FARO. Flemish interface centre for cultural heritage

FARO. Flemish interface centre for cultural heritage (FARO. Vlaams steunpunt voor cultureel erfgoed vzw) is a Flemish non-profit organisation that provides strategic and practical support to the cultural heritage sector in Flanders. It does not itself award subsidies; instead it acts as an intermediary between the Flemish government — which sets heritage policy and coordinates funding — and the heritage field, including recognised museums, archives, heritage libraries, local history circles, folk-culture organisations and expertise centres. One of FARO's best-known initiatives is the coordination of the annual Erfgoeddag (Heritage Day). FARO was founded on 1 January 2008 in Brussels as a merger of Culturele Biografie Vlaanderen and the Vlaams Centrum voor Volkscultuur. The Cultural Heritage Decree of 2007 (revised in 2012) assigned FARO three core tasks: practice development, practice support, and image-building and communication. Under practice development, FARO contributes to the continuous development of the cultural heritage sector and government policy based on evaluation and applied research, including the permanent field analysis (the PRISMA study) and participation in innovative research projects on themes such as e-culture and preservation and management. Under practice support, FARO offers services in expertise development and quality assurance, information provision, documentation and management, and audience building and international cooperation, delivered through training activities, tailored advice, a library and documentation centre, practical manuals and a website. Under image-building and communication, FARO coordinates and organises activities to promote knowledge about cultural heritage and cultural heritage organisations, aimed at domestic and international audiences, government and public opinion. This includes the annual coordination of Erfgoeddag, the publication of faro | tijdschrift over cultureel erfgoed (a quarterly magazine), and the management of the Erfgoedkaart, an online platform with information on approximately 1,700 heritage organisations and institutions. As a vzw (non-profit association), FARO operates as a sectoral interface rather than a commercial enterprise. Its role is to strengthen the heritage field through research, advice, training, publications and public-facing campaigns, while remaining separate from the government bodies that determine policy and allocate subsidies.

FARO was founded on 1 January 2008 in Brussels as a merger organisation combining Culturele Biografie Vlaanderen and the Vlaams Centrum voor Volkscultuur. The Cultural Heritage Decree of 2007 (revised in 2012) assigned FARO three core tasks: practice development, practice support, and image-building and communication. Under practice development, FARO contributes to the continuous development of the cultural heritage sector and government policy, based on evaluation and applied research. This includes the permanent field analysis (the PRISMA study) and participation in innovative research projects on themes such as e-culture and preservation and management. Under practice support, FARO provides services in expertise development and quality assurance; information provision, documentation and management; and audience building and international cooperation. These services are delivered through training activities, tailored advice, a library and documentation centre, practical manuals and a website. Under image-building and communication, FARO coordinates and organises activities to promote knowledge about cultural heritage and cultural heritage organisations, aimed at domestic and international audiences, government and public opinion. This task includes the annual coordination of Erfgoeddag, the publication of faro | tijdschrift over cultureel erfgoed (a quarterly magazine), and the management of the Erfgoedkaart, an online platform with information on approximately 1,700 heritage organisations and institutions.

• 2012

  Cultural Heritage Decree revised.

• 2008

  FARO founded on 1 January in Brussels as a merger of Culturele Biografie Vlaanderen and the Vlaams Centrum voor Volkscultuur.

• 2007

  Cultural Heritage Decree assigns FARO three core tasks: practice development, practice support, and image-building and communication.

Non-profit sectoral interface and support centre for the Flemish cultural heritage field, bridging government policy and heritage organisations.

• Erfgoeddag (Heritage Day)

  Annual heritage day coordinated by FARO.

• faro | tijdschrift over cultureel erfgoed

  Quarterly magazine on cultural heritage published by FARO.

• Erfgoedkaart

  Online platform with information on approximately 1,700 heritage organisations and institutions.

• PRISMA field analysis

  Permanent field analysis conducted by FARO.

1. 1FARO. Flemish interface centre for cultural heritage — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2FARO. Vlaams steunpunt voor cultureel erfgoed — Wikipedia (Dutch)nl.wikipedia.org