European Heritage Association, based in Zagreb is non-governmental, non-profit organisation, member of Europa Nostra, dedicated to promoting every aspect of professional excellence in heritage professions and doing it "by power of example". The Association is tiny and will grow only through its own programme and those who assist it. "The Best in Heritage" is our first and foremost activity, but we already established an outpost of our programme. The Best in Heritage Excellence Club, at EXPONATEC Fair, Koelnmesse. By definition we have confined ourselves to activities not covered by the professional associations and institutions. We are flexible, versatile and ambitious.
To count all our innumerable colleagues who honestly do their hard work would be impossible. I do hope that by this simple formula we use annually in Dubrovnik any professional perseverance and hard, innovative work will get more visibility and better estimation in the professional and wider community. We must work for our public visibility and our place in society's value system. The ways are many and to catch the public attention by the awarded excellence is one of them, - working quite well for our cause.
Here are some chosen comments and excerpts from letters we felt describe well our achievement:
...Thank you for a very interesting and fruitful conference. Here are some of the comments...
1.Keep the Festival atmosphere. This is a really good concept and one that is bound to be even more fruitful.
2. Keep the single track presentation format. The level of the presentations was so good and it was great to be able to discuss them with colleagues, with everyone sharing a common experience...
Dr. Lily Diaz-Kommonen, Professor (Media Lab - University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland)
...I had had five wonderful days in Dubrovnik - I do not know how I would have coped without them : excellence à tous points
de vue : organisation, presentations, social events, colleagues. For all this thank you very much. I have already noted the date for next year. My article in ARTE News is under press...
Nicole Gesché (Magazines Arte News & Les Nouvelles du Patrimoine, Belgium)
If I did not already thank you for last year I have to say that last years seminar was probably the best of its kind that I have ever taken part in. Actually there probably is not a meeting like the one in Dubrovnic anywhere else. The projects were really interesting and lots of then I probably would not have hear of otherwise. I met really interesting people with whom I have tried to keep in contact with. Everybody was so warm heartedly welcomed and the overall organizing of the event seemed to work out smoothly. Thank everybody involved for me and I hope all the best in the future. I will come back to Dubrovnic one off these days I am sure.
Pekka Vapaavuori (architect of the Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia)
We wish to express our heartfelt thanks for inviting the Joe Alon Center, the Museum of Bedouin Culture, to take part in the special experience of The Best In Heritage conference, in Dobrovnik this year. It was an impressive success. Its importance was the fascinating gathering itself, getting to know people and exchanging opinions, which has already resulted in professional consultation and a possible visit of a delegation from Zagreb, here in Israel.
It was of great importance to us to tell about our efforts to the museum people from all over the world who were present at the conference, to here their responses and receive the positive feedback about our doings...The information about the conference to be sent out on the DVD is very important, too.
The various presentations dealing with the different aspects of heritage conservation were illuminating and mind opening(...)
Ms. Orna Goren, JOE ALON CENTER The Museum of Bedouin Culture (DAROMA ASSOCIATION),2005
Many many thanks for inviting me to the conference. It was a thoroughly enjoyable as well as educational experiences and has definitely been the highlight of my year.
I was also very impressed by the organision of the event and with the hospitality which was shown to me.
May I wish you every success with the event in the future, for which I will be a strong advocate.
Yours sincerely
Tim Desmond
To Tomislav Sola
President
The Best in Heritage
Dear President, dear Tomislav,
Being so busy by the preparation of the General conference of ICOM,
where we miss you, I have not yet thanked you for your warm welcome at
The Best in Heritage 2004.I want to do it now and ask you to convey my
gratitude to the Minister of Culture of Croatia, the Mayor of Dubrovnik
and all the sponsors of the conference.
I was, indeed, as president of ICOM, very happy to attend this important
event to which I had, from the beginning, given the patronage of ICOM.
And in fact I was right. This conference serves in a very original and
most useful way the cause of museums of to-morrow.
I was much impressed by the quality and the variety of the presentations
and I must say it is an excellent training for professionals who can
learn a lot from examples of the many ways to run a project. Indeed I
consider it very useful for all our colleagues and I believe it would
be so, as well, for students in museology from all over the world.
Please accept my congratulations and thank the team which helped you to
make it a success.
My wishes are that you continue this excellent initiative in the next
years.
May I send you the greetings from our colleagues who are here in Seoul...
Jacques Perot
President of ICOM
I would like to thank you for the The Best in Heritage conference, which was the best organized one I have ever taken part in. This will be a nice memory for me. I wish you strength and good health to continue this work.
Yours sincerely,
Edina Méri
Indigo Resist Dyeing Museum
Pápa, Hungary
Thank you very much indeed for giving me the opportunity to speak about
the British Galleries at the Best in Heritage Conference. The two days
of the conference that I attended were most stimulating and rewarding,
extremely valuable as well as enjoyable. I will be recommending to our
Director very warmly that we send someone to next year's conference to
represent the V&A.
Thank you too for all your and your staff's help in making the journey
and stay very straightforward....
