What, how, why and why interpret the guide?
Answers to these questions were received by everyone who participated in the first interpretation training in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The training lasted for 5 days (from June 11-15, 2018) in the beginning of summer, just in the midst of the tourist season. However, Carpathian guides, guides and managers of partner institutions on the basis of NPV “Verkhovyna” did not regret time and persistence by learning the skills of organizing excursion activities using the method “Interpretation of Nature” with the support of the Department of Ecological Network and Nature Reserve Fund of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the Tourist Association Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The training was conducted by a team of experts on the interpretation of the inheritance, which was represented by Natalia Gudkova (assistant professor of the State Ecological Academy of Postgraduate Education and Administration), Olesya Petrovich (representative of the Ministry of Environmental Protection), Tetyana Karpyuk (WWF) and Anastasia Malyuk (National Worker) Natural Sciences Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine).
Considering the interpretation in the excursion industry, the training included familiarizing with the history of the concept, understanding the difference between facts and meanings, understanding universal values that are equally important in the development of tours, stories, topics of quests. The students managed to emphasize the uniqueness, to find the secret in everything that is to be interpreted (and this may be a banal stone or a bird on a mountain path), to evaluate possible objects as being interpreted in their own excursions, practicing in the compilation of interpretive speeches, and this is not a complete list of training tasks.
As Natalia Gudkova notes: “The listeners had an exceptional opportunity to critically review their excursions and work of local guides, and also actively worked on creating their own excursion programs in the method of” Interpretation of Nature “. Participants noted the importance and innovation of knowledge and curiosity of the training with the so-called practice of interpretation in excursion activities “.
TAIF and interpretation
In April 2018, the Tourism Association of Ivano-Frankivsk region became a full member of the European Heritage Interpretation Network. Therefore, training in the Vehovinsky NPP became the debut for TAIF in this capacity: a joint organization of a training on interpretation of nature with the team of Ukrainian trainers Interpret Europe.
The new for Ukraine “interpretation of the heritage” is, in fact, widely used and even commonplace for Europe and the world, which improves its presentation (presentation) and use. However, interpretation as an instrument of preserving the heritage and, at the same time, economic and cultural development is also of growing interest in us. The most important role of interpretation – in creating an additional value around the inheritance, which can be applied to any type of heritage (cultural or natural, material or intangible). Thus, the interpretation allows us to fully discover the economic potential and value of the heritage for social development.
Research of this phenomenon and its application role for local communities, including in the tourist development of the territories is given in the manual, developed by experts TAIF “Guide to the heritage economy. From deaf province to a creative place – a crash test for local communities. ” Soon the electronic version of the manual will be presented on our site.
There are hundreds of incredibly interesting and attractive objects of interpretation of the heritage in the world. These include the Bunratty Castle or the Epic Ireland Museum of Ireland in Ireland, or a number of centers that interpret the rich nature of the Austrian National Parks, or the unique interpretation of the Salina Turda industrial heritage in the Romanian Cluj. In Ukraine, the object of interpretation of local nature and heritage culture is the Ecotourism Visiting Center in Yaremche, and the traditions of tree transportation and the uniqueness of local nature are interpreted by the Vyhoda Narrow Gauge Railway Heritage in the Benefit in the Dolyna district of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast (both objects were created by TAIF and partners over the last decade).
No matter how excellent the complex concepts of interpretation of heritage or natural heritage and interpretation in the excursion business were – they are united by something important and valuable – a story that touches everyone and makes them think, admire and explore more and more deeply the proposed topics.
