Rural Heritage for Civic Inclusion and Education

In the UK, Rural (Agricultural) Heritage is represented in different forms since the Iron Age until our current time, although for some historic periods, there is no clear tangible evidence to support the interpretation and preservation of these heritage assets. Hampshire is a rich region with agricultural and rural heritage. However, very little collaboration can be seen between research organisations and the institutions that host and deal with these important heritage assets in order to prepare this heritage to be a trigger for sustainable development and social cohesion. It is essential to stimulate community collaboration and co-participatory research that enable the preservation of this heritage and its role in community everyday life, and in particular in schools education.

Therefore, the proposed work to be carried out between April and July will build on and extend existing initiatives between University of Portsmouth and Fishbourne Roman Palace Museum and include other rural historic organisations. It aims at developing a multidisciplinary co-participatory approach to explore the question of rural heritage interpretation, civic inclusion and educational impact, and promote the university civic partnerships with rural heritage organisations and institutions.

This work and the possible research exploration afterward will aim at:
● Enable rural heritage to play a role in boosting local economy and social collaboration around local matters linked to these cultural assets
● Develop local knowledge, skills and experience and support schools educational programmes, promoting jobs opportunities within the region
● develop better resilient context for rural heritage organisations to operate in recreating better heritage places that in turn contribute to local people’s culture, resilience and wellbeing.
● Diversify tools and methods used to communicate this type of heritage (Exploring the opportunities that the analog-digital intersection modes can offer)