Zprávy památkové péče 2013, 73(5):472-480

The educational role of heritage buildings under the administration of the National Heritage Institute

Hana Havlůjová, Martina Veselá

The National Heritage Institute manages more than 100 immovable cultural monuments which often form the national basis for cultural and historical values and which include rich authentic furniture funds as well. The Institute joined the program of applied research and development for national and cultural identity (NAKI) as the head of the project "The educational role of the National Heritage Institute: Education as a key tool for improving the quality of care of the cultural heritage of the Czech Republic."
The main objective of this project, which is set for the years 2012-2015, is to create a system of educational programs focused on education in immovable and movable cultural heritage, including historical sites, cultural landscapes, and archaeological sites in order to incorporate the issue into the educational process at all levels of lifelong learning (including primary, secondary and tertiary education). The educational programs, in terms of content and form, will respect the various types of learning, including lifelong education. The target groups of the project are school groups, families with children, the lay and professional public, seniors, and people with disabilities. Educational centers that were established in the first phase of the project in 2012 in Telč, České Budějovice, Kroměříž, Ostrava, and in the historic buildings of state castle Bečov, state palace Hradec nad Moravicí, and state castle Křivoklát will be integrated into the creation, implementation, and evaluation of this system of programs. The later stages of the project anticipate a gradual involvement of more monuments under the administration of NHI and otherwise.
Following the global trend, the potential of the authentic environment of historical buildings is to be used for educational activities as well as modern information technology.
The resulting effect of the project should therefore be to create the conditions so that the National Heritage Institute, through educational and training activities, may facilitate a deeper sense of national and European cultural identity and to improve the quality of active management of the cultural heritage of the Czech Republic.

Keywords: monuments; educational programs; education; cultural heritage; e-learning

Published: December 1, 2013  Show citation