Communication Interpreter Message

TOURiBOOST

REORIENTING TOURISM EDUCATION WITH DIGITAL, SOCIAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES TO SUPPORT LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS TACKLE STRATEGIC INNOVATION IN HERITAGE TOURISM

KA2 - COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRACTICES KA203 - STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

M03: CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PART 1: COMMUNICATION-INTERPRETER-MESSAGE

CONTENTS ...... 2 1 CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ...... 3 1.1 Definitions ...... 15

1.2 Historical Overview ...... 18

1.3 Interpretive Strategy ...... 21

1.4 Origins of Interpretation ...... 24

1.5 The Audience ...... 28

1.6 The Stakeholders ...... 33

2 THE HERITAGE INTERPRETER ...... 41 3 THE INTERPRETIVE MESSAGE ...... 45 3.1 The Communication Process ...... 45

3.2 Structuring the Interpretive Message ...... 48

3.3 Critical issues ...... 51

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ 1 CULTURAL COMMUNICATION There are many forms of cultural basic skills in several fields such as communication; one of the most cognitive science, human and natural prominent is the widely known in the sciences, guaranteeing this way that Anglo-Saxon Interpretation of heritage. audiences understand interpreted It is a multidisciplinary process of messages. Key issues in the interpretive message transmission aiming to process are the planner’s ability to effectively communicate to audiences master human cognitive mechanisms a place’s natural and cultural wealth. of acquiring and retaining information Meanings and relationships of a given and adapt scientific context and culture approached through guidance terminology through hermeneutical and personal participation whether in information processing to a situ or in virtual environments is the goal recreational learning environment in of any interpretation. Interpretation is favour of the audience in given definitely not information, although the heritage tourism contexts: sites, latter constitutes the back bone of the collections, trails etc. first one. Interpretation translates an expert’s technical account into a Interpretation enables the audience to communication message in the receive, understand and remember language of the audience, relating the messages encouraging them to use context to his everyday life and and evaluate the information in certain experiences. An interactive framework ways. It bonds sustainable between resources, interpreters and development with an upgrading of audiences renders learning into a tourism areas, public awareness-raising, pleasure generating process: through environmental education and first hand experiences interpretation communication. Interpretation involves audiences in the explorative benefits the audience and benefits the learning and entertainment process). place by producing the product of the product: a heritage site is marketed to In order to adapt natural and cultural an audience for both its tangible and phenomena of given (heritage) intangible nature. The audience learns contexts to the needs of specific target to understand, appreciate, value and groups’, interpretation interlinks several care for the cultural and natural disciplines from natural and human heritage resources interpreted to them. sciences. Professional Heritage The benefits of interpretation are Interpretation combines practical and multiple for the economy, ecology and theoretical expert knowledge and society:

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ • Interpretation meets the increasing between web-navigators and demand for educational audience cultural operators experiences • provides audiences with relevance • Creates qualitative experiences and makes them a part of the which guarantee audience experience: “A historic site without satisfaction, positive word-of- interpretation is just an "old site” mouth, high revenue, visit elongation, repeat visitation Interpretation regards all things that help people to appreciate an • educates audiences to care about “heritage place” that may be referred the places they visit, enhancing to an historical building, an area of civic pride, environmental countryside, an aspect of cultural life conscience, respect for local (i.e. traditional celebrations), traditional communities cultivations, traditional buildings, • reduces through public awareness traditional local products, etc.), a town, environmental and cultural an object or a collection of objects, an damage by explaining the impacts historical event or period. Interpretation of various behaviours and can take various forms as it may involve suggesting appropriate alternatives walks or tours with a guide, • substitutes experience for places publications, or panels at features of that are very fragile and/or difficult interest, events, signs, audio, video, to visit (e.g. caves, sacred temples), activities etc... But to be really effective, or topics that are impossible to “interpretation” needs to be planned experience directly (e.g. disease, with both sensitivity and creativity. In prehistoric conditions) detail, it’s important to be sure that the • Web-Interpretation exports globally “interpretive plan” is appropriate for the a resource’s image bridging the site, for the people who are coming spatial and temporal distance there, and for the organisations and individuals involved.

1.1 Definitions

“Interpretation is an educational “Heritage interpretation is a means of activity, which aims to reveal communicating ideas and feelings meanings and relationships through which help people understand more the use of original objects, by firsthand about themselves and their experience, and by illustrative media, environment.” (Interpretation rather than simply to communicate Australia Association, 2003) factual information” (Tilden, 1957). "Interpretation is a communication “Interpretation is the art of explaining process that forges emotional and the significance of a place to the intellectual connections between the public who visit it in order to point out interests of the audience and the a conservation message.” inherent meanings in the resource." (Aldridge, 1975). (National Association for Interpretation Board of Directors, 2000) TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ (1992) later popularized the term All these definitions entail a “environmental interpretation” for communication process that helps interpretation put to explicit people connect emotionally and environmental and conservation intellectually with resources, whether purposes. natural, cultural, or historical. Ham Heritage Interpretation is not an end in itself but a strategic means for sustainable development: • Concerning economic development: professional interpretation enhances competitiveness of sustainable heritage based tourism and related indirect economic influxes into the local / regional economy through higher consumption of local/ regional products. • Concerning ecological sustainability: Heritage Interpretation has proved to be a strong tool to manage audience flows and thus generating necessary income. New Tourism has a relatively low negative impact on the environment compared to e.g. mass tourism. • Concerning social sustainability: Interpretation raises the audiences’ appreciation of the values of the natural environment and the tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The regional identity of the inhabitants is enhanced as their appreciation of their natural environment and their will to protect it from further decline.

Fig. 1-5: Tactile Interpretive Provisions in the Harz National Park Visitor Center Source: Author, 2014

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ the structure the judgment. Being 1.2 Historical governed by cognition Aristotelian Hermeneutics reject any expression that Overview cannot be verified as true.

