LocalEU
From local identities to European identity
About project „From local identities to European identity“ (LocalEU)
The project aims at involving local communities – members of the Network „I Care for…Europe“ the Municipality of Aquileia, the Municipality of Recanati and the City of Tarcento (Italy), the Municipality of Bač (Serbia),the Municipality of Čapljina and the Municipality of Stolac (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Municipality of Piran (Slovenia), the City of Rab and the Municipality of Rakovica (Croatia) - especially their youth associations, local schools, cultural organizations and local authorities in participatory activities in preparing documentation on local intangible heritage to be shared, discussed and presented during the joint event in Stolac, in order to realize:
- an artistic exhibition on European Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
- contents and materials useful for the furthering of the transnational European campaign „Small, Great Europe“, launched by the Network "I Care for Europe" in May 2016 in Rakovica, which highlights the extremely important role of European small communities in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage (sometimes called "living cultural heritage").
Drawing on the experience arising from the meeting in Rakovica, the project activities in Stolac will be divided into:
- activities for youth,
- activities for stakeholders,
- joint activities.
The project will involve members of the Network "I Care for Europe": Aquileia, Recanati, Tarcento (Italy), Bač (Serbia), Čapljina, Stolac (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Piran (Slovenia), Rab, Rakovica (Croatia). These communities have been preserving their important cultural & natural heritage, already recognized as UNESCO "World Heritage" or of European significance in terms of historical, social & natural values. Also, these small communities have ancient roots in history, geography, demography & culture and share a common "small town" dimension. Their territories maintained traditions & customs that contribute to multicultural richness -peculiar characteristic of Europe- and represent the cradle of our common European history & culture. Each local heritage is the identity of small community, but united together they represent the multicultural identity of Europe.
After several years of collaboration in different civic projects, these communities have established the cultural network "I Care for Europe" aiming to increasingly involve other similar small cities in Europe.
How project fits in with the objectives of the Programme Europe for Citizens 2014-2020* (general and specific), themes and features:
General objectives:
- To contribute to citizens' understanding of the Union, its history & diversity:
The project fits in with this general objective by the involvement of citizens from small local communities (from 5 different countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina,Croatia,Italy,Serbia,Slovenia) rich in cultural & historical heritage in activities aiming at sharing the cultural & historical tradition of each community with the others. In this way, the participants & their communities will have a greater understanding of fellow European communities and their peculiarities, having the chance to experience at first hand the multiculturality of Europe and, at the same time, the underlying similarities that characterise our common European culture.
- To foster European citizenship and to improve conditions for civic and democratic participation at Union level:
The project fits in with this general objective by engaging, starting from its preparatory activities, participants in inclusive discussion and policy advocacy at local and international level. This will give the participants a hands-on experience of active citizenship, making them primary actors in cultural, educational, and promotional activities involving their peers from different European countries. This will improve, at the same time, the conditions for their civic and democratic participation since the project events will also be attended by representatives of European municipalities, that will experience activities through which European citizens share contents, ideas, and suggestions for future undertakings of their local administrations, i.e., bottom-up policy-making.
Specific objectives:
- Raise awarness on common history & values & EU's aim to promote peace, its values & well-being of its people the project fits in with this specific aim due to :
a) the debates and reflections that will be stimulated at local level in the preliminary activities;
b) project events, during which participants will share educational content about each participating municipality, adding new verve to the common campaign "Small, Great Europe" thanks to the increased focus on the intangible traits of the network communities’ heritage.
- The project fits in with the second specific aim of the Programme (Encourage democratic and civic participation of citizens at Union level [...]) by:
a) Providing a specific workshops during the event hosted in Stolac and Čapljina about
1) EU policies & opportunities for social & intercultural engagement
2) the potential of intangible local heritage as driver for the development of sustainable touristic practices at local & European level
b) Promoting participation to the project & to the final event of voluntary youth & cultural associations from each involved community.
Annual priorities:
The project fits in with the above annual priorities by:
a)Raising awareness on the shared European common history among the involved participants and their fellow citizens
b)Fostering the sense of belonging to a common European identity, particularly relevant considering the current status of the integration process of these communities’ states.
c)Focusing on the importance of European small communities as "custodians of European Heritage" for a more sustainable & inclusive future development of the Europan Union
d)Follow up on the campaign "Small, Great Europe", whose European dimension represents an endeavour to empower European citizens & foster grassroots commitment & active citizenship
Activity plan / work programme of the project:
Starting from the previous experience and cooperation, the project partners have jointly drafted this project to broaden the European Network "I Care for Europe" for the promotion of active citizenship, culture, sustainable development and tourism, peace, and human rights. They accordingly identified the main project contents: participatory processes, European networking activities in rural areas, intercultural dialogue, European identity and citizenship rights. The common base for the working methods is the participatory strategy, developed with the following programme:
a) sharing the program and details of the project between all partners
b) preliminary local public meetings in each country to discuss the 2016 priorities defined for the Programme "Europe for Citizens", involving local citizens, stakeholders and policy makers, to deepen awareness of European active citizenship principles (volunteering and promotion of the participation), to trigger "bottom up" practices and fostering a shared sense of European citizenship.
c) Final event in Stolac and Čapljina (BiH), which will include:
I. Meetings including the specific presentation of each local community’s main intangible heritage;
II. Workshops involving stakeholders to discuss on the future and the importance of European small communities’ intangible cultural heritage, and develop a strategy to give more visibility and valorisation to intangible heritage through the previously launched European campaign “Small, Great Europe”
III. Cultural activities:
1) Joint exhibition realized by the school pupils of all involved towns;
2) Sightseeing of UNESCO World Heritage sites;
3) Focus groups for CSOs & youth delegations
IV) Story-creation worskhop for school pupils: “Once Upon a Time in…Europe”.
V) General meeting involving all participants to discuss & approve a final document for sharing results of the project among other European communities with the same characteristics of the partners and with the European Institutions.
The European dimension of the project is ensured by the participation of communities from five countries (of which two are in the process of EU integration). Secondly, by the further promotion of the transnational European campaign "Small, Great Europe" about the role of European small communities as "Custodians" of European culture and values, building on previous activites, further outlined in the timetable.
