From 9 to 13 March the world largest tourism trade fair, ITB, took place in Berlin. Poland was, for the first time, the official partner country of the fair. In addition to the exhibition pavilion at the fair ground, several different exhibitions and presentations took place all over Berlin.

On invitation of the Marshal Office of the Silesian Voivodeship the ERIH network will hold its annual conference and General Assembly at one of the Polish Anchor Points. Programme and organisational details will shortly be available.

The conference was held in co-operation with the TICCIH Tourism Section and at the kind invitation of the Museu de la Ciencia i de la Tecnica de Catalunya (mNACTEC), the Catalan Museum of Science and Technology, which is made up of different industrial museums across Catalonia. The central site of the museum where presentations were given on the first day of the conference is the Vapor Aymerich Amat i Jover textile mill in Terrassa, an outstanding conversion of a 1909 Modernista building. The 12 presentations on the theme of “Industrial Heritage Tourism – Examples of Best Practice” provided details of the wide range of activity and good practice that is taking place in this area across Europe, and one example from the United States.

Continued exploration of the rich industrial past of Belgium again attracted those who joined a five day Heritage and Beer Tour 2010 organised by former UK ERIH Coordinator, David Buckley, with Christopher ‘Podge’s Pollard.

It is possible to appreciate why Belgium became the first European country after Britain to adopt and take forward the advances brought by the Industrial Revolution by investigating the material culture from which industry developed. As the tour group found, there is no better place to start this search than the Open Air Museum at Bokrijk, near Hasselt in Limburg Province.

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On July 5th 2010 the formal announcement of the results of the plebiscite "Ambassador of Silesia" took place. The Historic "Guido" Coal Mine has became the winner in the category "Place". This creditable title is a great honor for the mine, mobilizing for further work. It proves, that the "Guido" mine, with its tourist and cultural offer, has become a real showcase of the region, and has got a permanent place in the awareness of many people. This success is also a proof that industrial heritage is gaining importance and becoming more and more popular.

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