Interpretation”, Latin for the Greek word Each interpretation presupposes a “Hermeneia” has a long tradition in process of message transmission, which in Western Philosophy. Associated with turn presupposes a hermeneutical Aristotle, Schleiermacher, Dilthey, situation, where senders and recipients Heidegger and Gadamer, is the science have some common basis of of understanding, also the art of analysis, understanding. Hermeneutics operates explanation, a cognitive technique to with the difference between pre- perception. Connected to Hermes, the understanding and interpretation, based messenger of gods, “hermeneia” meant the authoritative process. He is the one appointed to translate the divine messages, the language and will of the gods to humans. Philosophy has replaced these vertical, authoritative power structures by dialectical ones: Not anymore in palaces and temples takes communication place, but publicly at the Agora. We are introduced to the 18 message, as non-imperative, indicative and optative meaningful information. Philosophical messages aim to persuasively communicate contents and contexts to recipients, activating the on the principle that the object of the process of understanding. Information interpretation process has been becomes thus a message, should it be successfully decoded. The recipient relevant and useful to the recipient. understands a message if he may correlate it to a known system. Philosophical messages do not expect Fig. 6-9: Aristotle, De Interpretatione recipients to obey, rather than use their own logic to judge. Their primary aim is a dialectical one: to produce new in- ‘formation’, new insight. Other than directive divine messages, philosophical massages use the dialog and the discourse as a tool to diffuse themselves among recipients. First Aristotle formulates that Hermeneutics is a systems logic that derives from the ability of humans to think in abstract and taxonomic categories, naming it categorical knowledge.

Cognitive scientists refer to this inherent quality of human thought as the general cognitive ability g. His text “Peri Hermeneias (de Interpretando”), a part of Organon, is a logical Grammar, examining TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ Heritage attractions in their tangible and intangible forms, significant as they may be- are deeply coded systems of far pasts and recent presents representing in the eyes of the audiences, the novel image of a heritage asset by offering and unknown. In most cases audiences distinctiveness and authenticity. are disappointed when, the only thing they get back for their admission The Aristotelian logical Grammar money is that they may stare at some analyzes language and speech, meaningless structures. It may be the rejecting any expression that cannot be Parthenon or the Great Wall- both verified as true. This leads to the fact masterpieces may degrade in the that Hermeneutics are governed by audience’s perception to ruins, if they cognition and not by ‘understanding’. do not offer evident connections to The Greek term «ερμηνεύειν» signifies appreciate their universal values. In the the notions of expressing oneself, context of heritage interpretation most analyzing language and other facts relevant is the philosophical theory of and translate. Hermeneutics is also the Hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer Art of Analysis, Interpretation, as outlined in his opus magnum “Truth Technique to Perception. Since the 19th and Method “ (1975). Hermeneutics century Hermeneutics are considered may very well broaden the horizons of to function as the founder of a the targeted audience: to address specialized method belonging to novelty in places visited and classics, as a reinforcement of human exterminate the unknown, as a tool to historicity in the secular world, as the explore the historic and natural factor of analyzing conditions of human environment for tourism, creating the express sign, such as language and art within Interpretation emerges as a concept of human horizon. To understand, to information and education in the U.S. perceive means to (re-) cognize, to national parks, where the "learning by distinguish a notion or a meaning from doing" practice is the pursuit of nature the explanation, this is the means that conservationists. John Muir, who enlightens the reasons through the inspired the founding of the Yosemite relationship of cause and effect. National Park and the Sierra Club, employed 1871 the term Interpretation as has been recorded as “interpretation” to describe direct a profession as far back as 460. B.C. In experiencing of nature. In the the Roman world traveling to sites in beginning of the last century Hellas was a must and Pausanias refers conservationist. Enos Mills contributed to professional guides, the to the establishment of the Rocky “explanatories of the place” (εξηγητές Mountain National Park and in his “Trail επιχωρίων), who escorted travelers to School” he trained both sexes to attractions. The guiding profession has rangers. The National Park Service (NPS) left a legacy of pride in place and the founded in 1916, establishes the “Park importance of passing on heritage to Naturalist Service”, whose success the local community and the tourist, depended primarily upon the interest but also a tradition connected with and ability of individual rangers. boring presentations in sterile museum settings and incomprehensible heritage From 1940 onwards information and sites without audience facilities. From education work in nature preservation the middle of the 19th century onwards areas of the U.S. has been officially

Fig. 10-11: Freeman Tilden and his influential book

Any interpretative strategy should include the aims and objectives, such as:

• EDUCATION & LEARNINNG • LEISURE - ENTERTAINMENT • TOURISM • RURAL DEVELOPMENT • MARKETING AND PROMOTION – PUBLICITY • LOCAL COMMUNITIES INVOLVEMENT • HERITAGE PRESERVATION– • CULTURALCONSERV AHERITAGETION-ENV CONSUMPTIONIRONMENTAL PROTECTION • MATERIAL CULTURAL HERITAGE

Fig. 12: Interpreteive Strategy Model Adapted from Ellen Chaffy, 1985 21 The general aims, within the categories Therefore, our interpretive above are: message can influence the audience mainly in terms of their knowledge, To make people understand how the their feelings or their attitude. evolution processes happen in Freeman Tilden (1957) formulated the natural areas and how human following principles: impacts have affected the environment. Any interpretation that does To help to understand how social and not somehow relate what is economic needs have changed and being displayed or described influenced nature. to something within the personality or experience of To stimulate audiences’ interest in the audience will be sterile. an object or place and to encourage them to revisit and Information, as such, is not discover new features by their own Interpretation. Interpretation is initiative. revelation based upon information. But they are There are three specific aims: entirely different things. However, all interpretation • Learning objectives – what you includes information. want your audiences to know • Emotional objectives – what you Interpretation is an art, which want your audiences to feel combines many arts, whether the materials presented are scientific, • Behavioural objectives – what you want your audiences to do TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ historical, or architectural. Any art is in helps you identify and deliver your some degree teachable. key message. The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation. Interpretation should aim to present The Interpretive Equation is a a whole rather than a part, and must metaphorical device used to address itself to the whole man rather encapsulate the basic building than any phase. blocks of effective interpretation into an easy to Interpretation addressed to children understand form. Although most (say, up to the age of twelve) should often expressed as a not be a dilution of the presentation mathematical equation, the to adults, but should follow a ideas can also take other fundamentally different approach. To organizational methods. be at its best it will require a separate program. IO: Interpretive opportunities KA: Knowledge of the Audience KR: Knowledge of the Resource TA:

Fig. 13: NPS, IE Interpretive Techniques

There are three words that can effectively sum up the principles 22 outlined above: To introduce new ideas or understanding, and engage with a given audience through choice of subject matter, through language and questioning the message must: • Provoke Attention and memory • It must Relate to everyday experiences of your audiences Use analogies and metaphors to relate new concepts to what your audiences already know and understand. • It must Reveal a memorable message. What is the key thing you want your audiences to remember after reading your interpretation? What new insight or understanding do you want them to take away?

