Digital meets Culture

online, 21 April 2023

Be.CULTOUR webinar: Innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism

The Be.CULTOUR project, focused on enhancing cultural heritage and landscape values for sustainable cultural tourism, is launching a new series of webinars to boost peer learning among its Community of Interest and other followers. Various experts and on-field stakeholders will be invited to present and discuss their innovative ideas, their progress and their challenges concerning cultural tourism and beyond. The main purpose is to learn from peers and acknowledge the best practices from the field: where the challenges lay and how to face them. Given that Be.CULTOUR and INCULTUM established a cooperation agreement for cross-dissemination and knowledge exchange, the webinar series is promoted also via the INCULTUM channels and and in the INCULTUM network.

Webinar 3: Innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism – 21 April 2023

This webinar gives voice to prominent guests from academia, policy, business and practice to exchange views and showcase their own experience/experimentation in circular cultural tourism. It will define what is meant by innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism, what possible tools could be used to activate the process and involve the local community in the co-design, co-development and co-implementation of the solutions. Moreover, concrete examples from different continents will be presented and challenges will be thoroughly discussed.

Registration is accessible from https://becultour.eu/becultour-webinars

The list of all other topics addressed includes:

Understanding the European value of cultural heritage: Power of networks – 24 March 2023
Innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism – 21 April 2023
Values-based innovative marketing for less-known cultural tourism destinations – May 2023
Community-led and innovative entrepreneurship for circular cultural tourism – June 2023
Creative tourism and the role of arts, interpretation and storytelling – September 2023
Circular economy implementation in the tourism sector – October 2023
Innovative finance for circular cultural tourism – November 2023
Smart data management for circular cultural tourism assessment and monitoring – December 2023

Relevant information will be published in due time on the website of the project here.

Be.CULTOUR stands for “Beyond CULtural TOURism: heritage innovation networks as drivers of Europeanisation towards a human-centred and circular tourism economy”. It expresses the goal to move beyond tourism through a longer-term human-centred development perspective, enhancing cultural heritage and landscape values.

Read more about the project in the official website: https://becultour.eu/

online, 24 March 2023

Be.CULTOUR webinar: Understanding the European value of cultural heritage: Power of networks

Webinar 2: Understanding the European value of cultural heritage: Power of networks – 24 March 2023

The webinar will address the concept of Europeanisation based on the intertwine of cultural networks operating in Europe. We will discuss the added value of being a member of a network and reflect on the opportunities and challenges faced by network operators. In addition, examples on the benefit from formal and informal networks will be presented, as well as guidelines on how to use the networks to develop innovative solutions towards circular cultural tourism. This approach reflects the ambitions of Be.CULTOUR and constitutes an important part of the concept ideation and development of Action Plans in its pilot heritage sites.

Registration is accessible from https://becultour.eu/becultour-webinars

The list of all other topics addressed includes:

Understanding the European value of cultural heritage: Power of networks – 24 March 2023
Innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism – 21 April 2023
Values-based innovative marketing for less-known cultural tourism destinations – May 2023
Community-led and innovative entrepreneurship for circular cultural tourism – June 2023
Creative tourism and the role of arts, interpretation and storytelling – September 2023
Circular economy implementation in the tourism sector – October 2023
Innovative finance for circular cultural tourism – November 2023
Smart data management for circular cultural tourism assessment and monitoring – December 2023

Relevant information will be published in due time on the website of the project here.

Read more about the project in the official website: https://becultour.eu/

photograhic exhibition in Leuven (Belgium), 3 March - 3 April 2023

Culinary Imagine – Nation

images in this post from exhibition’s promotional materials, heritage photograph therein by TopFoto, Credit: John Topham/ TopFoto. 1951.

Culinary Imagine – Nation is the final outcome of a multifaceted action, following on work with a student group of KU Leuven Cultural Studies in collaboration with the Centre for Agricultural History (CAG) in Leuven: the theme on food culture is par excellence a subject that leans itself to Citizen Science initiatives. The activities include a physical exhibition and a seminar, organized at KU Leuven.

The exhibition is on display at KU Leuven University Library for a month, opening on 3 March 2023. The exhibition is organized by KU Leuven with collaboration and support of TopFoto UK, Photoconsortium, CAG, Roger Viollet of Paris, and is linked to the project CitizenHeritage.

