Nika Murovec Damjan Kavaš 

Revitalizing cultural heritage buildings through  cultural and creative industries: The Forget Heritage project 
How is it possible to unleash the hidden potential of cultural heritage for im­proving people’s quality of life and at the same time to create new opportunities and offer additional information about management to the cultural and crea­tive sector? This question is addressed by Forget Heritage, a three-year Inter-reg Central Europe programme project. The main objective of the partner cities’ cooperation is to identify innovative, replicable, and sustainable public-pri-their place in the name of development. One of the characteristics of larger cit-vate cooperation management models However, there is plenty of evidence ies is also a higher concentration of the for abandoned cultural heritage build-that precisely such urban voids have the cultural and creative sector. The crea­ings and to give these historical sites potential to become the major driver of tives are definitely a group that cities added value by setting up cultural and development in a neighbourhood. Not aim to attract; however, they need an creative companies. only do blocks of smaller, mixed-age affordable and flexible place to work 
buildings add character and charm to in. The authenticity and character of The project tackles an issue present cities, but these areas also provide a historic (even if not very old) build-in most cities characterized by unused foundation for diverse local businesses ings presents an added value for them historical buildings that have marked and innovative startups. Whereas large that is lacking in new ones. The project the history of the local community in new buildings provide suitable space partners recognized the need of the various ways. This is not about widely for recognized companies that can af-creatives for a suitable and inspiring recognized “A list” cultural heritage ford it, older, modest, and unassuming working environment, as well as vari-buildings, but buildings such as former buildings contain economic develop-ous positive externalities (from social factories, hospitals, schools, or barracks, ment engines of their own. The basic to economic) that derive from making which are a backdrop and often invis-idea of the Forget Heritage project was such places available to the creatives. ible to the public eye. Now in a state built around Jane Jacobs’s dictum “Old The Forget Heritage project therefore of neglect, their historical memory is ideas can sometimes use new buildings. tries to identify such places and pro-being forgotten. The functionality of New ideas must use old buildings.” In-vide information and tools to help tap such buildings is often limited. They novative ideas of any kind always bear their hidden potential with the use of are turning into urban voids and have quite a risk in their development stage, cultural and creative industries. At the a negative impact on surrounding are-no matter how successful they ultimate-same time, it tries to improve awareness as. In each city, there are pressures to ly are. Such ideas always need room for and understanding among both major tear down such buildings and build experimentation: room for trial and also actors in this process, public adminis-new residential or business complexes in room for error. tration and the creatives, and together find economically sustainable models, test them, and establish examples that can also serve as an inspiration to other cities. 

The information that will be gathered within the project through inclusion of various groups, exchange of experience, training, and research will be tested in eight pilot projects, and recommenda­tions will be transferred to other cities. The pilot projects are very diverse in terms of content and space. They range from a multidisciplinary creative centre in the network of historical buildings in the centre of Genoa to an intercultural gardening project that integrates refu­gees and creatives in Nuremberg, for example. In Slovenia, the pilot project is running at the Vodnik Home, a local cultural heritage monument. In the now renovated and previously unused rooms on the first floor of the building, which was revitalized as premises for reading, writing, and storytelling, a new educa­tional programme and the Writers’ Hub was developed. Various writing work­shops and mentorship programmes and other accompanying events are being held there, and authors have the op­portunity to rent one of the four rooms in the shared working premises. The Writers’ Hub programme is therefore perfectly in line with the programme of the entire building, where many links are ingeniously created through books with several other aspects of the cultural and creative sector – from the perform­ing arts and artistic creation to music and cultural education. 
In line with the goal of sharing informa­tion, one of the key tools created within the project is the Management Manual, which addresses both managers of cul­tural heritage buildings and decision-makers. The Management Manual was built based on international experience and fills the gap in the literature on en­trepreneurial revitalization of cultural heritage. It represents a resource of prac­tical necessities, structured approaches, and best-practice examples. The first part of the manual is oriented toward public administration. It contains rec­ommendations for several challenges that public administration faces in man­aging cultural heritage buildings. The manual also offers information about how to set up new kinds of participa­tive development (including bottom-up approaches) and what kind of tools have already proven to be effective in modern revitalization strategies. 


