On 13-14 June, the Secretariat of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes took part in a two-day workshop on “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the United Kingdom: Opportunities and Challenges” at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), UK.

It was organised by the Nottingham Trent University in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and the European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR) in Luxembourg. At the conference, speeches were given by Ambassador Sandy MOSS, UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe; Mr. Mike ROBINSON, Professor of Cultural Heritage at NTU; Mr. Julien VUILLEUMIER, Chair of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA); Mr. Stefano DOMINIONI, Executive Secretary of the EPA and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes; Ms. Carolina CLARK, Project Officer at the EICR; Mr. Luca BRUSCHI, Manager of the Via Frangicena, Mr. Rémi PRAUD, Manager of the Liberation Route Europe, Mr. George LOVERDOS, Manager of the Historic Cafes Route and Mr. James BRIDGE, Chief Executive, UK National Commission, UNESCO, among others.

Nearly seventy sites and organisations across the United Kingdom cross 16 of the 48 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. The workshop brought together the UK members of the Cultural Routes Programme, Cultural Routes seeking UK members, along with relevant national UK heritage and tourism organisations, to explore the opportunities and challenges that the Cultural Routes present. In several themed workshops participants discussed how the UK can contribute more to the Cultural Routes programme, develop new European partners and networks and sustainable tourism developments. The conference aimed to raise the profile of the Cultural Routes already present in the UK and to highlight future directions for further development.

Nottingham Trent University (NTU) joined the University Network for Cultural Routes Studies in 2021. It is a public research university in the United Kingdom and is recognised as the most environmentally responsible University in the UK. It aligns its activities with the United Nations’ Global Sustainable Development Goals, recognising environmental, social and economic sustainability. NTU sets specific targets for reducing their environmental footprint and prioritises research that promotes sustainability.