Project description
A framework for sustainable cultural tourism at a human scale
Consumer-oriented, “fast-food” cultural tourism can prove challenging in terms of negative environmental impacts and social and cultural effects on local communities and ecosystems. Far from this approach, the EU-funded Be.CULTOUR project will focus on the “place” as the genius loci, the ancient spirit of the site, and the “people” as co-creators of its uniqueness, culture, art, tradition, folklore, productivity and spirituality. The project aims at developing specific strategies to promote an understanding of cultural tourism that puts humans and circular economy models at its centre, paying attention to nature, communities and cultural diversity.
Objective
Cultural tourism entails opportunities but also risks. If not managed properly, cultural tourism can easily turn into a “value extractive” industry, generating negative environmental, social and cultural impacts on local communities and ecosystems. This project will develop specific strategies to promote an understanding of cultural tourism, which moves away from a “stop-and-go” consumer-oriented approach towards one that puts humans and circular economy models at its centre, paying attention to nature, communities and cultural diversity. “Place”, intended as the genius loci, the ancient spirit of the site and “people” as co-creators of its uniqueness, culture, art, tradition, folklore, productivity, spirituality, are the focus of Be.CULTOUR.
Wide and diversified partnerships of stakeholders from 18 EU and non-EU regions of Northern-Central and Southern Europe, the Balkans, the Eastern neighbourhood and the Mediterranean, will be the driving force of the project. A community of 300 innovators (which includes regional authorities and municipalities, clusters and associations, museums and tourist boards, entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce, citizens, researchers, practitioners as well as project partners) in 6 pilot regions will co-create innovative place-based solutions for human-centred and circular cultural tourism.
Collaborative “Heritage innovation networks” will be established in 6 European deprived remote, peripheral and deindustrialised areas and cultural landscapes identified as “pilot heritage sites”: committed to the project’s objectives, they have defined clear cultural tourism related challenges requiring innovation, which will serve as the basis for the collaboration with 12 additional “mirror ecosystems”.
Fields of science
- social sciencessociologyanthropologycultural anthropologyfolklore
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementinnovation management
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementcommerce
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.6. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Europe In A Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative And Reflective Societies Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.6.2.2. - Explore new forms of innovation, with special emphasis on social innovation and creativity and understanding how all forms of innovation are developed, succeed or fail
- H2020-EU.3.6.1.1. - The mechanisms to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
- H2020-EU.3.6.3.1. - Study European heritage, memory, identity, integration and cultural interaction and translation, including its representations in cultural and scientific collections, archives and museums, to better inform and understand the present by richer interpretations of the past
- H2020-EU.3.6.3.2. - Research into European countries' and regions' history, literature, art, philosophy and religions and how these have informed contemporary European diversity
Call for proposal
H2020-SC6-TRANSFORMATIONS-2018-2019-2020
See other projects for this callSub call
H2020-SC6-TRANSFORMATIONS-2020
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
00185 Roma
Italy