Maximising economic returns from Ballarat’s heritage base

Ballarat is set to gain from the solution-driven discussions set to take place at an international level later this year.

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh will present at the 16th World Conference of Historical Cities with the intention of bringing back ideas, lessons and solutions to challenges such as Ballarat’s population growth, changing economy and demographics, and culture change to further develop our historic city and, importantly build beneficial relationships with cities from around the world.

Cr McIntosh will come together with leaders from global cities in September to discuss the conference themes:

The impact of globalisation on culture and way of living Economic development models and methods focussing on tourism in historical cities The role of local government to maintain cultural diversity and identity in a globalising world Efforts of historical cities in using new communication tools including social media in a global society.

As a member of the Board of Directors, the City of Ballarat will also be participating in the League of Historical Cities Board of Directors meeting.

Cr McIntosh said attendance at the conference and board meeting provided significant economic and social benefits for Ballarat, which have been recently backed up by an assessment undertaken of the benefits of attending these events in the past.

“For every dollar the City of Ballarat spends on participating in the League of Historical Cities, three dollars is returned to the Ballarat economy,” she said.

“Since joining in 1998, we have established very important international connections which have resulted in direct trade, investment and research opportunities for the region’s businesses and organisations exporting to the world.

“It also provides the opportunity to create new economic and trade partnerships, discuss leveraging economic, social and cultural benefits from heritage assets and new community-led approaches for our changing city.”

Cr McIntosh said it was important, as a council, not to get to a stage where the city’s heritage ‘personality’ was compromised by rapid population growth – a significant challenge also being experienced, and proactively dealt with, by some other historical cities around the world.

With large amounts of heritage investment occurring in Ballarat at the moment, she highlighted the importance of learning how best to manage that investment from world class experts.

“The pressure is on us as a council to look after our historical city, and what better way to learn how to do this than to hear directly from those cities who have already successfully done so, and also share our experiences in leading new approaches to growth in our city” she said.

“We have previously gained much insight from hearing form other members’ examples, both good and bad, of how best to maximise economic returns from a city’s heritage base – including through the development of technology.”

She added tangible benefits have come out of previous League of Historical Cities meetings, including joining UNESCO’s Historic Urban Landscape pilot program that equips the City of Ballarat to embed heritage in the city’s future, and being a member of the worldwide United Nations Global Compact program which advocates for a wide range of social justice and sustainability issues and broadens opportunities for investment.

The League of Historical Cities was established in Kyoto, Japan, in 1987 with the aim of exchanging knowledge and experience between historic cities.

By July this year, the League of Historical Cities’ membership is 115 cities from 65 countries and regions of the world.

Ballarat joined the League of Historical Cities in 1998 and has played a key role since 2006, hosting the 10th World Conference and being elected to the Board of Directors. It is also one of only three Australian cities to be accorded membership.

At the 14th League of Historical Cities conference, Ballarat established an important sister-city relationship with the Yangzhou government in China.

The City of Ballarat is likely to make a bid for the 2020 World League of Historical Cities Conference to be held in Ballarat.

The city generated $145,000 when it hosted 200 delegates in 2006, with similar economic benefits expected if it were to secure the 2020 conference, and all the added advantages of bringing cities from all around the world to Ballarat.

Making the most of a single visit

Prior to 16th World Conference of Historical Cities, Cr McIntosh will visit one of the Creative City capitals of the world, Paris.

During this short visit, the Mayor will meet with the Australian ambassador to France who will guide Cr McIntosh on a journey of the city’s arts and events scene – including the popular under and above ground key tourism drivers.

“When it comes to creative genius, Paris leads the way. It’s become a thriving centre for art, fashion and culture which draws in more than 30 million visitors each year,” Cr McIntosh said.

“This goes straight to the heart of our Creative City Strategy, which we are developing as a long-term plan to elevate conversation around our creative sectors and to enhance our reputation as regional Australia’s leading creative city.

“And who better to learn from, than a city which has been doing this so successfully for so long.”

Part of the visit will also include the Musée de la Chartreuse - The regional gallery of Douia where the French masterworks Into Light, currently on display at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, originated.

“We will be talking about future opportunities to exchange work. We know how popular this exhibition has been for the Art Gallery of Ballarat and what an opportunity it would be to then see our exhibitions on display in Douia,” she said.

“We know creative sectors can play an integral part in Ballarat’s economy and culture, and an exchange such as this would go as far as putting us on yet another international pedestal.”

Another significant day trip will be to Cornwall to see the Eden Project – a global garden grown from the depths of the old clay quarries and to meet with the people managing the Cornwall West Devon World Heritage Mining Landscape, and to explore the Bath World Heritage Trail.

“There is so much to gain from seeing first hand how single locations can be transformed into places of global significance, with the ability to tell visitors a cultural story while conserving the area for generations to come,” Cr McIntosh said.