“Culinary Imagine – Nation” explores the building of a French gastronomic identity through the lens of images and material culture spanning from the end of the 19th century to today. Focusing on four inter-related themes, savoir-faire, terroir, patrimoine culinaire, and francité, this exhibition examines aspects of nation-building rooted in food products and practices.

From showcasing the economic and cultural role of local products, to highlighting the significance of ‘intangible’ concepts such as savoir-faire, to tracing the influence of politics and policies in shaping global trends in culinary heritage, in this exhibition we question the construction of heritage, the relativity of history, and the concept of authenticity with an eye towards uprooting national narratives and looking towards hybridity. Among the reproductions, we are pleased to include exceptional works such as the photographs of Harold Chapman, Janine Niepce, Jean Roubier, and Jacques Boyer (to name a few), alongside collections from the National Library of France (BnF).

online, 15th March 2023

A Cloud for All – the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage

The European Commission – DG Research & Innovation invites all stakeholders in the cltural heritage sector in a virtual event ‘A Cloud for all – the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage’ that will take place on Wednesday 15 March 2023 from 10:00 h to 12:30 h CET.

Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture Education and Youth, will open the event.

The goal of this event is to start building a community of practice around the ‘European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage’ where peers help each other enter the ‘new world’ that the digital transition is opening up.

In the first part, the event will demonstrate the tangible benefits of the Cultural Heritage Cloud. In the second part, participants will be able to discuss their views and propose solutions on specific issues, including on capacity building, the opportunities for digital collaboration as well as on commercial opportunities for the sector.

The ‘European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage’ is a European Commission’s initiative that will help safeguard European cultural treasures and ensure that our rich cultural heritage continues to thrive in the digital age.

The Cultural Heritage Cloud will foster cooperation and co-creation among cultural, creative and technology sectors. Moreover, it will bring tangible benefits in the day-to-day work of all cultural heritage professionals and museums, including the smaller, rural and remote ones.

This event is a direct response to the findings of a stakeholder’s survey that took place between September and November 2022, where stakeholders indicated the need for clear information on the benefits of a Cultural Heritage Cloud.

To participate in the event, please register from here.

To find out more about the Cultural Heritage Cloud please consult the European Commission’s press release.

Subscribe here to join the Cultural Heritage Cloud community of practice.

A new booklet published by the European Commission showcases the power of culture and the arts to improve health and well-being in the European Union.

Presenting “Get inspired! Culture: a driver for health and wellbeing in the EU”

European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Get inspired! Culture: a driver for health and wellbeing in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/09124

“Get inspired! Culture: a driver for health and wellbeing in the EU” gathers good practice examples from a range of projects from several European funding programmes, namely Creative Europe, Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. They show the power of culture and the arts to improve health and well-being in the European Union. The projects selected within these initiatives have in common that they build bridges between fields that are usually approached individually.

From art and psychology, to music and care for Alzheimer’s patients, from the role played by design in psychology, to the impact of architecture in psychiatry, the projects pave the way to synergies at the service of a very intimate part of citizens’ lives.

The present brochure epitomises the awareness both from the European Commission and the European Parliament of the power of culture in the lives of all citizens. It has also a commitment on our side to spare no efforts to make a difference in the field of mental health to the benefits of European citizens.

You can download the booket at this link.

Last days to participate: the consultation survey is open until 23rd February 2023

Public consultation on the EU’s Horizon Research and Innovation Programmes 2014-2027

The Commission Services are currently running the largest ever public consultation held on the past, present and future of the EU’s Horizon research and innovation programmes 2014-2027.

Through this consultation, you are able to share your views on:
• The ex-post evaluation of Horizon 2020
• The mid-term evaluation of Horizon Europe
• The Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027

This is an excellent opportunity to share your views and make your voice heard – please do not hesitate to re-share the news within your network of stakeholders, inviting them to reply to the questionnaire and/or share position papers. The consultation is open until 23 February 2023.

