Learning to Have a Heart for Heritage

Portadown Heritage Tours are helping communities ‘Learn to Love Heritage’ with a range of support measures facilitated by the ARCH Programme.

In the wider work of protecting and promoting local heritage it became clear that many people did not engage as fully or benefit as much from heritage due to range of reasons.

Therefore we set ourselves the objective of helping others to love heritage the way we do, and to bring it to the heart of the community and into the heart of those around us. This means investing in organisations and individuals and helping them to develop the confidence, capacity and skills to make a difference.

The Programme has invested in a range of education and training courses to help local communities and others to better understand and in turn enjoy heritage. The confidence and skills this will give them will lead to more heritage being identified, protected and passed on to future generations.

Our Education and Training Programme is entitled HEART – Heritage Education and Research Training. It will teach others to take heritage to heart.

Then our CATCH Initiative will help to develop skills within the local community to help organisations become involved and see their role in heritage work. The programme will then provide direct funding and support to those groups which engage in our CATCH Initiative to assist in running local projects and addressing thematic issues they identify.

Learn to Love Heritage

Heritage Education and Training

We see education and training as a vital part of our investment in the future of heritage.

The Programme will invest in the future of heritage by investing in education and training to upskill and support individuals and organisations as they engage in heritage work.

ARCH will provide resources in the form of additional funding, and training support as well as support from PHT staff, services and skills to help other community based organisations develop and meet need in respect of local heritage.

Training and Volunteer development will be delivered through the CATCH Initiative and the signature Young Ambassadors Project. At the heart of our investment in training is our HEART Learning Programme which will deliver a range of heritage skills as well as new skill such as Digital Engagement and IT skills.

HEART Learning for All

Practical Support and Help

Providing Resources to People and Places

ARCH will invest in community heritage for the future with our CATCH Initiative which will develop organisational capacity to engage in heritage with training and support, then will open the door to direct funding distributed by Portadown Heritage Tours.

Training and Volunteer development with the signature Young Ambassadors Project, will look at World Host and Tour Guide Training helping local groups sell their own local heritage, turning it into a cultural tourism commodity.

Digital Engagement planning and skills development will allow the organisation to be as strong and successful online as they are presently in face to face work.

The overall project will have mentoring and professional services and support such as the facilitation fund management support which will help PHT grow, and in turn mentor and support other local groups.

PLACE

Our resources will be targeted to help local community heritage projects based in Portadown and the wider Co. Armagh area, providing a series of starting points for various heritage journeys.

PEOPLE

Our most precious resource is people, the volunteers and visitors who keep heritage alive. ARCH will provide support and training as well as a range of exciting new opportunities and events for all.

POUNDS

Funding and financial planning lie at the heart of all we strive to do. This was all made possible by a National Lottery Heritage Grant and inspired by them we are in turn funding local projects.