teacher Mrs Anne Robertson
Bill Hill – “The York Walls Festival (August 2019): how it has involved
young people and how they can be further engaged”
includes a short outline of the
heritage represented in York’s city walls, then shows how the Friends of York
Walls have used their National Lottery Heritage Fund grant in 2019 to put on an
enhanced York Walls Festival. Illustrating how this has involved young people,
Bill looks forward to how the Friends intend to develop a deeper engagement of
young people with heritage. He will illustrate this with an example of how
teachers might be offered a quarry of low-cost but stimulating learning
materials from which to bespoke their own classroom practice, encouraging
focused preparation and follow up to visits to heritage sites like the York
walls.
York activities
Bill did a degree in English and
Fine Art, then went into a career as a lecturer in further education colleges,
eventually becoming a college principal. He was an HMI in further and higher
education for 10 years, then went into local government senior management
working in education and then regeneration. Since retiring he has been involved
in community development and fund-raising in a voluntary capacity, most
recently for the Friends of York Walls.
billhill.torfaen@gmail.com
www.yorkwalls.org.uk
Email: friendsofyorkwalls@gmail.com
Facebook.com/yorkwalls Twitter.com/yorkwallsfriend
Brian Wilkinson “The Engine Shed, Historic Environment Scotland’s
Building Conservation Centre.”
Caring for the historic built
environment calls for conservation skills that are in short supply. The Engine
Shed is Scotland’s dedicated building conservation centre, based in Stirling.
Run by Historic Environment Scotland, it serves as a central hub for building
and conservation professionals and the general public. In this talk I will
illustrate how work undertaken at The Engine Shed is helping to encourage a
greater understanding of traditional building materials and skills – and inspire
future generations to continue to care for Scotland’s built heritage.
Brian is Activities Manager at The Engine Shed, Scotland’s Building
Conservation Centre, in Stirling where I look after the Activities Team. We are
responsible for helping visitors, the general public and the conservation and
construction sectors find out about Scotland’s Traditional Buildings, Materials
and Skills. Over the years I have carried out learning roles for a variety of
heritage organisations including council museum services, national museums, The
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, and The
National Trust for Scotland. I’ve undertaken freelance work making educational
resources and activities for heritage bodies such as Archaeology Scotland and
Forestry Commission Scotland.
Jane Hebblewhite “Using the Walls - Chester’s Approach”
Despite the economic potential, archaeology and heritage is sometimes seen as a barrier to economic growth because it imposes restrictions on the opportunities for new development. In Chester, projects such as the City Walls have been able to consider such restrictions as catalysts for innovation, encouraging us to develop new ways of thinking. However, whilst there have been a number of successful interventions for the City Walls there continues to be a number of challenges that have yet to be overcome. This presentation will look as some of the successes and ‘failures’, the barriers to engagement, and potential opportunities going forward.
Jane is an archaeologist and Senior Heritage Officer for Cheshire
West and Chester Council (CWaC) with specific responsibility for heritage
assets, projects and community engagement.
She specialises in the heritage interpretation of archaeological sites,
historic buildings and places. Jane has
worked on a portfolio of regeneration schemes, including the enhancement of
Chester’s City Walls, the interpretation of Chester’s Amphitheatre and the
Roman Gardens. She has significant
experience in stakeholder consultation, which includes policy makers,
developers, end-users, and other heritage professionals, working closely to
show how heritage can be seen as an added value.
Tour of the walls and town of Berwick-upon-Tweed with Derek Sharman, Town Guide.
 |
| Berwick c.1790 |
Stephen Scott, Chair of the Chamber of Trade: “Berwick’s approach to its
Town Walls”
Berwick’s Town Walls are a unique asset, expenditure on the Walls should be seen as an investment. How do we get a return on this investment? The Walls need to be enjoyed by both local residents and tourists alike. How do we make this happen? Local businesses working with our heritage assets is crucial to the success of both. Why is this difficult and how do we overcome these challenges? Are there lessons that we can learn from the past or are there things that we have just forgotten? Let’s be open minded on how to utilise our heritage assets. Imaginative use of buildings is key to allow visitors and local residents to appreciate them. What are the ingredients to realise these opportunities?
Stephen, a former IT Director for a large education company, moved to Berwick in early 2015 and now run a
small Bed & Breakfast business in the town. “This puts me in a position
where I speak to visitors to Berwick every day which provides an interesting
and informed view of what they think of our lovely town. I am also in my first
year as Chair of Berwick Chamber of Trade, which represents over 100 small
businesses in Berwick this provides an informed view of the status of the local
economy.”
chairman@berwickchamberoftrade.co.uk
Tel : 07764 232865
David Bruce “Student Field Trips to
Walled Towns in Wales and on the continent - their value to the students and to
the towns”
Undergraduate and
post-graduate students in tourism have for many years completed part of their
studies through field tips. As their lecturer planning, developing and leading
field tips, what works well for their learning and for the host walled town's
appreciation of how outsiders see them, emerges as a co-operative form of
tourism with benefits for visitor and town. "Seeing ourselves as others see us” as
Burns put it is part of the value for the town; - the students produced formal
analysis of aged> of the town- transport, accommodation, retail or
entertainment but also poems and diaries, sometimes beautifully illustrated.
They presented their findings in preliminary summary form to officers and
councillors of the town they were visiting.
David is Secretary and convenor of “Walled. Towns Heritage" Former
Principal Lecturer in Tourism and Visiting Research Fellow in Walled Towns at
University of West of England, Bristol. With degrees in History and Political
Economy as well as Town Planning, his career spanned transport planning and
marketing and researching the impact of tourism on historic towns. He was
involved with the Walled Towns Friendship Circle and European Walled Towns as
Projects Co-ordinator and Academic Adviser 1990-2017 and has published articles
and other papers on tourism in walled towns
Discussion Questions for Meet Up participants
1) What might 16
or 12 or 8 or 20 or 24 year olds want to find in exploring an historic walled
town and its walls', in contrast to what other age cohorts and adults might
want? Are these place (Berwick, York, Chester, Conwy, Tenby or other) specific
or more generic?
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2) 
What educational purposes might be served by introducing 16 or 12
or 8 or 20 or 24 year olds to an Historic Walled Town and its defensive walls?
What educational purposes might be served by introducing 16 or 12
or 8 or 20 or 24 year olds to an Historic Walled Town and its defensive walls?
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DMB
13-Oct-2019
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