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The project responds to the growing demand for synergies between protecting cultural and biological diversity and supporting education for inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies. 

UNESCO aims to experiment with transforming UNESCO designated sites in Europe into ‘learning landscapes’. In these spaces, local residents and visitors are given the opportunity to connect their experiences with reflections on the multifaceted values of heritage and humanity, including peace and sustainability.

The protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage is inseparable from activities aimed at its presentation and interpretation. This includes the necessity to enhance cultural and natural sites as learning environments, leveraging their capacity to contribute to more contextualised, inclusive, and equitable learning opportunities for all in order to tackle global challenges.

UNESCO designated sites, including World Heritage properties, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks, have enormous potential in this regard. When equipped with the necessary skills and competences, they can transform cultural and natural phenomena into meaningful experiences that offer paths that inspire deeper understanding, provoke resonance and participation, and foster stewardship for all heritage. By pioneering innovative learning approaches, these sites can promote sustainable development and global citizenship, contributing to more peaceful, equitable, inclusive and resilient societies, and thereby upholding UNESCO’s mission and fundamental values.

Building on these assumptions, this groundbreaking initiative intends to develop and experiment an innovative approach to heritage interpretation in UNESCO designated sites, transforming them into “learning landscapes”. This activity builds on a previous regional initiative to improve interpretive planning in World Heritage sites in Europe, scaling it up into a more comprehensive, multi-level training methodology that will target World Heritage properties as well as Biosphere Reserves and UNESCO Global Geoparks. 

In particular, the activity will build capacities of selected UNESCO designated sites in Europe to:

• develop territorial interpretive strategies centred on UNESCO designated sites through inclusive and participatory methods
• translate such strategies into interpretive plans integrated into UNESCO sites’ management systems and broader planning frameworks
• develop personal and non-personal interpretive services aligned with the above strategic and planning levels

The overarching objective of the project is to enhance the synergy between the conservation of cultural and natural heritage and the promotion of education for inclusive, sustainable, and resilient societies. 

In the pursuit of this goal, the project aims to build the capacities of key stakeholders from selected UNESCO designated sites to transform these sites into 'learning landscapes'. This transformation will be facilitated through training, technical assistance, and strengthened regional networking. The UNESCO designated sites benefiting from this initiative are anticipated to serve as exemplary models for value-based heritage interpretation, practical training, and collaborative interpretive planning. Additionally, they will integrate various learning opportunities, including through the development of tailored interpretative services.

In the medium to long-term, these pilot sites envision themselves as active participants in fostering peace, dialogue, and sustainability. This will involve the engagement of local stakeholders and rights-holders, ultimately providing visitors with inspiration for similar transitions in their own contexts.

The pilot implementation of the Learning Landscapes project will be delivered in 3 steps:

1. Preparatory phase, including the development of the training methodology and the selection of the pilot sites
2. Training trainers and interpretive agents
3. Supporting the participating sites through training and technical assistance

In a forward-looking perspective, the project envisages the following key components:

• Developing a holistic methodology for improving heritage interpretation at site level in alignment with UNESCO’s mission and fundamental values (“value-based interpretation”)
• Qualifying individual facilitators in Europe to conduct training activities for UNESCO designated site on interpretative planning for natural and cultural sites
• Building capacities of site managers and other key stakeholders to develop interpretative strategies, plans, and services for their own sites and territories
• Experimenting the value-based heritage interpretation approach in selected pilot sites from elaborating strategies and plans to crafting services
• Sharing good practices and lessons learnt in the pilot activities and the refined methodology

The project is implemented by UNESCO through its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, in partnership with 

Field activities will be carried out with the participation of the selected UNESCO designated sites’ managing bodies and in consultation with relevant authorities and other actors from the civil society and the private sector.

The main beneficiaries of the project will be staff of managing bodies of selected UNESCO designated sites and heritage interpretation trainers who will benefit from capacity-building, technical assistance, and networking opportunities. 

Broader professionals in the fields of culture, heritage and tourism and the public at large can also benefit from the communication and dissemination of the project results.

(12 to 15 May 2023, Sighișoara, Romania)