INTERACT

Innovative Cultural Heritage the Root of European Identity

Realised in the Framework of the Programme Erasmus Plus KA2 Strategic Partnerships for Adult Education

INTERACT project intends to enter the transnational strategy of cultural tourism promoted by the European Commission, which aspires to realize a series of activities that promote competences and international touristic output. This refers to specific themes with a remarkable growth potential and capable of responding to social concerns of territorial cohesion and protection/valorisation of cultural and natural patrimony. Specifically, INTERACT’s goal is to transfer to operators, educators, and mediators new knowledge and skills about cultural mediation and theatrical and digital storytelling to co-create new products of cultural tourism expendable in the market. INTERACT wishes to follow the realization of these products through international experiences, promoted by a strategic partnership with an organization with expertise in the branches of theatre, design and digital programming, storytelling methods applied to the cultural heritage from Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Project Number: 2020-1-UK01-KA204-078950
Project Start / End date: 01-12-2020 – 31-07-2023

Aims

The aims of the project titled Innovative Cultural Heritage the Root of European Identity (INTERACT) are gravitated in the same direction as the European Cultural Tourism sector policies, which are adopting innovative practices for tourists pursuing authentic cultural experiences. In addition to this there is a commitment to improving service quality, promoting historical traditions, preserving local culture and boosting landscapes and heritage. Based on this approach, the INTERACT Project plans to utilise the transnational cultural tourism strategy promoted by the European Commission.

The European Commission’s goal is to implement a series of activities to improve professional and transferable skills, as well as create sustainable tourism services strategies. In order to boost the importance and increase the knowledge of the European Cultural Identity. Additionally, making it affordable and accessible to a wider public, from across backgrounds and generations.

INTERACT project intends to deliver innovative training and professional opportunities to educators as well as operators who are keen or already performing in the field of Cultural Heritage, through activities project-based learning of 28 months.

The project will be managed by the coordinator FIND AN INTERNSHIP with the support of a consortium of partners. This consortium is comprised of organisations in the following fields: 

1) Adult Education

2) Theatre

3) Non-Verbal Communication

4) Tale practices

5) Digital Media related to tourism

The partner organisations plan to promote new innovative tools, guidelines, and practices in different EU countries and promote activities. The INTERACT partnership is as follows: 

1) YOUTH EUROPE SERVICE from Italy

2) S.C PREDICT CSD from Romania

3) INTERACTING S.L from Spain

4) LOGOS POLSKA from Poland

5) FIND AN INTERNSHIP from the UK (Coordinator)

CONTEXT

The EU represents the most visited touristic place by international travellers, with 620 millions of arrivals (2016 data) and an earning of 167 billions of Euros (2015 data). It is estimated that cultural tourism accounts for 40% of all European tourism; 4 out of 10 tourists choose their destination based on its cultural offering. Tourism could play a crucial role in the development of European regions and reduce the negative effects of economic crises. Services and output created for touristic purposes contribute to the local development by creating new jobs that can compensate the industrial or local downfall, safeguard and enhance the natural and cultural heritage in branches like the artistic one, the branch of local gastronomy or the defence of biodiversity.

In recent years, there has been a general evolution of European cultural tourism, from the most traditional forms, based on museums and monuments tours, to more dynamic and participated forms of contemporary culture usage. While managing this evolution, cities and regions strongly needed to add to their traditional role of culture keepers skills of management, invention and creation of culture.

In the postmodern era, where the tourist has an active role in the choice and enjoyment of his own travel, it is necessary to change the approach to marketing and commercialization of the destination.

Politics in cultural tourism must adapt to new tendencies of  tourists looking for authentic cultural experiences and develop an offer to: 

  • Promote local traditions
  • Care about the sustainable aspects
  • Protect the patrimony, the local places, and culture. With this kind of approach, we are now assisting to the rise of a new “race” of
    creative mediators like:
  • Digital programmers and designers
  • Experts in storytelling methods and theatrical techniques that come from other departments of “cultural industries”, able to project new output and experiences of cultural tourism, applied to the cultural patrimony.

Creativity has become a strategy which cities and regions must expand and promote for the innovation and development of individual abilities. This way cultural tourism can be an alternative method to the serial reproduction of a mass tourism, by offering an authentic and more flexible experience to the tourist.

PARTNERSHIP

INTELLECTUAL OUTPUT

The project involves the creation of the following intellectual outputs​

A series of theatrically guided tours with “guiding actors” wearing historical dresses, will talk about the principal historical and artistical points of interest of the European cities involved.

A series of Legend books, will talk about the legends connected with the principal historical and artistical points of interest of the cities.

An Experiential Augmented Reality app for mobile devices, connected with the legend books.

 

Test your knowledge of the Europe and of the cities, and book your city tour.

 

City tours

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