Recherche-action avec les acteurs locaux - © Chaire TVP
The Chair in Tourism and Heritage Promotion: When Residents Become Active Participants in Their Community
In a world where tourism and heritage promotion are often approached from a top-down perspective at the regional level, the Chair in Tourism and Heritage Promotion (TVP) offers a radically different approach: starting with local residents, their connections to the area, and their daily practices to build a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable vision of heritage. How? By transforming research into collective action, integrating digital technology as a tool for participation, and reexamining traditional narratives to reveal what too often remains invisible.
A Unique Approach: Heritage by and for the Residents
Unlike traditional tourism initiatives, which focus on external appeal (iconic sites, marketing image, visitor traffic), the TVP Chair flips the perspective. Here, heritage is not a collection of exceptional objects or places, but a collective construct, nourished by everyday practices:
- Unassuming habits (walking through a former mining site, participating in a local organization).
- Personal stories and family memories.
- Everyday practices that forge a bond between people and their region.
Action research: a living laboratory
The Chair does not merely observe: it works alongside local stakeholders. Researchers, students, institutions, organizations, and residents collaborate to identify, document, and share the elements that make up a region’s richness. This approach makes it possible to:
✅ Uncover hidden heritage (everyday objects, private archives, local know-how).
✅ Generate locally rooted knowledge that is useful for concrete initiatives aimed at promotion or outreach.
✅ Make residents co-authors of knowledge about their own region.
"Heritage is not static: it is built and enriched collectively, through shared stories and experiences."
📌 Specific Project: The Virtual Ecomuseum of La Porte du Hainaut
L’écomusée virtuel de La Porte du Hainaut. En cours de finalisation. - © Chaire TVP
A prime example of action research in progress. Currently being finalized.
The Virtual Ecomuseum at a Glance:
- Objective: To highlight obscure and scattered forms of heritage (everyday objects, life stories, private archives).
- Method: Participatory workshops with residents, schools, organizations, and cultural institutions. Participants contribute objects, documents, and, above all, stories.
- Innovation: A collaborative platform where content is digitized, discussed, contextualized, and validated collectively (a model inspired by Wikipedia).
- Impact: Creation of a living memory, where residents take an active role in promoting their heritage. The content evolves over time thanks to ongoing contributions.
Why is this innovative?
- Digital technology is not merely a tool for dissemination: it gives weight to residents’ voices in shaping their heritage.
- The content is not static: it is enriched by contributions from everyone (residents, researchers, organizations).
- Immersive experience: Users don’t just view a fact sheet; they engage in an interactive experience that deepens their understanding of the region.
What about tomorrow? The TVP Chair's ambitions
Looking ahead to the coming years, the Chair aims to:
🌱 Strengthen the network of stakeholders (local governments, organizations, schools, residents) to ensure more coordinated and sustainable action.
🔄 Ensure the long-term sustainability of initiatives such as workshops with residents, so that they become permanent resources for local communities.
💡 Change the way knowledge is generated: Contribute to more inclusive communities, where residents have greater control over their heritage.
🌍 Shift mindsets: Move from an approach centered on tourist appeal to one where heritage and tourism are integral parts of how people live in a region.