Together in Time: Expanding access to heritage

Stakeholder Session

Reimagining Heritage: Inclusive & Immersive Storytelling and Co-Creation in Dumfries & Galloway

For: Professionals working in heritage, tourism, health and social care, community engagement and education.

Event Overview:Join us for a half-day gathering of stakeholders, creatives, and community members as we begin a journey to reimagine how heritage is experienced and understood across Dumfries & Galloway.

With the support of the Sparks Commission, this event marks the beginning of a collaborative enquiry into how we can make heritage spaces, stories, and experiences more inclusive, imaginative, and reflective of the region’s diverse communities. Together, we will explore how to reach and involve people who have traditionally faced barriers to engaging with heritage — including disabled people, individuals from low-income backgrounds, and those with marginalised cultural identities.

Why Attend?This is an opportunity to:

• Contribute to an open discussion about inclusive heritage and storytelling.
• Connect with local heritage partners, allied health professionals, cultural hubs, and community leaders.
• Help shape ideas for accessible, meaningful, and co-created heritage experiences across the region.
• Hear from Commingled and Mostly Ghostly, two organisations bringing together expertise in inclusion, accessibility, and heritage interpretation.

Our Focus:How can we co-create heritage and storytelling experiences that are truly inclusive, dynamic, and rooted in lived experience? This event is a space to reflect, share, and begin forming new connections — all with the aim of building a more collaborative and open approach to heritage in Dumfries & Galloway.

What We Hope to Achieve:We’re not just aiming for a single event outcome — we want to spark a longer-term shift in how people see and shape heritage. By encouraging new narratives and storytellers to emerge, we hope to inspire curiosity, confidence, and a greater sense of belonging in all who take part.

This event is ideal for:

• Heritage and cultural organisations
• Health and wellbeing professionals
• Community organisers and activists
• Artists, creatives, and storytellers
• Anyone passionate about inclusive cultural engagement

Let’s come together to imagine a more open, connected, and participatory heritage future — one where everyone’s story matters.