Welcome to the June edition of the ERIH newsletter, where we look back on various ERIH meetings: the gathering of the ERIH steering group for the EU project SHINE4Future in Spain as well as the national ERIH meetings in Italy and Greece. We also share updates from the ERIH Young Professionals (YP) and reports on two exciting workshops: the interregional German discussion platform ‘WERKSTATT Industriekultur’ [Industrial Heritage Workshop] at the ERIH Anchor Point Ferropolis and a workshop on cultural routes in Taiwan, attended by ERIH. Finally, we provide information on new content on the website and upcoming events.

The topics at a glance:

• ERIH Board: Meeting of the Project Management Group in Terrassa (ES)
• ERIH Italy: Report from the National ERIH Meeting in Bologna (IT)
• ERIH Greece: Report from the National ERIH Meeting in Thessaloniki (GR)
• ERIH Young Professionals (YP): New spokespersons
• ERIH Partner: Review of the Industrial Heritage Workshop 2025 in Ferropolis (DE)
• ERIH Network: Taiwan – International workshop on the development of regional routes
• ERIH Website: New biographies and essays
• ERIH Calendar: Save the date

From 22 to 23 May, the steering group (project management group – PMG) for the ERIH EU project SHINE4Future met in Terrassa, Catalonia (ES). Topics included the implementation of the ‘Training’ project module based on the example of the already completed Industrial Heritage Workshop, the call for proposals for a follow-up event to ‘WORK it OUT’ and preparations for the ERIH Annual Conference 2025 in Chemnitz.

The PMG holds face-to-face meetings twice a year and uses these occasions to exchange ideas with ERIH members, politicians and local or regional stakeholders. This time, the working group met at MNACTEC, the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia. The museum is one of the eleven Spanish ERIH Anchor Points and a centrepiece of a regional network of 29 Catalan museums of science, industry and technology (MNACTEC).

The MNACTEC network joined ERIH in 2023 as a Regional Route with a total of 19 museums and has now received official certification. To get an idea of what it has to offer, the ERIH board took the opportunity to visit some of the sites along the route, including the Capellades Paper Mill Museum and the Leather Museum and Anoia Regional Museum in Igualdada. With the establishment of the ERIH regional route, Catalonia joins the Basque Country and Asturias as one of the leading regions for industrial heritage and tourism in Europe. It was also great to see Eusebi Casanelles, former ERIH representative for Spain, who passed the baton to ERIH board member Javier Puertas in 2022.
ERIH project Shine4Future: Project Management Group met in Terrassa, Spain

The ERIH Anchor Point Museum of Industrial Heritage in Bologna hosted the annual meeting for ERIH members in Italy on 19 May. Main topics included the development of industrial heritage routes and new museum narratives based on archive materials. In his opening speech, Alessio Zoeddu emphasised the connection between the Galotti brickworks, home to the museum hosting the event, and the Navile Canal, which was once the most important link to the Adriatic ports and is now part of a tourist trail. Chiara Bartalini reported on the progress of the TIPO (Turismo Industriale Prato) project, which aims to promote the industrial heritage of Prato by offering guided tours of factories that are still in operation.

Fabrizio Trisoglio from Fondazione AEM (Azienda Elettrica Municipale di Milano) reviewed the first year of the ERIH Regional Route ‘Po Valley’. Among other things, he highlighted participation in World Water Day as an opportunity to get young people talking about sustainability. With regard to the Geomineral, Historical and Environmental Park of Sardinia, Fabrizio Atzori pointed out that, despite the geographical fragmentation of the eight mining areas belonging to the park, a new mining route had been successfully developed in the south-west of the island. Margherita Concu, on behalf of the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara Foundation, presented the special features of a route that covers 29 municipalities in Sardinia and is part of a European network of similar routes in eight other countries.

The potential of corporate archives for new narratives on industrial heritage was discussed in the afternoon. Finally, Francesco Antoniol (TrattoPunto), administrator of the ERIH Italy Facebook page, emphasised the importance of regular exchanges on initiatives and events organised by ERIH members in order to communicate more effectively within the ERIH Italy network.
Detailed summary by the representative for Italy, Prof. Massimo Preite

‘Industrial tourism and sustainable development: the role of industrial heritage’ was the title of the second meeting of Greek ERIH members, which took place on 9 May at the conference centre of the Central Macedonia Region, a listed building that was formerly part of the Thessaloniki gasworks. The programme included presentations by ERIH Secretary General Christiane Baum on ‘ERIH policy and projects related to industrial tourism and sustainable development’ and by Stavroula-Villy K. Fotopoulou from the Ministry of Culture on ‘The contribution of industrial heritage to the dynamic shaping of the identity of communities and sites’. In addition, various ERIH sites were presented, including the Salt Museum in Messolonghi as a ‘growth lever’, the OTE Group Telecommunications Museum – ‘an unexpected journey of industrial tourism’ – and the Industrial Museum of Tomato Processing “D Nomikos” – ‘From the respected heritage of the old factory to the sustainable development of industrial tourism'.

