Bridging Ages conference in Kalmar

Bridging Ages is an international organization in Historic Environ ment Education and Time Travels. The organization consists of people from museums, schools, local historic societies, universities, etc. in more than twenty countries throughout the world.There are members from Europe, America, Africa and Asia. Many come from countries around the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Sweden.

Time Travel to 1809 in Kokkola, Finland, at the Birdging Ages conference 2009

The goal of Bridging Ages is to support organisations and indi viduals working with Heritage Education and Time Travels. Historic Environment Education uses local historic sites and nearby his tory as an active way of learning and inspiring today's people and commu nities about the past. Time Travel is an educational method where the par ticipants research and take part in the life of another historical time period in order to learn about themselves and their society. With all your senses you experience the life of a historical time and site in your own neighbourhood. Target groups are students, tourists and/or the local population.

Bridging Ages organizes annual con ferences. In 2008 the conference was held in South Africa, in 2009 in Finland and in 2010 the conference is going to be organized in Kalmar, Sweden.

The Bridging Ages conference in Ka lmar on 17-19 November is organized together with Linnaus University in Kalmar/Växjö and Kalmar County Museum. The theme is "Applied Cultural Heritage. How tell ing the past at historic sites benefits society." Key Note Speakers are Jon Hunner, New Mexico State University, Usa, Henrik ZipSane, Jämtlands County Museum, Sweden, Radikobo Ntsimane, Univer sity of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Berndt Gustavsson, Adult Educator at Örebro University, Sweden.

About 40 other papers, and speakers from 15 countries will be pre sented at the conference in the field of heritage and education. We hope to generate discussions between people of several aca demic disciplines, museums, schools, historic societies, municipalities etc. The conference will also include a Time Travel to the Middle Ages at a medieval monastry just north of Kalmar. The Commission on Culture is sup porting the accommodation and conference fees up to maximum 400 euros. The support is aimed at the professionals in the field of culture in UBC member cities.