INTO is ten years old!   

What are our proudest achievements? The growth of a vibrant network of 75 member organisations; the establishment of new Trusts in the Czech Republic, Georgia and Portugal; 120 working holidays; five ICNTs in four continents involving over 700 delegates from more than 70 countries; speaking out on behalf of National Trusts at seven COPs .. ??? 

Talking of COPs, Oliver led our small team at the UN talks in Bonn, promoting the excellent work of INTO member organisations in climate change mitigation, adaptation and education.  

Our INTO Working Holidays programme goes from strength to strength with the latest opportunities posted last month.After a wrap-up session on Bali, we are now full steam ahead for the Bermuda ICNT in March 2019!

We met the CEO of the Singapore National Heritage Board who spoke about a recent partnership with the Raffles Hotel which saw the recreation of Kipling’s unmade bed and uneaten curry (beautifully described in this blog)!

June Taboroff has been speaking about the INTO Heritage Trust Handbook at events from NTEWNI HQ in Swindon to the World Monuments Fund in the Empire State Building!  

Family

Supporting our members in the achievement of their goals by providing opportunities to collaborate and share ideas, resources, skills and knowledge; and developing a global heritage offer that celebrates what is unique and special about the National Trust approach.

The International Conference of National Trusts (ICNT) is at the heart of our movement and a key action under the family strand.  You can read Catherine’s summary here and a number of the presentations are now available to view on the INTO YouTube Channel.   Another outcome is a paper by Geoffrey, Eduardo Rojas and June Taboroff on heritage management in Ubud.

Exchanges are another important way to connect the INTO family and we’re delighted that new partnerships are forming after Bali: National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (NTEWNI) with FAI and National Trust for Canada; the Czech National Trust with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, amongst others.

We arranged for Sheila Peterson, Council Member of the Barbados National Trust, to spend time with NT colleagues at Fountains Abbey in September.  Sheila is exploring how the BNT might expand its retail arm and the visit was part of her research.   The Fountains shops gave Sheila a great many ideas and she’s hopeful they will be able to get something together for their February exhibition of historical photos.  We also put Sheila in touch with Maureen Liebl, INTO’s retail guru!

Maggie Morgan, another volunteer Adviser, has just delivered a report for the National Trust for Jersey and at our Secretariat meeting on 3 November we discussed how best to grow the INTO Expert Network.

Bill has been helping the Australasia Regional Group get established – another important part of the family theme and exemplified by the INTO Africa’s recent Youth Project.  The young people’s videos have now been collected and short-lists created – we can’t wait to see how they turned out!

The 2017 Caribbean Conference of National Trusts took place from 16-19 November in Willemstad, Curacao, attended by INTO Treasurer, William White, from Bermuda.

Growth 

Building global capacity for heritage conservation by nurturing National Trusts – new and existing – and growing the movement.

Our INTO Working Holidays programme goes from strength to strength and the latest six holidays were posted here last month and on the NTEWNI website. More opportunities, including China and Italy for the first time, will be uploaded in March 2018.   Julie says we have advertised between 115-120 holidays, which is amazing, and they are amongst the most popular pages on the INTO website!

In September we were approached by a large London-based law firm looking for a team building opportunity for 40-50 graduate lawyers.  Four of our Trusts submitted proposals but unfortunately the company decided to pursue other avenues.  Nevertheless working holidays are such a great way for INTO members to promote their activities, find volunteers and get important conservation work done.

Our latest Small Grant was awarded to the Saint Lucia National Trust in September for a project exploring financial sustainability with the National Trust for Jersey and the Durrell Foundation.  Bill and team have created a new electronic application for future Small Grant proposals – the next deadline is 30 November!

Our new mentoring pilot has started with five pairs across four continents.  Julie Thompson will evaluate the programme in March next year with the intention of extending to included peer-to-peer mentoring.

Membership growth is also part of this strategy and we are pleased to welcome the National Trust for Georgia to the INTO ranks.   INTO’s help and advice has been important and Catherine was invited to a UK government bilateral event with the Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs on 23 October.  We hope to connect them more closely to the Czech National Trust with whom Catherine and Oliver had a update meeting on 2 November, including the progress being made in Prague and their plans for next year.

We also welcome new members, Para la Naturaleza in Puerto Rico and the Committee of Defence the Bickenbach Country House, Bolivia.  Both organisations are in need of international assistance for different reasons.  We look forward to the Anguilla National Trust and British Virgin Islands National Parks Trust joining very shortly, bringing total INTO membership to 76!   We are conscious of the need to reconnect with some of our more distant members, including the Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation who will be in London next month.

Voice

Speaking out with authority and purpose on global conservation issues critical to INTO’s membership; celebrating what is unique and special about the NT approach; and supporting our members with their influencing.

Our main activity under the Voice strand this quarter has been the 23rd COP (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Bonn.  We held six side events working with four other organisations, and Oliver took part in a debate for the British Radio 4 Programme, Costing the Earth.  You can read his blogs and other material on the new web page created by Bill, who has also been supporting Oliver with his blogs, podcasts and social media.

We are making plans for voice moments in 2018 including the development of a series of working papers on topics such as indigenous heritage, the economic value of heritage and government heritage policies.

We have also been preparing for INTO’s 10th anniversary, which we are marking in London on 29th November.   More details about how you can join the virtual celebrations on 3 December will be available shortly – please contact the INTO Secretariat to find out how you can be involved.

We continue to work in partnership to achieve our aims and Oliver held a good meeting with Donald Hankey to discuss future engagement with UNESCO, IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM.

Catherine met a delegation of Flemish politicians on 2 October and took the opportunity to promote the work of INTO member organisation, Herita.

Communications is a key focus of the new business plan and Bill reminded us at our meeting that INTO runs and hosts five websites!  We have been fighting off a lot of ‘denial of service’ attacks but our security remains tight, which is great news.

There will be articles about the Anguilla National Trust, the National Trust of Australia (WA) and the National Trust for Jersey in the NTEWNI magazine next year.

Strength

Building financial stability and demonstrating best practice in our governance and organisational culture.

The governance review continues.  We submitted our application for the new CIO in October and are awaiting news from the Charity Commission.  Bill is updating the Trustee section on the website and Catherine has been talking to people about new roles within the Secretariat.

As noted above, a new Business Plan is being developed with assistance from the whole Secretariat team and Oliver and John will be researching possible new sources of funding in the New Year.   Priorities include the development of our ‘Ambassadors’ programme, high profile individuals who will help open doors to funding and influence; raising the ability of Candidates to full-fledged National Trusts; more technical assistance, particularly training in IT support and enhancements.

Jackie Hunt continues to effectively manage membership renewals.  A proposal for 2018 subscription levels is included in the papers for the November Trustees meeting.