ERIH Annual Conference 2021

From 6-8 October 2021, our team members Jennifer and Laurie took part in the European Route of industrial heritage (ERIH) annual conference in Ghent.

ERIH is a European-wide tourism information network of industrial heritage. The network has more than 300 members in 29 countries. Over 100 member sites are also Anchor Points, sites of exceptional historical importance which offer high-quality visitor experiences.

Each year, since 2005, ERIH organises an annual conference which is hosted by a different industrial heritage tourism site and focuses on a current topic.

This year, the ERIH annual conference was held at the Museum of Industry in Ghent. The focus was on how industrial heritage sites have proved resilient in the face of the pandemic challenge. Our team got the chance to take part in various lectures led by industrial heritage professionals, workshops as well as themed guided tours across different sites in Ghent and Brussels.

Take a look at some impressions from our trip below.

The Museum of Industry in Ghent, a cotton spinning mill built in 1905.

A guided tour of the industrial heritage in Ghent.

The Bond Moyson building (1887), home to one of the first Socialist Mutualities Societies of East Flanders.

Quick break during the conference

The Visit Minett team inviting delegates to ERIH conference 2022 which will be hosted in Luxembourg.

A guided tour through the museum.

Beautifully colored bobbins.

Visit of the DeCentrale, former electric power plant, turned intercultural arts centre.

Inside the DeCentrale.

An old war bunker hidden behind the pipes.

On our last day we visited Tour & Taxis in Brussels.

The "Hôtel des Douanes".

Tour & Taxis was of the world’s first multi-modal freight transport platforms.

Now it's a multipurpose venue where people come together to eat, drink, work, and enjoy culture.

Our last stop was Train World in Brussels.

The first locomotive (in green) in Belgium from 1835 called the Elephant