• It must Address the whoy le stor using a unifying theme Identifying a theme encourages you to sort and organise information, and TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ This interpretive equation can be applied assessed to know if the interpretive to all interpretive activities. By means of activities are providing effective this methodology, it is easy to connect interpretive opportunities and whether the basic concepts that relate to all these opportunities result in the desired interpretive activities. After the outcome: a stronger influence in the interpretation has been carried out, the attitude of the audience. INTERPRETIVE EQUATION (NPS) KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESOURCE (HERITAGE ASSET) • Why is it important? • The interpreter understands the asset meanings, t h a t will lead to a desirable audience outcome (quality audience experience and attitude formatters) KNOWLEDGE OF THE AUDIENCE • There is a large number of interpretive media that can be used. • The right choice will depend on the characteristics of the audience. • The interpreter ensures that audiences have a positive experience, satisfying their demands and giving them something of value to remember. KNOWLEDGE OF APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES 23 • This determination should be a result from analysis of the resource themes and audience profile. • Cultural Communication regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques used. THE INTERPRETIVE OPPORTUNITY • The variety of techniques used by the interpreter will have a different effect on the audiences and it can be long or short term, so not always the audience’s reaction will be immediate.

Table 1:. Adopting the Interpretive Equation

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344

https://www.touriboostproject.org/ 1.4 Origins of Interpretation explanation, this is the means that enlightens the reasons through the Interpretation as a concept derives its relationship of cause and effect. essence from classical hermeneutics, introduced by Aristotle and followed by A hermeneutical information processing is Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and utilized by the LAP to facilitate the Gadamer. Understood as hermeneutics, acquisition of any novelty in places visited ‘interpretation’ it is a wide field of different and disengage the unknown, as a tool to approaches associated with scholars explore cultural value, creating the asset such as Friedrich_Schleiermacher, image by revealing distinctiveness and Wilhelm_Dilthey and Hans Georg authenticity. The war between Gadamer is regarded as the science of perception and understanding, which is understanding. Most relevant is the both of emotional and cognitive nature, Hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer renders heritage consumption to an as outlined in his opus magnum “Truth unsuccessful activity. Should we observe and Method “(1975). Hermeneutical for instance visitors strolling around in principles have been used to manage museums, then it is perfectly clear that leisure time in recreational settings and any visit is an ex principio time consuming recreational learning environments. procedure. This happens because most visitors are not given the chance to relate Aristotle formulates the categories of the contents of the collection to their 24 human perception, a phenomenon, previously acquired experiences. Visitor innate to humans, documented by endurance in the first phase of the visit is cognitive science as the g, general high due most to intrinsic motivation, but cognitive ability g . Recreational learning, an acceleration of interest loss in the made educationally relevant on the basis middle visit-phase is to be observed, due of HCA, Cognitive Sciences, Informatics to work memory fatigue to process huge and Hermeneutics, remain under- amounts of novel elements. Finally researched topic. The Aristotelian logical working memory loads and other Grammar analyzes language and location-related inconveniencies speech, rejecting any expression that accumulate visitor-fatigue in the last visit- cannot be verified as true. This leads to phase. the fact that Hermeneutics are governed by cognition and not by ‘understanding’. Hans Georg Gadamer perceives The Greek term «ερμηνεύειν» signifies the Hermeneutics is not a method for notions of expressing oneself, analyzing understanding but an attempt to clarify language and other facts and translate. the conditions in which understanding Hermeneutics is also the Art of Analysis, takes place. Among these conditions are, Interpretation, Techniques to Perception. crucially, prejudices and fore-meanings in Since the 19th century Hermeneutics are the mind of the interpreter. considered to function as the founder of Understanding is therefore interpretation, a specialized method belonging to which uses one's own preconceptions so classics, as a reinforcement of human that the meaning of the object can really historicity in the secular world, as the be made to speak to us. Understanding is factor of analyzing conditions of human thus not a merely reproductive, as expressing, such as language and art Schleiermacher feels about it, but a within human horizon. To understand, to productive process, since interpretations perceive means to (re-) cognize, to keep changing during the process of distinguish a notion or a meaning from the TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ what is being understood. One of the intended to represent something other main problems visitors face during the visit than) and therefore need an is with is how to distinguish 'true interpretation. We can no longer assume, prejudices', by which we understand, that the tools for such an interpretation from the 'false' ones, by which we are available to the public: the misunderstand. Gadamer suggests as a audience’s cognitive gap produces solution to develop a 'historical' self- frustration at the motivational level. With awareness which makes conscious one's cultural consumption symbolizing a social own prejudices and allows one to isolate status, we are led to concentrations of and evaluate an object on its own. the public in a few places and/or events, Another important condition in which regardless of their value. The absence of understanding takes place is temporal any cultural transmission, communication distance. For Gadamer, present and past and interpretation generates once again are firmly connected and the past is not frustration and sharpens the something that has to be painfully aforementioned cognitive-emotional regained in each present, if the gap between visitors and objects even interpreter has the tool to decode it. further, as documented by numerous surveys and analysis on visitors. As visitors at heritage places originate from different cultural backgrounds they To bridge the cognitive gap cannot be are exploring in situ or even in virtual remedied simply by providing knowledge environments ‘foreign’ heritage in any form, as the recreational learning connected with pre-understanding and environment has its own rules, closely 25 prejudice as Gadamer defines these connected with the particularities of terms. Not being able to decipher cultural human cognitive architecture. Numerous content has a proven consequence for museums, exhibitions, websites, etc. that the emotional and economic aspect of provide with full information, in the form of the visit to a cultural institution or a park detailed descriptions and complete, reserve: meaning fusion through guides, room signs, leaflets etc.. (Horizontverschmelzung), time-decay, testify eloquently how the approach distance-decay, time-distance-decay "knowledge transmission" fails. The crucial and finally codification and encryption issue is integration. Said informally, only renders highly motivated visitors to the information that is structured within dissatisfied clients with an acute the particularities of human cognitive reduction in tourism consumption. The architecture can be assimilated. And this major obstacle in advancing cultural structure must cover both content and consumption in everyday life, connected form in which it is offered, because only to cultural heritage is the spatiotemporal then can start both processes, cognitive gap between the object and the and motivational, which are essential to observer. The ability to understand and the success of the communication. This appreciate cultural heritage objects and brings us to the integrated approach. meaning is formulated as cultural capital From the point of view of content: by Bourdieu, it is a gradual increase is individual items (goods, objects, places, observed over time. Multigenerational etc.) must be organized as a unitary and multicultural audiences at heritage structure that restores / gives way to this places manifest a lack of necessary to organic and integrated vision must take arrive at an understanding and the lead and prevail over the "individual appreciation of heritage assets, might "(in the sense, for example, that individual that be an artwork, an object or a place. must also be chosen or set aside in These goods are in fact "signs" in the relation to the possibility of contributing to technical sense of the term, (elements this integrated framework or less). From TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ the point of view of form: the integrated structure must be communicated as a "narrative" and never as a description. It should tell a story that needs to be load- bearing elements and powerful instantiation that they make a case. This narrative form then submits the motivation - namely, the "desire", l "interest", the "curiosity" - while the structural integration supports the cognitive factor, enabling knowledge to be understood and assimilated. This understanding then in turn strengthens the motivation through the satisfaction that it brings, which in turn strengthens the attention capacity, thus giving rise to a virtuous circle of support between cognition and motivation, the results of which are easily seen in terms of satisfaction, understanding and, above all, real learning. All this affects the materials that will be produced, whatever their nature, may not include either 26 independent nature, closed in itself, nor a descriptive way: follow this approach means condemn ineffectiveness, both cognitive and motivational both. We must instead leave before the structural and narrative together married, identifying them as possible on the basis of coherent collections of elements (objects, places and so on). Building these structures as stories and after ("before" and "after" logic, of course) declinable in the plurality of specific means or, better yet, even here in some form of media integration. The production, therefore, of publishing material, visual, film etc.. should be subject to such organizations. It 'also clear that the design and construction of such structures requires integrated from the outset a corresponding intense collaboration and integration of the professionals involved in all areas of the communication process: the CH experts from different media, communication experts who will literally (and figuratively) to work together.

