The Aldeias do Xisto Network will once again be present at the Heritage Fair from 9 to 11 October, bringing with it a range of regional agri-food products and traditional and contemporary handicrafts.

The Patrimonio.pt Fair is a pioneering event that seeks to promote the Cultural Heritage sector as an asset that creates economic and social value, as this is a factor to attract tourists, generate income and promote employment.

This initiative involves a meeting of professionals in the area, extended to other economic agents from the Economy and Tourism sectors, offering a synergy that promotes new business and strengthens a market with great development potential.

In addition, the Heritage Fair is also an event for everyone that aims to demonstrate how Cultural Heritage can play a valuable recreational and educational role. It thus presents a parallel programme of cultural events for the general public with gastronomy, wines, music, workshops, live demonstrations of traditional techniques, pedagogical entertainment, talks and debates.

The theme of the third edition of the patrimonio.pt Fair is the Internationalisation of Heritage.

INTERNATIONALISATION OF HERITAGE
This year in its third edition, the Heritage Fair is moving to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra on 9, 10 and 11 October 2015, with the theme “Internationalisation of Heritage”. The focus on the internationalisation of the sector aims to contribute to generating new opportunities for cultural agents, be they government institutions, companies, educational entities, or non-profit associations, among others.

This year, for the first time, the Fair is counting on the presence of a guest country – the United Arab Emirates – as a result of the steps taken with the support of AICEP. As was the case in the 2014 edition, the Internationalisation Prize will be awarded to three of the attending entities – this prize offers the registration fee for the AR&PA Biennale to be held in November 2016. As a result of the partnerships established with the organisation of similar events in Spain and France, the Heritage Fair will become, from 2015 onwards, an Iberian event, linking the holding of the event with the Biennial AR&PA that takes place in Valladolid, Spain.


PARTNERS
The viability of the event is based on the establishment of partnerships with public and private entities – with sponsorship from the Millennium bcp Foundation and Turismo de Portugal, and the Fair also receives support from regional institutions that have enabled the Fair to change its location – the Regional Culture Office of the Centre, Tourism of the Centre, Coimbra Town Hall, and the University of Coimbra, among others.


CULTURAL AGENDA
The parallel cultural programme includes a variety of initiatives aimed at demonstrating how cultural heritage has a very strong recreational and educational value – ateliers, workshops, performances, tastings, live demonstrations of traditional techniques, presentations, talks, visits to the city of Coimbra guided by children and young people from the municipality, and evening events, among other initiatives. All these activities are anchored within the cultural heritage of the Central region.


EDUCATIONAL DYNAMISM
Highlighting the potential of cultural heritage for pedagogical moments of leisure, the Heritage Fair will have a space entirely dedicated to the youngest elements with activities running continuously and offering the possibility of child-minding while parents visit the Fair. This space will be run by the Mundo Património brand and will include activities based on the cultural heritage of the Central region and particularly those of the city of Coimbra.


LOCAL COMMUNITY
The educational dynamism project of the Heritage Fair includes the local community not only in assembling the offers available at the Fair, but also inviting its active participation throughout the three days of the event. In partnership with the municipality of Coimbra, the Fair organisers will visit the schools in the municipality to offer a workshop on heritage, and this will be one of the scheduled items present at the Fair. This presentation of the pedagogical dynamism project of the Fair will be complemented with the work developed with seniors in partnership with Aposenior, in the Fair’s night event that will bring the local community together around the theme of cultural heritage.


SEMINARS
The International Seminar taking place during the Fair is connected to the theme of this year’s edition – Internationalisation of Heritage – and aims to present the possibilities for internationalisation strategies for resources and know-how, as well as to highlight the potential for the internationalisation of the heritage sector in Portugal. In addition to the International Seminar, a series of initiatives aimed at different specialised target audiences will take place during the Fair: the Heritage Talks – with the support of ADDICT and Microcrédito bcp, the HT are the forum for new projects and initiatives within the heritage area – the Tourism Talks Pro – a half-day seminar aimed at professionals in the tourism sector – the Conservation & Rehabilitation Talks – a half-day seminar aimed at professionals in conservation and restoration and urban rehabilitation.