TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

4. Mapping the profession of heritage interpreter TEHIC Towards a European Heritage Interpretation Curriculum 52 The initial source of a narrative material, the storyline of heritage interpretation, comes from previous stages. We will then have to look elsewhere for ways and means of communication to achieve a strong alloy of message and delivery in order to generate meaning and awareness towards heritage. The ecosystem for the development of heritage interpretation in europe N ot just any transfer of knowledge generated along the heritage value chain is herit - age interpretation, as heritage interpretation is a specific way of conveying its own origin, goals, rationale, and techniques that distinguish it from other forms of heritage conveyance, such as environmental education, heritage education, scientific dissemina - tion, etc. It is well known that heritage interpretation was born within the context of American national parks, spaces protected because of their natural and cultural values, including areas of high natural value along with the cultural assets contained therein, as well as historical sites: archaeological sites, historical parks, and so on. While the existing historic elements within the parks were already considered cultural heritage, this was fully incorporated into the National Parks system with the addition of the colonial settlements of Jamestown and Yorktown, together with Washington's birthplace in 1930 (Pendergrast 1998). All these sites are managed by a Government agency created by law in 1916, which runs all of them with the basic purpose of preserving the natural and cultural resources and their values, for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of present and future generations. To this end, this agency has professionals from all the disciplines involved in heritage management, including rangers or park rangers, who, in addition to carrying out surveillance and custody duties (that we saw in the 1960s cartoon series Yogi Bear) , develop interpretive programmes for visitor's interest and enjoyment. In contrast, management of natural and cultural heritage in Europe is handled by separate government agencies and therefore themanagement of both types of heritages is, in principle, conducted separately, which also concerns the dissemination and communication of their meaning and values. In fact, the transfer is carried out by professionals whose training background is linked to different disciplines related to heritage and heritage management and those with specific training in tourism that qualifies them to develop any tasks related to tourist places planning, design, and performance: fromresourcecataloguingtovisitors, reception, or visitorsaccompaniment and guiding, which implies conveying a story, a message about the asset in question.