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Information is not Interpretation 27

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ 1.5 The Audience that all the participant’s contributions during the interpretative process enrich the activity, however being in the WEB Communication is a critical process in 2.0 phase, virtual environments may message transmission. Communication become first class purveyors for quality consists of the basic interaction interpretation. betwee n an emitter and a receptor that receives the message through a Such involvement on the part of given means of communication, in audiences should be both physical and regards to human to human interaction intellectual: the audience must be is the voice the main communication compelled to sense, move and feel, as medium. Professional interpretation well as to think and enrich his or her transfers a key idea or theme to the experience, for instance, through target public. The interpreter has questions etc. On the other hand, we many available tools and techniques. must bear in mind that, even though The nature of the asset in questions and interpretation consists in communicating target public characteristics will help something e a s i l y , the m e s s a g e the interpreter to make the choice. The disclosed must always have a solid golden rule is that information is not scientific basis. interpretation. Who is it for and where and when 28 Interpretation in can it be applied? Enc ouraging the audience There is an important difference to participate and take an between consumers of market products, active role in the process is cultural heritage products, people in leisure mood, people visiting a place for c rucial for the success leisure time and those who are in the place driven by some other reasons In the process of interpretation the such as educational or business. The informative units involved must be different possible profiles of the delivered in a pleasant, audience are one of the points to comprehensive way, making it consider when planning interpretation. accessible for the general public. Some previous research is required in Interpretive methods are intended to order to learn things from the potential stimulate a reaction in the audience, audiences; this is one of the first steps the one that carries out the actual prior to the design of the interpretive interpretation. Interpretive media programme. There are several tips that provide several clues to make the can be useful when it comes to information flow more pleasant, so that defining a given group of audience’s the intake of information is also more profile: effective. Interpretative media should not only be associated to printed material or other information society technologies, but also to oral expression, which occurs between the interpreter and his or her audience. Interpretation should be carried out in situ though first hand experiences so TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ AGE Linguistic background is another very important aspect that we must be aware The Local Attraction Plan address the of on advance. Very different linguistic average adult visitor with good backgrounds may be a major obstacle command of English as a foreign for the communicative act. language and the local communities Do Local Attraction Plans need to CURRENT AUDIENCE CONDITION prepare special programmes for children? Children require specifically Audiences tend to be more demanding if designed programmes, not only they have travelled for a long time to take abridged versions of an adult-oriented part on the interpretation activities, and programme. We must adapt to their therefore it will be more difficult to cope needs, instead of making them adapt to with their expectations. an adult way of disclosing information or to an excessive amount of data. Their GROUP SIZE attention too, is harder to keep. Another aspect that must be taken into SPECIAL NEEDS account is the number of visitants and, in the case of groups, their characteristics. Visitors with special needs shall be Just by knowing the number of visitants considered within the planning process. we can get useful information that will help us plan some services or predict the 29 PRIOR KNOWLEDGE number of leaflets that need to be printed, but the interpretation It is important to try and assess the programme will also be affected by the potential previous knowledge of the size or typology of the group. At this point audiences, so that we can adapt the shall be identified the aspects, which programme and activities to their level of audiences are more interested in. For a expertise in the matter. deeper understanding of the target groups and a more detailed planning, ORIGIN Local Attraction Plans shall go further in researching: Knowing the nationality and origin of the audiences provides interesting clues so as AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS to assess their potential previous knowledge or the degree of impact that Why visitors wish to visit the place or have they may get from the experience, the an interest to consume a specific product more different or distant their original connected to local heritage? The country or area is, the more liable they expectations of a group of audiences are to be attracted or surprised by the or cultural consumers and other visit. Another important aspect is whether individuals depend of several factors. In they come from a rural or an urban order to know what they expect to get area. Do they live in the coast or inland? from the visit, we must know where did The more details we have from our tourist, they got informed about the place; the better choice of the interpretive perhaps someone that had been there techniques and media. previously told them about the place, or they looked for the information. In addition to the source of information, we LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL must also know how much previous BACKGROUND information they have, in order to avoid TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ repetition and cope with their expectations to the greatest possible extent.

TIME BUDGET BASIC It seems a simple question, but we must know he answer on advance, as we RECOMMENDATIONS cannot prepare activities that do not Suggest activities that encourage the correspond with the time that consumers participation of individuals and the and or audiences will spend in the place. relationship among the components of Thus, we must adapt our objectives to the different groups. real situation and to time constraints, and If the group is large, try to develop activities to to determine the duration of the favor interaction. interpretive activities. Include activities for families, especially for those including children. The distribution of the audience segments among the hours, weeks and months, If the group is small and there are no children, focus on individuals. must be considered as an important factor that needs being analysed If there is a large group of visitors during the planning phases. We can arriving, think about visitor management distribute the activities according to the 30 preference showed by the public. Depending on the conclusions of this analysis, the activities can be made available during weekdays and weekends, or different months. Certain activities may be determined also by natural factors such as weather conditions. The same activities should not be repeated during long periods of time because most of the tourists will come during the weekends.