– Respond to the consultation on EU Survey
– See the news alert for the consultation

For any questions related to the consultation, please contact RTD-PUBLIC-CONSULTATION-HORIZON@ec.europa.eu

Brussels (Belgium), 27-28 June 2023

International Conference on Cultural Tourism Advances

Leuven, Belgium, 27-28 June 2023

The conference is co-organized by IMPACTOUR, INCULTUM and the other EU H2020 projects operating the area of sustainable tourism promotionolders on the territory. Selected and presented papers are expected to be published by a Springer book reflecting the breakthroughs and future perspectives of Cultural Tourism.

While exact estimates are difficult to make, it has repeatedly been mentioned that approximately 40% of all European tourists make a destination choice based on the cultural offerings. This leads to significant economic effects and has further strengthened the view of cultural heritage as a strategic resource for its economic impact, but also for its role in creating and enhancing social capital and achieving the goals of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. At the same time, economic effects have been distributed unequally – often being more prevalent in urbanized areas – and the exponential growth of tourism (notwithstanding the dip during the Covid-19 pandemic) created issues of both over-and underexploitation.

The goal of this Conference is to further understanding of the sustainable development potential of cultural tourism by focusing on successful policy interventions, new cultural tourism trends, advances in visitor management systems, and new business and/or governance models.

Conference website:

https://ees.kuleuven.be/en/culturaltourismconference

The Conference is organized by KU Leuven in collaboration with the European Research Executive Agency and the projects IMPACTOUR, SPOT, TEXTOUR, BE.CULTOUR; SMARTCULTOUR and INCULTUM.

The book shows as the power of culture and the arts to improve health and well-being in the European Union

“Get inspired!” A new publication of European Union

An interesting publication about culture and its relationship with health and well-being is published on the official website of European Union.

The book’s title is “Get inspired! Culture. A driver for health and well-being in the EU” and it was published in November 2022. It gathers good practice examples from a range of projects from several European funding programmes – Creative Europe, Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe – with the aim of showing the power of culture and the arts to improve health and well-being in the European Union. The projects selected within these initiatives have in common that they build bridges between fields that are usually approached individually: from art and psychology, to music and care for Alzheimer’s patients, from the role played by design in psychology, to the impact of architecture in psychiatry.

This publication confirms the awareness of the European institutions on the power of culture in the lives of all citizens.

Click here to download the book

Last days to participate: the consultation survey is open until 23rd February 2023

Public consultation on the EU’s Horizon Research and Innovation Programmes 2014-2027

The Commission Services are currently running the largest ever public consultation held on the past, present and future of the EU’s Horizon research and innovation programmes 2014-2027.

– Respond to the consultation on EU Survey
– See the news alert for the consultation

For any questions related to the consultation, please contact RTD-PUBLIC-CONSULTATION-HORIZON@ec.europa.eu

The event was organized and coordinated by the INCULTUM Pilot set in Sicily in the framework of actions to promote and upscale the tourism in the territory

Public-private stakeholder meeting in Calatafimi, Sicily

The INCULTUM Pilot set in Sicily is coordinated by the GAL Elimos, and is organizing a cycle of meetings dedicated to discuss the development of itineraries and other actions that aim to enhance the heritage locations and operators in the territory of Mounts of Trapani. On 13/02/2023, a discussion meeting was held at the Calatafimi municipal library between public authorities and private stakeholders, organized by GAL Elimos with participation of COOPCULTURE.

During the meeting, detailed information was provided on the INCULTUM project and on the meaning of collaboration between the public and private sectors. The research experts of medieval studies presented both material and immaterial Islamic heritage for the creation of an archaeological-cultural itinerary in the area and the COOPCULTURE presented its activity as an operational arm in the area in supproting tourism and training operators. During the discussion, the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors for the realization of the project and the training of the necessary professionals emerged. It was also underlined that the general infrastructure for tourists’ use must be guaranteed in order to support further actions for the promotion of the archaeological-cultural itinerary with an Islamic nature.

The objectives set in the meeting include the training of operators by COOPCULTURE to be comoleted by July 2023, the creation of a timetable for the transformation of assets into tourist sites, the organization of a meeting between Calatafimi, GAL Elimos and the authorities of the water basin and the presentation of research and reports on the potential archaeological heritage present in the area.

Learn More about INCULTUM Pilot in Sicily

All photographs in this post courtesy of GAL Elimos