Held in Périgueux-Montignac and Les Eyzies de Tayac in Dordogne, France, the 10th edition of the Training Academy on Cultural Routes has come to a close this afternoon. Marc Francesch Camps and Victor Sorenssen represented the AEPJ and the European Jewish Heritage Route.
The theme of the Training Academy 2023 was “Looking to the Future: visibility, cooperation and sustainability in the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.” During three days of intensive meetings, the Representatives of 34 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe exchanged their experiences and proposals in the management of their respective Cultural Routes to further increase the notoriety of the programme, which brings together more than 3000 members from 60 countries.
Each of the themes, visibility, cooperation and sustainability, was presented by a working group that aimed to prepare the ground and present proposals to develop these crucial fields in heritage management. On behalf of AEPJ, Victor Sorenssen led the session dedicated to cooperation, which offered a report on the work carried out by the working group, the presentation of best practices and a discussion, where participants, divided by countries or macro regions, explored the possibility of carrying out cooperation networks between routes. All the different sessions were very well received and we are sure that they can represent a leap forward in the programme. The conclusions of the Training Academy will be officially presented at the next Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, which will be held in Łódź on 20-22 September 2023.
This year’s Training Academy, hosted by the prehistoric rock art trails, also provided participants with the opportunity to carry out different study visits in the region. We highlight the one carried out at the Centre Internationald’Art Pariétal – Lascaux IV in Montignac. Famous for its caves, the department of Dordogne in southwestern France has some of the earliest and finest examples of prehistoric rock art. Since 1979, the Lascaux cave in the village of Montignac, along with other sites and caves in the valley of the Vézère, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original caves have long been closed to the public, as their condition was deteriorating, but the impressive museum Centre International d’Art Pariétal – Lascaux IV in Montignac presents copies of all the artworks in the caves.
From the AEPJ we would like to thank the Prehistoric Rock Art Trails and the European Institute of Cultural Routes for the excellent Training Academy this year!