Table 2: Basic Interpretive Recommendations

Another important condition in which As a gradual accumulation of culture understanding takes place is temporal the heritage environment is a vital distance. For Gadamer, present and learning source for both locals and past are firmly connected and the past audience, benefits the tourism is not something that has to be painfully economy, gives communities identity, regained in each present, if the can be a stimulus to innovative cultural interpreter has the tool to decode it. expressions, creative new architecture Since most audiences are bearers of and design, a force for regeneration different cultures, exploring in situ or and a powerful contributor to people’s even in virtual environments ‘foreign’ quality of everyday life. The heritage heritage potential is also connected environment should be accessible in its 33 with pre-understanding and prejudice diversity to both local population and as Gadamer defines these terms. audiences. Realizing its full potential as an economic and cultural resource, is Not being able to decipher cultural the main gain for local communities: content has a proven consequence for the historic environment does not enter the emotional and economic aspect of the tourism market as price-less goods, the visit to a cultural institution or a park contributing in this way per se to its very reserve: meaning fusion, time-decay, protection. distance-decay, time-distance-decay and finally codification and encryption It is a task for interpretation at local level renders highly motivated audiences to to convert the historical environment to dissatisfied clients with an acute a special place worth visiting, to a reduction in tourism consumption. place offering audiences distinctive natural, cultural, or historic features, Heritage tangible and intangible with a different ambiance or character environment consists of art cities, and unique stories. A place becomes cultural routes and heritage trails, authentic, distinctive and familiar into cultural districts and other types of the audiences’ eyes, if it has its own cultural landscapes, customs traditions, stories, character, style, history, people, collections and material culture as well. and culture that reflect the It embraces the landscape as a whole, quintessence of the place. urban and rural, geological and marine testifying presence and activities of Communities should manage and mankind in space and time, interpret their heritage assets in a constituting a dynamic source of manner that enhances the audiences’ information, a systems approach to experiences, conveying at the same historical memory and cultural time distinctiveness (novel elements), presentation of entire civilizations, authenticity (original elements) and TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ familiarity (common elements). between the interests of the audience Audiences want to understand and and the meanings inherent in the experience the local story, to relate to resource” (NAI, 2006). Interpretation their own cultural background, and constitutes a communication path, a embrace. Landscape character, bridge, which connects audiences with streets and nightlife, open-air activities, tangible and intangible phenomena. museums and special events, local life- style are novel, original and common Successful interpretive presentation of elements at the same time. It is then attractions and phenomena facilitates likely for audiences to be aligned to the individual perception, leading values of the local residents as they audiences into new and fascinating originate from valid, distinctive, worlds. It brings new understanding, authentic locality and historicity. new insights, new enthusiasms, and new interests. It employs codes To understand and consequently accessible to different audiences, appreciate the heritage environment enabling them to connect with an audience needs to bridge the heritage presented to them in virtual tangible form of a monument to its and in situ environments by intangible dimensions, symbols and experiencing and understanding meanings. Aristotle discovers how through their senses and cognitive Hermeneutics underlies the categories abilities. By providing audiences with of human perception, a human relevance Heritage Interpretation phenomenon, proved to be true by makes them a part of the experience. 34 cognitive scientists in the early 21th century. These insights re-discovered in Based on cultural and /or natural our days leads to the conclusion that evidence, either material or immaterial, there is an quite large research gap in found in a given location, Heritage between the sub disciplines of Interpretation seeks to promote these Cognitive Science, Informatics and features in their original context. It is Hermeneutics, whereas the connected to any attractions management of leisure time can whatsoever and may be applied in achieve optimization through these parks, audience centres, scientific unorthodox, hybrid but then very exhibitions, historic sites, city streets, successful marriages. museums, zoos or galleries, at specials events or promotions, in publications, in The U.S. based “National Association for written and oral presentations. Interpretation” defines the approach as a communication process that “forges emotional and intellectual connections

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ The contextualization of heritage understand those meanings within the resources allows audience education in given context. Meanings, embedded in recreational environments, language and culture, are culturally reinforcement of their environmental and socially constructed and and social conscience, appreciation of consequently shared by all who access codes of conduct and local cultures. them, but not by those who are unable Audiences learn to value and care for to decode them- in our case the the cultural and natural heritage ‘audience’. Meanings are resources interpreted to them. In order communicated through the use of to adapt natural and cultural language. phenomena at given heritage tourism contexts to the needs of specific target One of the most significant contexts of groups, interpretation interlinks various meanings is spatial context, the sense disciplines from natural, cognitive and of place. Meanings extracted from a human sciences. visit to place, heritage or natural site, collection etc. constitute the high Key issues in the interpretive process are added value experience a audience the planner’s ability to master human takes away in memory. In this vein, cognitive mechanisms of acquiring and meaning is the experience- the only retaining information and to adapt experience any audience has with a through hermeneutical information place. Interpretation, creatively processing scientific context and conceived and powerfully delivered, terminology to a recreational learning lies at the heart of this process. Instead 32 environment in favour of the audience of a chronological array of series and in given heritage tourism contexts: sites, facts interpretation shall provide a collections, trails, websites, etc. clear focus for connections with the various resources by demonstrating the Leisure audiences tend to be very cohesive development of relevant heterogeneous groups, and of multi- ideas. generational structure. Capturing and keeping their attention means to Creating connections, e.g. links create bridges between the inherent between audience experience and values of phenomena selected for interests and the meanings of the presentation, and the audiences. Far resource is a crucial element for the beyond the dissemination of factual length of stay time at the Site and the information, interpretation aims to quality of audience satisfaction. create asset meanings, so that Connections can be subtle or sublime individual audiences can put a place and relate to places, things, and ideas; into personal perspective and identify they may be described as moments of with it in a way that is more profound intellectual and/or emotional and enduring way. Interpretation is a revelation, perception, insight or “meaning making attitude formatter”. discovery related to the meanings of As such it produces meanings that heritage assets. Communication bond people to the places they visit policies should be based on the main and create in them the sense of the visit outcome, which is the audience place. experience, e.g. everything what audiences do, think, and feel during Meanings are contextual in nature, their visit at heritage places. including a linguistic, spatial and a Communication policies should also social context. To understand the regard the audience’s expectation meanings of given items is to from a visit to a site, collection or a park, TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ therefore knowledge of the resource chronologies and by presenting facts and knowledge of the audience are and reasons in one format, novel equally important issues. content becomes the new narrative form, enhancing audience In order to make experiences participation in given settings, as well accessible to a wide audience with as the ability to explore and move back different characteristics, cultural and forth in this setting. A visit to a operators have to define how to heritage place becomes a pleasure facilitate audience experiences at their generating procedure. heritage sites and which features have to be promoted. For the Interpretation systematically takes into communication to be interpretive, it account the audiences’ experiences must provoke the audience’s attention, and tries to create interactions relate with the audiences’ everyday between audiences, scientific life, reveal the meanings and phenomena, and tangible and relationships of the heritage resources intangible heritage resources. The by bridging the gap between the outcome of the hermeneutical process tangible form of the resources and its is a framework of contents, which is intangible meanings, addressing the made up by: whole, rather than presenting isolated • a central message, which describes pieces of information. “the essence” of the heritage site, work of art, intangible values, Interpretation enables effortless landscapes or even signage 33 acquisition of novel items and concepts dealing with the management of at heritage places by providing access cognitive loads by facilitating to the unknown through cognitively information retention structured messages. Translating an expert’s technical account into an easy • a storyline that holds the audiences’ to access, cognitively structured attention, reinforcing the communication message that the association chain. A successful easy audience can relate to, means, to put to grasp and follow storyline not contents into a format that attracts, only realizes education in interests and inspires audiences. recreational environments by Interpretation supports the defeating boredom and provoking development of verbal and non-verbal interest, but also satisfies consumers narrative tools in order to facilitate of secondary tourism goods, who content acquisition. Significant have invested their money and heritage assets are then made valuable leisure time in selecting accessible to a wider public and specific recreational facilities. Such attractive through provocative, coherent collocations.

