On Monday 11th December Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, will be taking your questions in an interactive audio podcast – the first in our occasional series of ‘Your Place or Mine? Debates’
Following on from the successful ‘Your Place or Mine? Engaging New Audiences with Heritage’ Conference, here’s your chance to ask Simon about his views on involving communities in the historic environment and how we can take on board different personal and cultural views of heritage.
The podcast is a means for you to have direct a direct interaction with Simon, either by leaving questions below (click on ‘Join the debate’) or leaving your own voice message on  Â
020 7 193 2807Â
If calling, remember to leave your name and organisation, so we know who you are. Those leaving their questions as voice will have the question incorporated directly into the podcast!
The deadline for questions Friday 8th Dec. The podcast will go live on the blog on Tuesday 12th December. Once up, do feel free to extend the conversation by leaving further comments on the blog. It’s also an opportunity for the community at large to debate Simon’s answers!
Who else do you have burning questions for? Email us back at this address with names of other people you’d like to engage with!
I work with an urban re-generation project in Southampton. My question to Simon is, ‘Given the fact that England is increasingly a multi-ethnic space, don’t we need to look seriously at what constitutes the historic environment? If we simply pay lip service to the issue, does it de-value English Heritage as an institution’?
As I said in an earlier comment, the community I work day in, day out with, think more of influential community characters as part of their heritage than any building.
Dear Simon,
It is great that English Heritage will be researching and making visible the hidden history at properties identified to be associated with slavery. Will English Heritage consider extending this to identifying and revealing hidden shared multicultural histories related to its properties as a whole? The effort would be a marvellous contribution to social cohesion.
Sincerely yours,
Judy Ling Wong OBE
Director
Black Environment Network
Simon,
I am in agreement with Richard’s statement about looking seriously about what ‘constitutes the historic environment’. Working with young people as I do, there’s sometimes a clash between what i’m obliged to teach them and what they consider their own histories. Being young maybe means our perceptions of time are a lot more immediate than they are as we mature. With this in mind, should heritage be positively promoted as including very recent history as well? If this were to happen, I think English Heritage has a duty to produce high quality teaching materials, and make them readily available to schools.
Regards,
Julie Lewis
Teacher
West Midlands
A quick note from BlogED. Pippa Bailey (Independent Consultant) has left an audio comment. Remember to include when interviewing Simon.
Another note from BlogED. Kati Preston, Multi-cultural storyteller, has left an audio comment. Remember to include.
Simon, why doesn’t English Heritage do more to acknowledge the history and language of Gypsys and Travellers and their contribution to England as we know it today, as they always seem to be forgotten or treated as not part of our heritage.
Question from Brian Hilton, Greater Manchester Coalition Of Disabled People.
Like many other civil rights campaigns, the Disabled People’s Movement often finds its history and culture either ignored or denied when the past is explored. What lessons do you think disabled people can draw from other marginalised groups to ensure that its heritage is not lost forever?
Greater engagement means bringing down, or at least thinking differently about, some of our existing beliefs about authority and validity. Do you think that there is scope to make the process of interpretation more constructive, open and democratic without fundamentally undermining the role of custodian and curator?
Simon,
What single action would you take to encourage young people from different cultures and backgrounds to make careers in professional conservation of their shared heritage?
John Preston
Education Secretary, Institute of Historic Building Conservation
A fundememtal flaw with all efforts to engage the community as opposed to merely serving it are the anolmalies in the funding situation. Long term planning is considered best practice but funding by HLF is not for core costs but for projects. It is difficult for small community organisations to continue with projects over longer periods of time when the staff contracts are short term.