This week, the National World Heritage Meeting at the Grimeton World Heritage Site – with a focus on place development – takes place on November 19–21. Place-development professionals, researchers, World Heritage representatives and authorities, local and regional politicians, and the County Governor of Halland County, Anders Thornberg, will gather for a national World Heritage meeting at the Grimeton Radio Station World Heritage Site. Hosts for the meeting are the site’s managers together with the main organizer, the World Heritage in Sweden association.
– Working with World Heritage is a privilege. They are wonderfully unique places that belong to everyone – now and in the future. At the same time, World Heritage sites constantly challenge us and make us think in new ways. Working with both innovation and stewardship is something World Heritage coordinators do every day, says Anna-Karin Ferm, Chair of the World Heritage in Sweden Association.
Place-development professionals on site
The theme of the World Heritage meeting aims to deepen knowledge in both sustainable management and place development. During the days, Kristina Lindström, who in her day-to-day work researches and teaches tourism, place development and sustainability at the University of Stavanger, will share her insights.
Place-development professional Sofia Mård Ek will also be there to spark new thinking about trends in place attraction. Sofia had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of World Heritage work when she and her colleagues were process leaders for the World Heritage sites’ joint communications project in 2024.
Participants will also learn how World Heritage sites make a difference for Sweden and the world, as different stakeholders share widely varied experiences. Not least, the managers of Grimeton Radio Station will share their insights and challenges around managing and developing a site with tangible and intangible values, as well as natural values, that is to become an obvious asset for the region while also serving a vital societal function.
– We’re really looking forward to welcoming all participants here to the Grimeton World Heritage Site, says CEO Camilla Lugnet. After expanding the World Heritage Site’s Visitor Centre, we finally have the opportunity to host this kind of event here, in a place that has enabled meetings between people for 100 years—and which we will of course continue to do, but also in our own way—as part of our work for a more sustainable and peaceful world.
Date and time for journalists’ participation
The meeting begins on Wednesday, November 19 at 5:00 PM in Grimeton and ends on November 21 at 12:30 PM with lunch. Journalists are welcome to attend the Wednesday welcome session or join on Thursday. Please register your interest with Lena Bager, Communications Officer at the Grimeton World Heritage Site, at kommunikation@grimeton.org.
Wednesday evening programme:
5:00–5:40 PM Welcome to Grimeton Radio Station – our shared responsibility! The Grimeton World Heritage Foundation welcomes you to the Transmitter Hall/Tobias Carlsson, Chair. The World Heritage site’s managers present the joint strategy and their responsibilities. Anders Thornberg, County Governor of Halland County; David Sandrén, Chair of the Municipal Executive Board, Varberg Municipality; Helene Andersson, Deputy Chair of the Regional Executive Board, Region Halland; and Martin Pehrsson, Head of Mobile Networks, Telia Sverige AB.
The networking meeting is co-funded by ViS and the Swedish National Heritage Board, and is part of the Building Conservation Year – 50 years.
These World Heritage sites are in Sweden
UNESCO World Heritage sites can be found all over the world, and we’re delighted to have 15 of them in Sweden! Together they form the world’s great book, where each place contributes a unique story. Join us on a journey from north to south through these 15 outstanding places.
At the very top in the north, we find measurement points in the Struve Geodetic Arc, which stretches through ten countries. Here you’ll also find Laponia and the Church Town of Gammelstad. Next we stop at the High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago, which extends into Finland. Then we continue our journey to the Hälsingland Farmhouses, Falun and the Kopparbergslagen mining area, and Engelsberg Ironworks. Near our capital we find the Drottningholm Palace area, the Woodland Cemetery, and Birka and Hovgården. We move on to the west coast, where we find the Rock Carvings in Tanum and Grimeton Radio Station. Our journey ends with three gems in the Baltic Sea: the Hanseatic Town of Visby, the Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland, and the Naval Port of Karlskrona.
ViS, World Heritage in Sweden, is a non-profit interest organization for the natural and cultural heritage sites in Sweden that have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The association’s purpose is to run a network that supports the management of World Heritage sites in Sweden. ViS is also engaged in Nordic and European cooperation. Through national and international collaboration, we work to strengthen ties, share experiences, and promote development in natural and cultural heritage work. World Heritage in Sweden
