10 years of the Czech National Trust

A blog by Alex Lamont Bishop, INTO Deputy Secretary-General

Happy 10 years! In June 2023, INTO was delighted to be hosted by the Czech National Trust (CNT) for their tenth birthday celebrations. These took place in the grandeur of the recently refurbished Coal Mill, just to the north of Prague, where our introduction to Bohemian industrial heritage also included a special train journey direct to the building from central Prague.

INTO is particularly proud of our association with the Czech National Trust. The creation of new National Trusts is one of our core purposes, but this can never be imposed from outside of the country. Instead, INTO seeks out and supports committed activists who wish to reimagine the future of their domestic heritage sector, as we did ten years ago with Irena Edwards and her newly formed CNT.

Another reason to celebrate in Prague was the completion of our recent programme of secondments around Europe, delivered in partnership with CNT and funded by the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Union.

This programme of 12 secondments exchanged staff between European trusts, learning from best practice about how to widen access to heritage sites across the continent. In Prague, the participants also shared their learning to maximise the benefit of each visit. This important programme has created a series of excellent case studies, which we’ll share soon in an inspirational toolkit. Please follow our social channels, or subscribe to our newsletter, to be the first to hear about it!

12 secondees from around Europe

We are very grateful to the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union for contributing to the costs associated with these exchanges, and to the Helen Hamlyn Trust for supporting the events in Prague through a TAP INTO grant.  Read more about the project launch here.