“We have a premier National Heritage Region right here in our own backyard, and there are 13 local Councils who agree the Central Victorian Goldfields deserves World Heritage Listing.

“I want to come back with more knowledge of how a site’s unique history can be recognised and celebrated so we can make a strong bid to achieve international heritage recognition and strengthen the economy of this iconic region.”

Being heritage listed would bring economic benefits of up to $68 million annually, create jobs, attract private sector investment, provide opportunities for learning and education assets, improve conservation of and regenerate unique heritage assets, streetscapes and places, and regenerate the entire region.

Before arriving in Bursa, Cr McIntosh will also visit a waste to energy facility at Slough in the UK. It’s here she will speak with representatives from the local Council about how the facility was integrated into the community and has now become an accepted way of managing waste.

“Waste to Energy is so new to Australians, but as a city we are rapidly advancing our position as a new energy innovation leader, and as a growth base for energy companies,” Cr McIntosh said.

“I think an opportunity to hear from those who went through the process of constructing a facility, similar to the one proposed at the Ballarat West Employment Zone, will only benefit our future planning and help better inform our residents.”

The lessons learnt, and knowledge gained during this trip will be developed into an easy-to-read document for community members later this year.

Cr McIntosh will leave for Europe on Sunday evening, with accommodation and the conference paid for by the World League of Historical Cities.

The Mayor will travel to Paris to visit:

Centre Pompidou Acting Australian Ambassador Angus McKenzie Les Docks – Cité de la Mode et du Design Waste to Energy Plant SYCTOM Musée de la Chartreuse

This visit is linked to the following Council Plan Actions and Objectives:

Strengthen global partnerships and cultural relationships to create investment and job opportunities Adopt and deliver the Heritage Plan using the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach Develop Ballarat as a leader in adaptive businesses capability, innovative manufacturing, arts and tourism Art Gallery of Ballarat Strategic Plan 2014-18 Arts and Cultural activities and institutions such as MADE, Art Gallery of Ballarat and Her Majesty’s Theatre Advance major projects including Waste to Energy Facility Deliver headline actions from the Ballarat Strategy including Waste to Energy Facility Sustainable waste management and reduced environmental impact

The Mayor will travel to London, Bath and Cornwell to visit:

Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Office Lakeside Energy to Waste Plant, Slough

The Mayor will travel to Bursa, Turkey to:

Present to the World League of Historical Cities Conference Participate as a Board Member and Director of the League

A good example of an overseas relationship

This year the City of Ballarat celebrates it’s 30th anniversary of its Sister City relationship with Inagawa.

Ballarat and the town of Inagawa entered into a formal Sister City Agreement on 1 August 1988, making a commitment to strengthen relationships and promoting cultural opportunities.

This Sister City relationship is viewed as one of the strongest in Australia, attracting significant acknowledgement and reaffirmation during key milestones and anniversaries.   

  

Many schools, community groups, organisations and individuals have all benefit culturally from Ballarat’s relationship with Japan.

To celebrate the 30-year relationship, the City of Ballarat will host a delegation from the Town of Inagawa in October, led by Mayor Choji Fukuda. 

This opportunity will be used to highlight the range of projects and activities undertaken over the last thirty years and to further commit to working together to enhance that relationship into the future.

Some of these achievements include:

promoting International Education by continuing to pursue opportunities through the Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) program, an exchange student program and staff exchanges from each city. These people will be encouraged to become goodwill ambassadors and promote the understanding of each other’s culture and history promoting arts and cultural development through the mutual exchange of artwork promoting tourism between our cities through further information exchange and development of ideas including a focus on mining history.Earlier this month, students from Inagawa Junior High School visited Ballarat’s Town Hall as part of the 2018 30-year celebrations.This is the 16th occasion students from Inagawa Junior High School have visited Ballarat.A special photographic exhibition - held in two cities spanning two countries - will also be held to mark the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the official Sister City agreement between Ballarat and Inagawa. Ballarat residents are invited to enter the amateur photographic exhibition. Inagawa residents will also be invited to enter a reciprocal amateur photographic competition in their own city.  To submit an application, applicants are invited to choose from and interpret one of three themes – Sisters, Our Town or Harmony. 

Entries can be submitted in two categories – School Student Amateur Under 18 and Open Amateur 18+. 

 

Applications close on Friday 14 September, 2018. Download the exhibition guidelines and complete the entry form to enter at http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/media/4513534/guidelines2018.pdf

The Ballarat exhibition will take place as part of the official 30th Anniversary celebrations on 22 October, 2018. 

Similar benefits have also been achieved through the relationship with Ainaro, East Timor, including various local government delegations, school exchanges and forums, and the development of the Ballarat-Ainaro Community Action Plan 2012-2017.

For more information about these relationships please visit: ballarat.vic.gov.au