Last week, intrepid members of the Dublinia team journeyed to a conference at Foteviken Museum in Sweden as partners in an exciting international project known as Destination Viking. Destination Viking brings together sites from different countries focused on interpreting their Viking past and fosters borderless cooperation between them.
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| Foteviken Museum, Sweden |
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| Some Viking smelting |
Between commercial ventures and non-profit trusts, the event hosted a range of speakers from organisations all across the Viking world, delivering their own slice of Viking life to the captive audience. Dublinia’s offering was very well received, as Fidelma, the Assistant Coordinator of the Dublinia Heritage Course and Sheila, the Curator and Education Officer at Dublinia, spoke about the unique educational dynamic that has been created between our Heritage course’s programme and the ways we invite the public to interpret our exhibitions.
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| Sheila meets a Roskilde Viking |
The conference was a melting pot of learning, with many methods of Heritage interpretation presented. From high-tech digital endeavours emerging from Stockholm, filling visitors’ senses with representations of the past, to the real life Viking settlement in Gudvangan, dedicated to feeding Viking culture back into the community. The Dublinia contingent also learned that maybe the Viking world might be so big after all, as they were delighted to be reunited with their Viking kin, Georg and the Gudvangan Vikings, who had voyaged to Ireland in 2013 to take part in Glima, Dublinia’s Viking homecoming event for The Gathering.
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| Friendly Viking at Foteviken |
In true Viking style, a hearty banquet was included in the proceedings, delivering a unique opportunity for enthusiasts and experts to mix and mingle. The Dublinia team gained inspiration from meeting people with shared interests, not only realising how important Dublinia’s exhibitions and the Heritage Course are for people who are passionate about the past, but also how both could evolve in the future.
Costume dilemmas were solved, sources were shared and the team flew home with a renewed motivation for collaboration. In fact, so steeped in Viking culture were Dublinia’s delegates that by the time they returned to the airport modern clothes seemed more out of place than the familiar Viking garments surrounding them at Foteviken!
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| Viking fashions on show |