Yours sincerely,
Nick Humphrey, Curator - Furniture, Textiles and Fashion Dept.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Many thanks again for all the hospitality you and your team offered. Being back in the rain of Amsterdam, the sun, beach and good food of Dubrovnik already seems like a virtual experience, but luckily I know it was all real. I hope we stay in touch and find ways to cooperate also in the future; Best in Heritage is an important initiative...
best regards,
Klaus
Dr. Klaus Müller
Kmlink Museum Consultancy
Did I tell you that we were visited by Tomas from the Irish Heritage Council who we met in Dubrovnik last year? It was a wonderful visit and we have kept in touch since.
Also, at a tourism trade show in May we met with a travel agent from Germany who had heard about our museum through a colleague who had heard about The Best in Heritage! That is the power of an event such as yours.
Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Regards
greg
(an excerpt from, the letter of Greg McManus, Director, Rotorua Museum, New Zealand, June 2004)
I want to apologise for the unforgivably long delay in writing to thank
you most sincerely for all you did for us for the Dubrovnik conference and
seminar - both of which were great successes.
Best wishes
Patrick
(an excerpt from the letter of Professor Patrick Boylan, Chairman of ICTOP, 2003)
Encore tous mes plus vifs remerciements pour cette belle oportunité de découvrir Dubrovnik, une des plus belles villes du monde, et ce dans des conditions d'accueil et de logements d'une qualité tout a` fait exceptionnelle.Bravo encore pour l'organisation de cette réunion, tant du point de vue des intervenants, de l'organisation générale que des visites et des soirées, toutes sympathiques et me^me certaines (le concert dans le cloître) tre`s émouvantes.The Best in Heritage va devenir dans les années a` venir un "must" du domaine culturel international.
...
Encore tous mes remerciements, accompagnés de mon plus amical souvenir.
Jean-Marcel.
(an excerpt from the letter from Jean marcel Humbert, president of ICOM/AVICOM)
...we spent a very pleasant and useful time in Dubrovnik. Thank you for the invitation to this conference.
I would like to know when we can find photos about the event on your web-site.
Kind regards:
Judit Károlyi
Duna Museum
Thank you so much for organising the first Best in Heritage conference in the delightful city of Dubrovnik. Both Charlotte and I enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot.
Jasper Jacob, JJA Ltd., London, UK (an excerpt from the letter)
Thank you all once again for a most wonderful experience in Dubrovnik. I wanted to send along this link for your archives:
http://www.siglo.is/herring/en/news/
I hope to have a story about the conference in our local and national papers by mid-October. I will keep you posted!
Bye for now from Iceland,
Chris
I'm now back at my desk in the Buddenbrook-House and tell all my colleagues and my director about the wonderful time I had in Dubrovnik. I’m really very thankful you gave me the opportunity to come. It was a very nice athmosphere at the meeting and I collected a lot of impressions und information. But I also I met very nice people. I found friends, especially from Croatia and Slovenia.
I like to ask, if you could send me some more of the brochure about the meeting. A lot of my colleagues are very interested in it and maybe you got 2 or 3 you could send me.
With friendly greetings from Lübeck
Britta Dittmann
Archiv, Bibliothek, Fotoarchiv
..."It was funny in a way, to sit on a terrace with Outi, on a warm August afternoon in Helsinki. Realising that I met her a year ago in the other end of Europe, at a wonderful conference. Life is great when those encounters can lead to nice contacts with interesting people!"...
Greetings from Belgium,
Ine
(An excerpt from the letter of Ms. Ine Vos from Belgium refering to the meeting with Ms. Outi Peisa from Finland, September 7, 2003)
..."We believe this is a wonderful initiative from which entire museum community of Europe will benefit, our intention is to join you next year. For this reason, we would like to remind you to send us all the relevant information far in advance."
Ms. Despina Evgenidou
Director
Numismatic Museum of Athens
(an excerpt from the letter of June 10, 2003)
"In a changing world museums play an increasing role in the developmentof society. People, more and more numerous, get access to their heritage, that of the past and of tomorrow, through museums. Professionalism, adaptation to the different publics, are illustrated by an astonishing number of new museums or renovated institutions which are examples of architectural talent and efficient and often surprising museographies. THE BEST IN HERITAGE has decided to show and promote best realisations of the previous year. On behalf of International Council of Museums I want to congratulate Professor Tomislav Sola and my colleagues in Croatia for this innovating and promising initiative which is taking place in Dubrovnik, such a symoblic and inspiring city, so close to my heart. Unable to attend personally, I want to greet all the participants to this meeting and offer you my best wishes for success. ICOM values BEST IN HERITAGE event and we hope you are now taking part in the first of numerous and fruitful meetings."
(The excerpt of the letter by Mr. Jacques Perot, President of ICOM to Mr. Tomislav Sola sent for the occasion of the opening of the event on 18th Sept 2002, read by Ms. Zeljka Kolveshi, Chair of Croatian Committee of ICOM.)
...congratulate you wholeheartedly on the success you have made with the entire project...
