TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

4. Mapping the profession of heritage interpreter 65 Conclusion H eritage plays an increasing role in our lives. One only has to look at the daily press to find heritage as part of the news on political, social, economic, health and wel - fare or sustainable development issues. The shift towards a perception of heritage as a resource has brought it to the forefront of current socio-economic affairs, highlighting the importance of its role in the present and future and generating demand for more professionals with the skills required for its management and dissemination. At the same time, the truth is that heritage is still under-served, and very often herit - age professionals find themselves in a precarious situation. However, given the change in social perception of heritage, from being seen as a costly remnant of history to being appreciated as a resource that improves the lives of people, considering that it is a source of employment that is difficult to relocate (Charter of Brussels 2010), as heritage resourc - es are a source of employment rooted in a specific place and hard to relocate to other locations, greater attention to these shortcomings is to be expected. Going back to heritage interpretation, Miró (2022) describes two main approaches to its development: on the one hand we find a strategic approach, linked to heritage plan - ning with a view to reach more effective dissemination and diffusion, and on the other hand, an operational approach, aimed to communicate with the public and to pay specif - ic attention to each place or heritage item. Just a glance at table 7 on professional diversity is enough to understand that the second approach, the operational one, is be - ginning to be well established, while the strategic approach seems to have a longer way to go, as there are fewer professionals linked to territorial management, consultancy or interpretive planning than those devoted to communication, guiding or education. In fact, there are many heritage planning or organisation projects that still lack an interpre - tative vision and strategy, just as heritage interpretation is still missing in the public administration, on which the present and future of heritage depends. Interpretation supports the professional performance of a wide range of educational profiles, peoplewhowork inall typesof publicandprivateorganisationsand ingeographical areas, ranging from local to international. Thus, heritage interpretation is a cross-cutting and interdisciplinary approach to the multiple fields of work that, in a way, are related to natural and cultural heritage. In this sense, heritage interpretation might become the curricular meeting point of various sectors such as natural and cultural heritage, non- formal education, and tourism, which, from an administrative and professional point of view, are unrelated. It is also worth mentioning that the boost of new technologies in the fields of heritage and museums opens up new possibilities for the professional development of heritage