Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HERITACT (HERITAGE ACTIVATION THROUGH ENGAGING EXPERIENCES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2024-05-31
The future of Europe’s rich cultural heritage is facing several challenges due to various threats including climate change, natural or man-made disasters and lack of finance or insufficient valorisation. Meanwhile, global processes have a deep impact on the values attributed by communities to urban areas and their settings. Access to cultural heritage experiences contributes to social cohesion and inclusion, by strengthening resilience and the sense of belonging and improving well-being. In this view, there is a need for new design solutions that are resilient to the changing conditions and sensitive to local cultural heritage, and to local topographic and climatic conditions. HeritACT considers cultural transformations driving sustainability and explores new cooperation paths among relevant stakeholders, interested in designing a new European way of life in line with the New European Bauhaus. To this end, HeritACT intends to empower communities’ co-creation capacity and to redefine the role of cultural heritage in urban regeneration. HeritACT identifies and enhances community-oriented processes and introduces innovative and inclusive architectural and design solutions and cultural-artistic practices to support environmental and cultural sustainability, and to strengthen the cultural and creative industries through community awareness and policy making across European urban areas of many different scales and cultural settings. Interdisciplinary methodologies will provide stakeholders at 3 different cultural urban contexts across Europe a decision-support system based on collaborative approaches for the reactivation of unused cultural heritage spaces, and/or for enhancing diverse communities’ cultural identity and values.
In the 1st Reporting Period the salient points of work performed and main achievements of the project are as follows. The work conducted in WP2 establishes the context by defining a theoretical and policy framework that emphasises heritage's role in achieving EGD goals from the NEB perspective. This process involved extensive stakeholder engagement to identify key requirements and develop a comprehensive implementation roadmap. Additionally, the WP conducted a thorough analysis of accessibility, usability, and inclusiveness, culminating in a community-led design framework that aligns heritage reactivation with NEB values and community needs. WP3 work focused on designing and developing digital tools to support co-recognition and co-envision practices with citizens and stakeholders in the HeritACT Pilot Sites during co-participatory activities. Key objectives achieved include the development of tools that facilitate these practices and the integration of these tools to deliver the HERITACT toolkit. WP4 aims to empathise with stakeholders to understand their motivations, wants, and needs, helping designers and developers avoid assumptions and gain valuable insights. Key achievements of this WP include mapping, engaging, and activating stakeholders; establishing the Pilot Site HeritHUBS; modelling dynamic socio-economic complexities for decision-making; and facilitating co-recognition and co-envision practices with the community. In WP5 the emphasis is on the design, development, and implementation of HeritACT solutions. Preliminary activities included research to identify site specifications and the initiation of design processes, setting the stage for effective solution deployment. WP6 is dedicated to developing an Impact Assessment and Validation Framework (IAVF) to monitor the success of project interventions during demonstration activities. This includes evaluating the impact of solutions and providing recommendations and guidelines. Key activities involved the creation of the IAVF, preparation for monitoring participatory events and outcomes, and establishing a robust methodology for impact evaluation.
In the context of WP2, the NEB Compendium was developed, as well as a co-created roadmap strategy for each pilot. Additionally, WP2 establishes a solid foundation for activities related to Augmented User Interfaces (AUI) incorporating a community-led design framework. WP3 involved the mapping of the digital tools as well as the development of the HeritACT toolkit. WP4 articulated and situated the HeritHUB paradigm within the project. Additionally, it achieved comprehensive stakeholder engagement through the implementation of various participatory activities in each pilot city, fostering active involvement and collaboration throughout the project. WP5 results involved the exploration of different tensegrity systems for the design of the Green Tensegrity Installation solution as well as scoping the requirements of potential sites for the the design of small scale, lightweight, reconfigurable and portable landmark structures. WP6 establishes a robust Impact Assessment and Validation Framework, supported by comprehensive documentation of the Evaluation Plan, detailing the methodologies and criteria for assessing project impacts. Additionally, WP6 produced documentation for the Independent Ethics Committee Advisor. In the context of WP7: The continuous adaptation and update of the project’s website has led to 7220 page visits, the creation of 6 different sections,11 sub-sections and 5 blog posts. The numerous posts and campaigns organised within the 3 active social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) led to around 741 followers, and more than 80.000 views during the first reporting period. Project presentation was conducted in 3 large-scale European events. Synergy meetings with and project presentations were established to: Imagine Heritage, Auroral (HE project), IN SITU (HE project), ekip (HE project).