Acknowledging the fact that story  Symbols/verbal/speech skeletons with plots provoke  Perception conceptual associations, interpretation  Memory uses the power of connections to create sense by linking two or more, formerly separate entities into a meaningful way with one another. story-lines are not lectures; they Giving up the accumulation of facts, always allow audiences to interact technical accounts and endless with the surroundings. TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboostproject.org/ Even in off-site or roving interpretation, selected exhibit should provide for fun where audiences are not confronted and curiosity, insight and meaning, with guides or multimedia in audience participation and entertainment, centers, they have the chance to encourage interaction, familiarize with actively participate to the interpretive novelties, vary the visual, auditory and happening: any possible stop or narrative styles, even provide for quiet spaces, relaxation and immersion. Fig. 20: National Park of ALM (Abruzzo, Lazio- Molisse) Interpretive Panel on photovoltaic energy Source: D. Papathanasiou, 2014

• “Communication is the oral 34 and written formulation of thought or idea.” • “Communication is the process by which understand others and it turn endeavor to be understood by them.” • “Communication is the process of conducting the attention of another person for the purpose of replicating memories

COMMUNITY

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 33 THIRD SECTOR HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONS

STAFF INTERPRETATION EXPERTS

Table 3: Acknowledging the benefits of interpretation

To share with others the enthusiasm for the audience, the resource and the anything significant, audiences need media to establish their relationship. It an “interpreter” whose role is to enable seems hard for just one person to have the communication between a all the abilities; it will always be better to transmitter (place of interest) and a work in a team, at least during receiver (audience). For instance, in planning. \Nevertheless their order to transmit to a audience of an background training, they should be archaeological site the significant of qualified to develop office work such 41 the ruins, it is necessary that an as design, planning, management or archaeologist has decoded the site by activities programme. Professionals with means of systematic archaeological competences in interpretation are fully excavations. The interpreter then capable able to carry out activities translates the archaeologist’s report related to the use of different into understandable and therefore interpretive media applications and potentially enjoyable discourse for planning processes audiences .The interpreter should know Illustr. 2: HERISCOUT. Acknowledging the key issue in interpretation

 The ability to master mechanisms of human cognitive architecture

 understand how the human memory processor acquires and retains information 42  to adapts the expert’s account, and terminology through hermeneutical information processing in favor of the

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ The following are the basic features an order to define each group of abilities, interpreter must have, that is, their we will refer to competence units: personal and professional profile. In

Fig. 21: The Senckenberg Natural History Museum , GENERAL INTERPRETIVE in Frankfurt, Germany Guided Visit by expert biologists. Interpreting the COMPETENCES voracious appetite and its consequences Source: D. Papathanasiou,2014 • Competence in elaborating inventories collecting information, as well as in the Table 4: HERISCOUT. Acknowledging general detection of features with interpretive interpretive competencies potential. • Ability to design and deliver interpretive plans. • Ability to communicate effectively and according to the different circumstances given by the audience and the place.

• Ability to select and design the appropriate interpretive media so that they adapt to the audience and the place. • Ability to carry out the follow up and 43 assessment of the interpretive activities that are being carried out.

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ A direct link must be established between the resource and the audience. The message will function as the linkage, communicating something in a specific way. It is very important to identify the right message, which will help the audience discover the meaning of heritage assets. Usually the audience is enjoying their leisure time, being audiences and tourists, recreationists or cultural consumers in given settings. Therefore communication must take place regarding this very recreational and leisure setting. We need to capture the audience’ attention with understandable and enjoyable messages In order to achieve effective communication, cultural heritage operators shall know, what they want to communicate and how they organize and adapt information they want to transmit. The 44 context is important because it influences the meaning of the Partners must also consider the messages: the same message means importance of spontaneity and different things to different flexibility to adapt our message to audiences. The interpreter shall situations that may not have been produce strong messages that planned. influence the audience. There are no Fig. 22-23: The Rom-Sicily American Cemetery strict rules in this respect, as Cultural Communication at work communication always involves Source: D. Papathanasiou, 2014 intuitive elements. ENPI and IPA

Communication is transmission of information.

To start with, an individual (the sender) which s/he uses to understand and has some thoughts that s/he wants to interpret the world, that is, the receiver’s communicate. These thoughts shall be thoughts. Therefore, if communication organized and transformed into a is so easy how come logical sequence and translated into misunderstanding, confusion and 45 words that are then uttered. The miscommunication happen so often? receiver hear the words coming from There are two main reasons: Every the sender, and interprets them so that individual processes in different ways, they make sense, according to the and this is the cause for receiver’s beliefs, opinions, and filters, miscommunication.

