As a small nation, the Isle of Man, in the middle of the Irish Sea between England and Ireland, has given priority in recent year to a re-valuation of its cultural and natural heritage as a platform for its community pride and international reputation. This project provides a perfect microcosm for study of this phenomenon in modern Europe, across the full range of cultural and natural heritage assets. This has led to a strategy to link all its heritage sites throughout the island in a co-ordinated way providing added value to a heritage strategy. My organization, Manx National Heritage has undertaken a series of major heritage projects in recent years, emphasising the interaction between monuments, museums, historic landscape and the local and tourist communities. This has involved projects in castles conservation, exhibitions interpretation and display; development of large new museums and interpretation centres; development of a new strategy for linking monuments in the countryside context for the public. We have won a number of prestigious international awards for this multi-site, interdisciplinary approach to heritage management, - 12 awards in the last 15 years - including the British Museum of the Year Award twice and a special award in the European Museum of the Year competition. A model for multi-site, interdisciplinary heritage management for defined territories of Europe has been created. This model in the Isle of Man has attracted international attention from many other European countries and has been recommended as “a model” by the Council of Europe’s “European Landscape Convention” committee. This model has been a vital factor in a new “national branding” strategy for economic and community benefit, linked to the promotion of a positive national identity. My paper will review how a co-ordinated strategy for heritage promotion and management can result in a “revaluation” by the community of how it values its heritage assets. It will examine how this “new value” be expressed in both local community results, and added value at the international level. The paper will conclude that a co-ordinated community revaluation of its heritage is of great value both locally and internationally in establishing the basis of added community stability and economic stimulus, while preserving the integrity of national or local identity as a positive aspect of “added value” for the future.

2. The Value of Heritage Identity -Local, National, International Isle of Man Case Study

3. Islands: we live in the romantic imagination of the public

4. Threatened and Saved by Transport Links

6. Private Communities, on Display to the World

7. How do we express our heritage value & identity to ourselves, & to the rest of the World?

11. Internal & external perceptions in times of change?

14. Asset Audit

15. Asset Audit

16. The Public Debate

19. 580 km2 of Historic Countryside

21. The “Story of Mann”

22. The Need For Partners

23. Involving the Community

24. Product Examples: Manx Museum

26. Product Examples: Castle Restoration

27. Product Examples: Cregneash

28. The Old Parliament House

29. Peel Castle & Heritage Centre

31. New Heritage Cemtre

32. New Heritage Presentations

33. New Heritage Experiences

35. Emphasising the “real sites” in the countryside

36. Landscape Conservation & new public access

37. Removing the “fear” of accessing the countryside

38. Countryside Restorations

40. Results : New Access to the Historic Landscape

46. King & Queen of Norway

52. Results:- New Product – New Perception – New Brand?

55. The “Story of Mann” - the heritage process in the community

56. Shared community perceptions sustain the value of heritage assets .

57. Stephen Harrison email: heritage@manx.net www.storyofmann.com

58. Results: Cultural Themes - brands within brands

59. Branding: Who is it for? What is it for?

60. The Views of the People