Digital toolkit bridges skills gap for European Cultural Routes
NEXT ROUTES, a two-year project, has successfully transformed how Cultural Routes across Europe engage with digital technology, addressing critical skills gaps while developing innovative tools to attract younger audiences to heritage sites.
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NEXT ROUTES, a project within the professorship of Digital Transformation in Cultural Tourism recently concluded with a closing conference in Forlì, Italy. The project is a European collaboration of Cultural Routes certified by the Council of Europe, the tech company Mobile Idea Srl, and Breda University of Applied Sciences to create a comprehensive digital toolkit and training framework for Cultural Routes professionals.
Preserving Europe's Cultural Heritage
’Our role in the consortium was to serve as an advisory partner, supporting the Cultural Routes in developing strategies to better bring out the value and promote their cultural heritage, create shared visibility, and attract wider and younger audiences,’ project member Licia Calvi says.
Cultural Routes include different categories of cultural heritage besides monuments and sites, such as landscapes, rural areas, intangible heritage, and archeology. According to project member Frederike Ouwerkerk, Cultural Routes have unique potential for ’shared experiences and intercultural dialogue, attract mixed social groups and cultures and emphasise a ”simple”, more or less ”exploitation-free” form of tourism.’
Training Framework and lasting impact
The project delivered four training modules forming a transnational Training Framework and gamification app. As digital technologies continue to reshape how heritage is documented, presented and shared, the Training Framework supports professionals to upskill on creating and managing digital content, using digital platforms and tools to increase public engagement.
The modules help the Cultural Routes to strengthen their storytelling capabilities and expand their knowledge of practical and adaptive gamification solutions to develop fresh, engaging, and future-proof cultural experiences. Overall, the modules are designed to move smoothly from understanding to doing: theory, practice, reflection, and real-world application.
The Training Framework and NEXT ROUTES gamification-app are available on tourism.buas.nl .