When someone communicates emotional state. This state, whether information to us (through one of our good, bad or indifferent will determine senses), this information passes through our reaction to others and the event. an internal filter system, which This finally provokes the behavior that corresponds basically with our beliefs, others see when we communicate opinions and image of the world. The back, be it verbal or non-verbal. way that we are feeling the moment Communicating effectively is all about the communication act takes place, understanding this internal processes. (i.e. are we motivated? depressed? Information comes in through our pleased? Knowledgeable? Under sensory input channels (visual, auditory stress?) will have a coupling effect with organs and cognitive processing). the communicative representation that There are 5 in all but concerning we build in order to create an communication there are mainly 3:

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences o support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ Fig. Visitor Center, Harz National Park 24: Guides at Work Source: Author, 2014

Visual This is what we see, the body language and physiology of others 46

Auditory These are the sounds we hear, the words we utter and the way these are spoken

Kinesthetic These are split into Internal and external feelings:

External feelings include touching someone or something, what it feels like - texture, pressure etc. Internal feelings include feelings like hunger, stress, tension, comfort, pleasure etc

The other two, which are less significant when it comes to communication, are the senses of taste (gustatory) and smell (olfactory)

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ Fig. 25: Visitor Center of the Abruzzo-Lazio-Molisse National Park. Interpretive Presentation of the karst phenomenon Source: Author, 2014

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ When understand your own values, information beliefs and behaviors. comes in  Remember that people use a blend of meta-programs. It’s not through one this or that, it’s a spectrum of of language the senses we possibilities. It’s a tool for then process it understanding how or why people Page | 46 and modify it as behave and adapting your own we relate it to our behaviors to improve view and understanding of the world. communication. They aren’t a tool This understanding is based on the so for stereo-typing or pigeon-holing. called filters. There are 6 main filters:  Change your own limiting meta- programs. If you have a way of When we interpret words, the processing the world that’s limiting outcome depends on whether we your success, find a way to know and understand them and on consciously adapt. Identifying your previous experiences of using them own meta-programs you use is a (e.g. the term "Outstanding" may start. Once you have awareness, mean for a particular receptor the you can see how this shows up. same as “Good”) The third filter 46

Meta values programmes

corresponds to values; to our In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), standards and judgements. It is so to meta-programs are the keys to the way speak, our evaluation filter. Values are you process information. They’re all about what is important, good or basically how you form your internal bad for us. Because values are about representations and direct your things that are important to us, they behavior.Meta programmes are in the have a great impact on our core of our personality. They define the motivation. way that each individual analyse a A belief is a feeling of certainty of situation and information.When you what something means to us know someone’s meta programmes beliefs beliefs human behaviour beliefs you will then be able to predict their is belief-driven. Our own personal behaviour and actions far better. There power are no right or wrong meta programmes it's just the way we to do something handle information. depends on our  Use meta-programs to understand beliefs; they are essentially our yourself and others. Meta- on/off switch for our ability to do programs helps you understand anything in the world. There's an old how people sort and make sense saying that defines the power of of the world. They also help you beliefs with great accuracy: "Whether TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural to support local stakeholderscompetences tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ you believe you can or your cannot, disempowering beliefs, which remain you're absolutely right" stored in our memory, as regards a particular decision or its outcome. When communicating with someone it is important to deduct what his or The last filter refers to our her beliefs are concerning WHY they recollection of past have done what they have done. events. When When we are trying to motivate and someone tells encourage someone, we may also something to us want to find out the disempowering that somehow beliefs that have stopped him or her decisions relates to events from doing what they wanted to do. or thoughts belonging to our past, we make a This filter is closely connection. If that linked to memories; something was a negative memories it is about the experience, it will be associated to decisions that we a negative feeling, that is, that it will have made in the happen again! past. Depending on whether our decisions Fig. 26: Visitor Center of the Abruzzo-Lazio-Molisse at some point in the past National Park. Interpretive Presentation of the Marsican Bear have been good, bad or irrelevant, Source: D. Papathanasiou, 2014 47 we create some empowering or

The aim of interpretation is to What does the communicate selected messages to audience wants to know? their audience comprehensible and effectively. If we want people to understand our message, it must be What does the clear and simple, and it mustn’t audience already know, contain too much information. Too and how much more does much information is sometimes worse it need to know? than too little. By structuring the message, the interpreter should Why does the audience answer some questions: want to know it and how can it be useful for it?

EXAMPLE Select a person, place, or object, and fill in Why do flowers grow on the ground? “Generally, my asked my 6 year old son! presentation (talk, exhibition, etc.) is 48 Well, I must admit I did not know the about…” answer! Write the thing in more specific terms As we walk against strong wind, and complete the which takes us our power, and following sentence: compare it with flowers on the “Specifically, I want to mountaintop, we understand that talk to my audience flowers face these conditions every about...” day! Then we perceive why these flowers grow nearly ground. With the EXERCISE help of resource (our walk against the wind) we can understand the Now express the theme completing the idea (why do the flowers on the following sentence “After having heard my presentation (read my exhibition, etc.), I mountaintop grow nearly ground). want my audience to understand that...” Sam Ham in his Environmental Interpretation offers two approaches:

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural to support local stakeholderscompetences tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ THE MEANING APPROACH MESSAGE • Why would audiences want to May be the specific animal know what I’m going to population, chamois, aren’t very communicate them? interesting for all audiences. But well- prepared and well-interpreted The answer to this question helps the messages can make almost any topic interpreter to find a way to relate his interesting to almost anyone. message to audience’s everyday life. Jon Kohl offers a solution. It is based It also gives people reason to pay on describing, questioning, attention and learn more. answering, and stating the main idea. • How can I make a good message Then, on basis of these steps, the when I don’t know what do the interpreter is able to make people want? interpretative message. This is a processing, when we decide for a • And finally, why have I made meaning approach: this message when it won’t be useful for the people? 1. Describing the object (chamois): • How can my audiences use the What does the species look like, information I am interpreting to what are special features of its, where them? is this population located, what are • Is my message comprehensible the living conditions etc…? and clear enough for my audience to remember it? 49 2. Questioning (why and what): Why does the statue look li ke that, why did Fig. 27: The Pindos Chamois Courtesy: Ch. Papaioannou, 2008 the author decide to create it, what kind of style did he use, what kind of material did he use…?

When the message is done, the interpreter must do everything to communicate it to his audience well. But it isn’t enough for a successful interpretation. The interpreter must prepare himself well, too. He knows that he will communicate with audiences, he will speak with them, and he will show them his presentation. Finally, they will appreciate his show, and they will like it or not. The interpreter will be in contact with his audiences, therefore he should know something about them, and he should find answers to some questions:

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural to support local stakeholderscompetences tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ artefact, what does the audience AUDIENCE imagine in his mind? • Who are the audiences coming to the program? INTERPRETER • What is their age level? • Is my look appropriate to my interpretation? Doesn’t my look, • Are there some children among my clothes, or my behaviour offend them? my audiences? • What are they interested in? • What they already know? This question is focused on • How much time do they have? interpreter’s image and on first impression of his audience. Answer to • What is their health condition? this question will help him to choose • Is there a special group among appropriate behaviour in contact with them (people with health his audience, and will make him sure problems)? What is their education that audiences have good impression level? of him and his program.