Cordially,
Biserka Cvjeticanin, vice Minister of Culture of Croatia, October, 2002
(...) I hope you are enjoying a well earned rest after the success of the Best in Heritage conference (...)
I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and thought the incredibly varied selection of projects you had made formed an inspired programme. It was also really valuable to meet so many colleagues from around the world (...)
Croatia is a beautiful country and I certainly plan to return, thank you once again for providing me with such a good reason for a visit!
best wishes
Janet
Ms. Janet Carding
Science Museum London
I would like to say a special thanks to each of the participants for their meaningful contribution to the success of The Best in Heritage 2002, held in Dubrovnik.
I wish to thank especially to everyone engaged personally in this event, first of the kind, for the quality of the program and projects that were presented, as well as for the efforts, which should be acknowledged, and commended. Whether they were session leaders, presenters, artists or discussion participants, the time, talent and expertise they have invested, were key to the exceptional program presented to attendees and we truly appreciate their involvement with this new and dynamic
action.
I hope they will continue to participate in future such events, and that they will find
their involvement meaningful and worthwhile.
With special thanks from
Vlasta Klariæ
Croatian Chamber of Economy, Zagreb Chamber
We would like to express our great joy for your decision to create a complete and well-organized web site. All the participants in the conference will have the opportunity to
watch each other's activities and new projects in progress. We will therefore create a community with powerful bonds and the possibility to exchange opinions.
From the start we were extremely positive about the prospect of creating this site and we encourage you to create it. Of course we are at your disposal for any assistance possible.
I am looking forward to see you next year in the beautiful Dubrovnik.
Dimitris Efraimoglou
Managing Director
Hellenic Cosmos
(excerpts from the letter in October 2002)
...want to thank you for the organisation of such a wonderful conference. I have found a great deal of inspiration for my research project, both in the presentations and the informal conversations in between and after the daily programme. I hope you can look back with satisfaction, and I can tell you that for me the conference was a big success.
Kind regards, and I hope you can find time to relax after such an effort.
Ine Vos
I recall the presentation on this project at the ICOM Advisory Committee ast month, which sounded a most interesting and encouraging initiative.
Alissandra Cummins
Chairperson
ICOM Advisory Committee
Your initiative in promoting the best in this way cannot but further heritage and museum excellence and I do wish you every success with this event.
All good wishes
Yours sincerely
Geoffrey Lewis
(note: former president of ICOM)
Your new seminar in Dubrovnik sounds to be an excellent new initiative, exposing "la creme de la creme", as it were! Very much in the Hudson tradition.
(Stephen Harrison, Director of Manx National Heritage, Isle of Man)
I have visited the web site and found the programme very challenging, exciting and inspiring.
(Hanna-Leena Helavuori, Director, Theatre Museum, Helsinki, Finland)
Thank you for your email regarding the proposed The Best in Heritage (..) scheduled for September. It is a very innovative and imaginative proposal and I would certainly be most interested in attending.
(Ms. Eithne Verling, Museums and Archives Adviser, The Heritage Council, Dublin, Ireland)
I shall send my letter of support for your project to Mr. Manus Brinkman in due course. I wish you lot of success because the idea of "The Best in Heritage" is itself truly The BEST!
Warm regards,
(Dr. Ralf Ceplak Mencin, ICOM Slovenia Chairman, in his letter in July, 2001)
Your circular letter made me quite enthusiastic and I am glad you have started such an important project for us, museum people. I have just sent a message of support to Mr. Manus Brinkman, in my name and that of our National Committee. I sincerely hope you will suceed to relize your project and we are ready to participate in a way you find most appropriate.
With cordial regards,
(Mila Popovic-Zivancevic, Chairwoman of the Yugoslav National Committee of ICOM-a, u pismu, srpanj 2001)
In Dubrovnik, you will be immersed into the excellent experiences that do not necessarily deal with your speciality. Good for you: you listen to your fellow specialists the whole year around anyhow. Here you can get inspiration. Only when you leave your speciality, you start learning actively. Good for you, because you shouldn't have stopped at all!
(Mr. ®eljko Ko¹èeviæ, ICOM Croatia Chairman, from a speech to his art museum colleagues, during his recent trip to Los Angeles and New York)
The working language is English! Croatians might have it translated into their own if we manage to finance it. For the others, - we are sure to be better off next year!
(What the Secretariat reluctantly admits and optimistically claims at the question on languages)
To be inspired and innovative today, comprises knowing about diverse experiences from the wide, growing domain of heritage care and communication ....
(Mr. Jacques Perot, President of ICOM, in his speech to the members of ICOM Croatia, during his visit to Dubrovnik and Zagreb in February 2002)
Would you be kind enough to spread these news as far and wide as you can? Dubrovnik has healed its wounds but this way you help it regain its vitality. Giving life back is what we do, don't we? So, let us all meet there and enjoy ourselves it this enchanted place.
(Mr. Tomislav ©ola, in his speech at the meeting of CEICOM in Brussels, in December 2001)
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