CIVIL SOCIETY: 276 PRACTICES
The Institute for the Study of Local History and Business History (I.M.T.I.E.) is an Urban Non-Profit Society founded in 1998 by historians, economists, anthropologists and other social scientists and aims to promote the of research related to local history and business history in our country.
The ultimate goal of the project is to present an integrated framework for the development of strategies and actions that could contribute to highlighting the importance of the cultural heritage of ports and their cities as well as the important role they can play for their economic and social development.
European port cities, rich in cultural heritage, are rarely considered tourist destinations in themselves. They are usually gateways for the movement of people and products, while they are often neglected by travel agents, tourism professionals and by tourists themselves as places of cultural interest.
In this context, the project "Heritage Harbor Story Telling - HHST" within the framework of the Erasmus+ European Program aims to develop a tourism and social approach to the port heritage which could become the property of the inhabitants of the ports, strengthening the social and cultural skills of professionals and volunteers who are interested in contributing to their development and promotion.
The goal of the project is also to make all those interested "Ambassadors" of the cultural heritage of the ports.
The project aims, among other things, to create a methodological guide for the activation and participation of the local population in the understanding and promotion of port heritage, produced by the Participatory Heritage Workshops (APP) inspired by the Eurotour Heritage (MCE) project.
Through a series of actions and educational activities for the development of new skills, the goal of the project is twofold:
1. The embracing of this heritage by the inhabitants and professionals of the ports.
2. The touristic exploitation of this heritage, giving these cities a more attractive image.
The priority of the HSST project is to strengthen the social and cultural skills of professionals and volunteers who contribute to the port activity in order to develop a tourism and social approach, with the ultimate goal of strengthening the port heritage.
In order to address these challenges, the HSST project aims to develop:
• A participatory method for the appropriation and tourism development of this "hidden" heritage.
• A training framework for interested parties based on the enhancement of heritage knowledge, the transmission of contributions from heritage interpretation, the development of communication and mediation techniques applied to port heritage.
• An online training tool to continue training processes.
• Application of these training methods and content through the creation of 4 cultural tourism itineraries focusing on the discovery of port heritage in the 4 partner cities.
The entire project and its implementation process is presented:
1. On the relevant website: http://harbor-heritage.eu/el/home-gc/
2. On social networks: https://www.facebook.com/HarborHeritageStoryTelling/
The project is addressed to all stakeholder groups of the port cities participating in it: Piraeus, Bastia, Split and Catania.
Also, the project is open to the general public as well as to groups of experts on the subject.
Common goal: Professionals and volunteers who contribute to port activity
• Businessmen
• Fishermen
• Traders
• Tourist offices and tour guides
• Cultural heritage development associations
• Residents
The project started in October 2019 and is planned according to the European framework provided in March 202
The HSST project aims to develop methodologies and tools that allow tourism professionals, active professionals and volunteers who contribute to the activities of ports to highlight the richness of the heritage of these ports, a heritage that remains unknown to their visitors. . The aim of the project is to enhance the history and urban culture of the maritime heritage, so that it can be preserved in the long term.
The HSST project therefore intends to raise the issues currently faced by tourism professionals in port areas such as the lack of the necessary tools to make these areas attractive to visitors as well as to ensure the long-term preservation and enhancement of their heritage.
The entire project is divided into 4 deliverables, 1 training workshop, 4 days as well as transversal activities (management, dissemination, quality assurance).
RESULTS OF THE "Harbor Heritage Story Telling" PROJECT
The project will enable the production of 4 reference tools to enhance the cultural heritage of port cities and link it to the local economy and responsible tourism:
1. A methodological guide for the co-creation of Port Heritage Discovery Routes: This guide aims to provide a framework for creating training courses and new discovery routes for tourists based on the new skills developed in the project. This participatory process is based on citizen co-creation workshops and local participatory projects, supported in particular by tourist guides, tourist offices or by any local person / citizen involved in the tourism development of the area.
2. A Training Report on Harbor Heritage Story Telling: This output aims to identify the skills needed to establish new harbor heritage exploitation / tourism development processes and to develop training modules related to these skills.
3. A "Harbour Heritage Story Telling" resource center and online learning space: This space helps to promote the project and its achievements in an interactive format. It highlights educational content intended for tourism trainers, tourist guides and civic associations focused on heritage enhancement, combining activities and seminars with each of the content developed. It draws on European experiences in the development of heritage and cultural citizenship, capable of being reference practices and additional images for learners.
4. A list of 4 "Harbour Heritage Story Telling" discovery itineraries for tourists, which will result from the implementation, on a pilot scale, of consultation methods (Heritage Workshop Methods - APP) and educational tools based on a target audience of local actors of 4 partner cities and will be a direct illustration of the targeted participatory approach. This catalog maps and analyzes the proposed pathways and identifies the contribution of new resources being trained under the HΗST methodology. It is developed interactively in the resource center, with audio and video testimonials from trained "HSST" speakers who are deeply immersed in the project.
Piraeus (Greece), Split (Croatia), Bastia (France), Catania (Italy)
The project "Heritage Harbor Story Telling -HHST" is implemented within the framework and with the funding of the European Erasmus+ Program and mobilizes 6 European partners - Tourist Organizations, Cultural Organizations, Educational Organizations - in 4 European cities. The work of all partners (France, Greece, Italy Croatia) will be integrated into a common digital educational tool, which will be able to spread beyond the project to all European cities - ports.
This project involves:
1. France - Tourism Office of Bastia
2. France - Petra Patrimonia
3. Greece - Institute for the Study of Local History and Business History (I.M.T.I.I.E.)
4. Greece - Mediterranean Center for Environment (M.C.E.)
5. Italy - MEDORO
6. Croatia - PROKULTURA
Executives and employees of all Organizations from all participating countries as well as a wide circle of volunteers are involved in the program.
Regarding our country:
1. On the part of IMTIIE, 1 employee and 4 volunteers are involved.
2. On the MCE side, 3 employees are involved.
3. The program also employs external collaborators (translator, graphic arts studio, etc.)
From the point of view of the local community, a large number of representatives of organizations and persons are voluntarily involved in the promotion, promotion and research development of the project (Municipal Authority, Chambers of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce, Archaeological Museum, Maritime Museum, cultural and sports associations, other professionals [traders, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc.], local large and small businesses, etc.). During the first two phases of the project, more than 250 questionnaires were distributed to representatives of all social partners and the 1st public stakeholder forum was held to present the program, the results of the first phase of the field research and its evolution. At the beginning of June 2021, the 2nd stakeholder forum has been planned with the participation of representatives of the social partners and experts on the subject, in order to plan a pilot route in the city of Piraeus, to finalize the content of the training manuals and other learning and skills development tools and to select the volunteer "Ambassadors" of the project who will contribute substantially to the activation of the local community and social partners as well as to the promotion of the project.
The expected benefits for all European partners mainly concern:
1. In the acquisition of creative experiences and cross-cultural approaches to the subject.
2. In the development of networking and know-how exchange possibilities between countries and cities.
3. In their active collaboration with all local stakeholders
Regarding the Greek partners in particular in addition to the above:
1. The project offered us the possibility through the development of our turnover to employ new partners.
2. The project provided us with the possibility of developing new adult learning and education tools, useful also for our other programs under development or planning.
3. The project enabled us to be, once again, a creative factor of cultural and educational leverage for the city of Piraeus, where IMTIIE has been active for 23 years.