The second part of the manual is intend­ed for use by various revalorization initi­atives and future cultural heritage build­ing managers. A management model for cultural heritage revalorization projects is presented. Step by step, the model will guide managers through all important tasks and challenges – from shaping the idea and goals, to the financial plan and project timeline. The manual is a hands-on guide: it offers several practical ex­amples and its appendices also contain worksheets that can be printed out and directly used as assistance for faster and better response to various management challenges. The manual is available in both Slovenian and English on the project’s homepage as well as on the homepages of both Slovenian partners, the Institute for Economic Research and the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region. 
All other important documents creat­ed within the project are also available at these homepages. Based on previous local analyses of legislation and policies, the project partners prepared a policy handbook on revitalizing unused cul­tural heritage buildings in central Eu­ropean cities. In addition to an overview of national practices regarding the pro­tection and reuse of cultural heritage buildings and relevant legislation at the local, regional, and national levels, this handbook also contains recommenda­tions for improvements, and indicates certain opportunities and justifications for financially supporting revitalization projects. Another product of previous analyses in partner countries is also an analysis of transferrable elements of good practice in cultural heritage building management, which highlights some common key factors in various examples of successful management. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Department of Architecture and De­sign of the University of Genoa and the Culture Department of the City of Genoa, the project produced the doc­ument Guidelines for the Involvement of Citizens in Historical Sites Valoriza­tion. These guidelines were developed based on research and the findings of studies by the project partners. In ad­dition to analysing current operating models, the guidelines also include a proposal for an operational scheme as a working model to establish a plan for stakeholder involvement in cultural heritage revitalization. Within the work package, which focuses on training cul­tural heritage managers, free training sessions were held in all partner cities. In addition, a transnational training model for historical site management was pre­pared. This tool is intended for every­one responsible in order to provide an incentive for development programmes on training and skills development in managing underused or abandoned his­torical sites. Another important project tool that will be put into practice very soon is a web application. The applica­tion will have two major functions: on the one hand, it will make it possible to identify and record appropriate aban­doned spaces in partner cities, and on the other hand it will allow feedback from residents and other stakeholders regarding the pilot projects and the use of other spaces. 
After testing the tools developed in the pilot projects and evaluating the pilot projects through an interim and final assessment, a strategy for cultural her­itage management through the use of cultural and creative industries will also be prepared. 
The strategy will be endorsed by poli­cymakers in the partner regions. After the Forget Heritage project concludes, the manager of the Vodnik Home will continue the activities developed within the project (the educational programme and the Writers’ Hub). All the other pilot projects in the partner cities will also continue, and the knowhow creat­ed within the project will serve as an inspiration and platform for managing cultural heritage buildings in other cit­ies. The project therefore offers several results that are also sustainable after the project’s lifetime. Through revitali­zation of cultural heritage buildings, the project will directly increase the visual attractiveness of the cities and indirectly also the quality of life in them. Through preservation of history, the project will increase the sense of belonging to the community. Furthermore, it will also increase tourist flows and offer several opportunities to the cultural and crea­tive sector, and, last but not least, it will stimulate the creation of new jobs, en­trepreneurship, and economic growth. 
Nika Murovec Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana, Slovenia E-mail: murovecn@ier.si 
Damjan Kavaš Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana, Slovenia E-mail: kavasd@ier.si 
Information about the project and publications 
Project homepage: https://www.in­terreg-central.eu/Content.Node/For­get-heritage.html 
Institute for Economic Research: http://www.ier.si/menu-298.php 
Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region: http://www. rralur.si/sl/projekti/forget-heritage