The event, which was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Region of Central Macedonia, was organised by the Thessaloniki branch of ELLINIKI ETAIRIA - Society for Environment and Culture (ELLET) and the ELLET Industrial Heritage Committee in cooperation with the ERIH national representative in Greece, Olga Deligianni, and the support of the Thessaloniki Municipal Water Supply & Sewerage Company (EYATH SA). In addition to various welcoming speeches and presentations, the agenda also included a visit to the ERIH member Water Museum of Thessaloniki.

Evelyn Sutter has stepped down as spokesperson for the YPs, but remains a YP member. We really appreciate her commitment to setting up and developing this important committee, which, thanks to her energetic support, plays an active role in the six-weekly online board meetings and in preparing and running the ERIH annual conferences. She will be happy to assist her two successors as spokespersons – Rhea Buckesfeld, student assistant at the Regionalverband Rheinland (RVR) and Juliana (Jule) Lux, PhD candidate at the University of Marburg, as well as Augusto de Barros, graduate of our SummerSchool 2023 and co-founder of the YPs – with advice and support. The same applies to Lena Gryz, a PhD candidate from Lodz, who represents the YPs in the working group for the WORK it OUT follow-up project.

The ERIH YPs are supported by ERIH board member Katharina Hornscheidt (HTW Berlin, Berlin Centre for Industrial Heritage). Curently, they are planning a workshop for the ERIH annual conference. They also hold regular online round tables. The group has 15 members to date, with more joining in.

Finally, a big request to all recipients of this newsletter: Do you know any young colleagues, trainees, interns, students, etc. who would be interested in exchanging ideas within the ERIH network? If so, please invite them to join ERIH Young Professionals, either as informal listeners, as employees of a member organisation, or by becoming full members. An online round table every six weeks provides an opportunity to get to know each other.
Contact details and information about ERIH YPs

‘Talk, design, participate’ was the title of this year’s WERKSTATT Industriekultur (Industrial heritage workshop), a nationwide German event for professionals with a strong hands-on focus. The workshop addressed the specific impact of major societal issues such as migration, participation and the climate crisis on industrial heritage sites and the services they offer. In particular, the roughly 50 participants from associations and museums discussed the increasing appropriation of industrial heritage by extremist narratives. How should sites respond when their critical engagement with environmental damage, colonialism, or forced labor provokes open dissent, for example from the far right? What should be done when people with extremist views take part in guided tours and express anti-democratic views?

At the same time, the attendees highlighted the potential of industrial heritage to attract large numbers of people and thereby stimulate democratic debate. This was underscored by the keynote speech “Industrial heritage sites as catalysts for societal change” and the panel discussion on the role of these sites as venues for local and regional discourse Throughout, the participants focused on practical implementation, such as developing and implementing training formats for local staff.

The host, ERIH Anchor Point Ferropolis, provided the perfect backdrop with its giant machines, both fascinating to visitors yet symbols of large-scale environmental destruction. As always, the exchange was preceded by regional workshops and was organized by the Saxony-Anhalt Industrial Heritage Network, the Saxony State Association for Industrial Heritage, the Berlin Center for Industrial Heritage, and the Ruhr Regional Association.
Industrial Heritage Workshop 2025

In early May, Javier Puertas, the ERIH national representative for Spain, and Jula Kugler, from the ERIH member Berliner Zentrum Industriekultur, accepted an invitation from the Taiwanese government and Chung Yuan University to attend an international workshop. Their hands-on experience working with ERIH, particularly in managing regional routes, was invaluable in shaping and developing sustainable cooperation models and network structures.

Jula Kugler presented the work of the Berlin Center for Industrial Heritage (BZI) and provided an overview of Berlin's industrial heritage route. Javier Puertas, meanwhile, gave a detailed insight into the development and maintenance of regional networks in Spain. The subsequent discussion focused on lessons learned and produced strategic guidelines for similar projects in Taiwan. One such project is the Alishan Forest Cultural Route, a historic railway line that is still in operation. It climbs almost 2,500 meters in altitude along its 70-kilometer route and traverses four different forest ecosystems, ranging from tropical and subtropical to temperate and cold climate zones. Visits to selected sites and attractions along the railway route provided workshop participants with an understanding of this cultural route's tourist potential. It is currently applying to be included in the World Heritage List.

Thirty new biographies have been added, bringing the total number of profiles of individuals who have shaped European industrial history to over three hundred. The following three new entries illustrate the scope of this section:

• Oleksij Altschewskyj (1835–1901): A Ukrainian banker and industrialist, he founded companies that built large coal mines, railways, and steelworks in the Donbass Basin at the end of the 19th century, turning the region into one of the most important industrial areas in Europe.
• Hannah Greg (1766–1828) influenced the design of the workers' housing estate belonging to Quarry Bank Mill, a cotton mill in Styal near Manchester, and ensured healthcare for the community and education for working children – ten years before Robert Owen's social reforms in New Lanark.
• Manuel Agustín Heredia Martínez (1786–1846) was one of the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution in southern Spain and a key player in the early industrial development of the Málaga region.

New content can also be found in the chapter 'The Dark Sides of the Industrial Revolution'. The essays 'Industrialised Genocide' and 'Nazi and Other Forced Labour' specifically address the collapse of civilisation in the Third Reich, continuing the critical exploration of disturbing aspects of industrial heritage.
Stories about People: Biographies; The Dark Sides of the Industrial Revolution