Teacher-training Workshop in the Alsace region

Strasbourg, France, 29-30 January 2003

Objectives

The First teacher-training course organized in France since the beginning of the project in 1994.

The objective of the course was to familiarize the teachers with the educational concept of World Heritage and to initiate a strategy for World Heritage Education for the Alsace region.

Outcome

The teachers who had already used the Education Kit shared their experiences with the participants that had not yet got known with it. All participants were inspired by the activities proposed in the Kit and in general the classroom-teaching and learning had focused on the local World Heritage sites. All the teachers were enthusiastic to gain more information on the World Heritage sites.

The importance of the cooperation between the schools, museums, libraries and other cultural institutions was emphasized during the workshop.

The participants also discussed about possibilities to integrate World Heritage Education into the school curricula and other school activities. All the participants agreed on the major obstacles (lack of finance and time). Workshop proposed some solutions to the situation with its recommendations.

Workshop recommends

• To use more Internet-connection in order to exchange experiences between schools of different countries on World Heritage, and in the purpose of creating networks;
• To organize internships in summer universities under the theme of World Heritage, this especially on unusual sites like industrial heritage sites;
• To take more advantage of the information services of UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre in order to obtain better knowledge on World Heritage;
• To initiate a common project between the several European schools that have sites around the Rhine

Organizers

The French National Commission for UNESCO and la Délégation académique à la formation continue à l'Académie de Strasbourg

Participants

16 schools teachers and documentation centre workers from the Alsace region, and 2 UNESCO representatives.