This question and all the related What can I use to make my questions are specifically focused on • interpretation more interesting? audiences. Answers to these questions Can I use some traditional clothes, should help the interpreter know his can I sing some folk songs, or can audience better, and according to I speak a language of local 50 that he should adapt his interpretation people, characteristic for and communicate his message. interpreted locality? Can I even According to their age and their health use local people for my show? condition, the interpreter chooses appropriate difficulty and length of his The answer to this question will help the presentation. interpreter to choose some specifics of the site and use them in his • How much are the audiences able presentation. Using all the specifics of to learn? How much are they able interpreted site (or place, artefact, to remember interpretation monument) is a good way to make the presented to them? interpretation interesting. • Have my audiences ever been to any other sites (historical places, 3. Answering (specially the more museums)? Have they ever seen interesting questions): The statue an animal (artefact, statue) like looks like that, because the author this? Where/what was it? wanted to express his attitude to • If the interpreter knows an answer something (war, for example). The to this question (and if the answer is author decided to create it, because positive), he could use their he wanted to remind some historical knowledge in his interpretation event (victory in a battle). The author and compare it with interpreted used baroque style. For creating the site. statue the author used stone (wood, clay). • What about audiences’ imagination? When I describe an

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural to support local stakeholders strategic innovation in heritage tourism

2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ 4. Stating the main idea. “The statue 5. Choose the best idea. “The statue doesn’t remind just the victory of the is a symbol of victory of the peace army in the battle. It even represents over the war.” a victory of whole nation in the war and reaching the peace.” 6. Write the message. “The statue represents the change of human mind from a long for war to a long for peace. 3.3 Critical issues

If the interpretive offer Report: Mass executions in the villages addresses an audience with specific of Kerpini, Rogoi, Zachlorou, Mega needs, such as visually impaired Spilaio, Souvardo, Vrachni. people, you should consult with them 9 December ‘43: The German forces and test your ideas and designs to enter Kalavrita. They lie to the people ensure they work. If you are interpreting there, claiming that they were looking a critical issue (WWI, genocides, for the hostages from the battle of disasters, social and religious Kerpini and they wanted to keep the phenomena), involving representatives partisans away. They said that they of the relevant audience groups in the would not hurt anyone… editorial process it is essential for a They burn five houses and break down quality implementation. another one... 51 10 December ‘43: There comes the Kalavrita, Greece, WWII order for the execution of the entire Interpreting a Critical Issue and male population of Kalavrita, aged 13 connecting to the Cultural Heritage to 18. Consumption Mix: 11 December ‘43: Three German Source: Bridge of Oaths in Western captives from the battle of Kerpini are Greece, C.I.P. Leader+ Transregional buried. The Germans, from now on, Cooperation’s, 2008 allow entering but they ban going out of the city. THE CHRONICLE OF THE “OPERATION 12 December ’43: The Germans take KALAVRITA” supplies and inform the local people that they will leave Kalavrita the 17 October ‘43: Battle between following day. Germans and partisans from Kerpini 13 December ’43: The church bells ring, Report: 86 Germans captured, three of calling the villagers of Kalavrita at the whom injured. Primary School. The people gathered 25 November ‘43: “Operation Kalavrita” are divided into the male population is planned and signed. and the women and children. The men 5 December ‘43: Walking and are transported to the Kapi hill where mechanically – driven German forces they are executed. Kalavrita is on fire. start moving from Aigio, Patras, Tripoli The women manage to open the gate and Pyrgos towards Kalavrita. of the school and escape. 7 December ‘43: The partisans execute 14 December ‘43: The women bury the German captives on Mt. Helmos. dead on the Kapi Hill… 8 December ‘43: The Germans order the Report of the Operation: About 700 execution of the civilians. dead civilians.

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ declare the beginning of the Greek THE NUREMBERG TRIAL War of Independence. • Take part in sports activities at the What the Germans did, such as the Helmos ski resort, on the mountain Holocaust of Kalavrita, as part of the where the Klephts and partisans “Operation Kalavrita” is against the once walked... rules which regulate the relations • Walk towards the Kapi Hill, the among the countries. Thus, after the place of execution and burial of the end of World War II, the trial of the male population of Kalavrita… German Nazis began in Nuremberg. The accused accounted for their Enjoy the present by tasting crimes against humanity and peace rodozachari (Rose sugar), a spoon during the war. According to the sweet made in May! International Law several were There are roses with lots of petals (the so sentenced to be hanged. called “cabbage” roses), small leaves and lots of thorns. They bloom in May Available at: http://www.aitoli and they are not only ornamental. ki.gr/gefyra-filikwn/indexen.php Roses are picked early in the morning in May, when they are still fresh and wet. THE CULTURAL CONSUMPTION MIX The petals are carefully separated from the stamens and they are put in a pan Try… seeing how the town of Kalavrita with sugar. developed after the Holocaust…. 53 RECIPE: One kg of petals - 6 kilos of Indoor Activities: Travel back in time! sugar. • See the holiday resort before the Crush the petals with the sugar until you Italian occupation. get a kind of pastry. Your pastry boils in water until it thickens. • Learn about people's lives under If you add lemon juice the sweet gets a the yoke of the Germans. more beautiful colour. • Listen to the stories of real witnesses It is perfectly combined with yoghurt or of the Holocaust! ice cream. • Real survivors will tell you about the Don’t forget to ask for it at the mass execution of the population of restaurants and taverns of the places the nearby villages at the Kapi Hill!! we visited! • Experience all this in the Municipal Museum of the Holocaust of Kalavrita.

Outdoor Activities • If you are curious to learn about the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, visit Kalavrita on March 21. At the square you will listen to discussions among members of the Society of the Friends and war lords, you will see Bishop Germanos of Patras

TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ OPERATION KALAVRITA: CHRONICLE Fig: 28: The Chronicle of the Operation Kalavryta Source: Society of the Friends. Bridge of Oaths in Western Greece, 2007

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TOURiBOOST Reorienting tourism education with digital, social and intercultural competences to support local stakeholders tackle strategic innovation in heritage tourism 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 https://www.touriboost.org/ Fig. 29-30: Interpreting Critical Issues Visitors Centre Rom-Sicily American Cemetary in Nettuno, Italy SourceQ D. Papatahansiou, 2007