International partners from the Be.CULTOUR project community traveled to West Yorkshire, from Saturday 27 to Tuesday 30 May, to learn more about key events and destinations in the district, including Bradford 2025, exchange successful approaches and build collaborations.

The visit, led by ERRIN jointly with Saltaire Inspired partners, was organised in the frame of the peer-learning activities of Be.CULTOUR, where Saltaire Inspired, an arts charity creating contemporary art events in Saltaire Industrial Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the 16 mirror ecosystems. Visitors from local authorities and tourism organisations in Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Netherlands and Italy visited the Saltaire Arts Trail, including the Open Village and Makers Fair; Salts Mill; Shipley; Cartwright Hall; the Industrial Museum and Haworth.

Bradford Council and Bradford Cultural Voice – a network of more than 300 artists and arts organisations – have supported the visit especially during the reception to celebrate the first anniversary of Bradford being awarded City of Culture 2025, helping to give the visitors a brilliant experience of the cultural tourism expertise and opportunities in the district.

One of the key topics of discussion and opportunity for collaboration was Bradford UK Capitol of Culture 2025. Two of the Be.CULTOUR participants were from cities that have been EU Capitals of Culture – Leeuwarden in the Netherlands (2018) and Basilicata (Matera 2019) in Italy – fostering the active exchange of good practices and lessons learned on the successful management of cultural activities and strategies to build a legacy after being Capitals of Culture. 

On Tuesday 30 May, the visit concluded with a workshop consolidating the synergies and discussions about being a Capital of Culture and sharing new ideas on community engagement and circular tourism approaches.

This project activity will be followed by another peer-learnig visit involving Be.CULTOUR partners in September in another mirror ecosystem: The 5 Senses Open-air Museum of Sciacca, Sicily.

A series of Webinars open to everyone and aimed to give a comprehensive understanding of circular and sustainable cultural tourism practices, mixing on-ground experience and expertise, is also hosted regularly by the project management team. 

Photograph (taken at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery by Karol Wyszynski) L-R:

Serafino Paternoster (APT - Basilicata, Italy), Valentina Apicerni (CNR - Italy), Lana Moorhouse (Saltaire Inspired), Mary Dowson (BCB Radio), Alison Levett (Saltaire Inspired), Daniel Breeze (Saltaire Inspired), Sonja Kietly (Bradford Metropolitan District Council & Saltaire Inspired), Julia Calver (Saltaire Inspired), Chiara Dall’Aglio (Sviluppumbria, Italy), Lisa van der Lem (Municipality of Leeuwarden, Netherlands), Francesca Pozzebon (ERRIN, Belgium), Mariana Calaça Baptista (CREATOUR, Portugal), Veera Kolehmainen (City of Savonlinna, Finland).