The ERASMUS+ DECRA project (Developing European Cultural Routes for All) was built on the basis of a common reflection of 18 European Cultural Routes (ECR) - some of these ECR are certified as Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. Recognizing that the transnational networks of the European Cultural Routes gather a whole richness, frequently unknown, of skills, know-how and know-how-to-be necessary to an effective implementation of European cultural cooperation, the different partners (French Federation of European Cultural Routes, Association NETZ - Media and society, Association Transromanica, Association ATRIUM on the architecture of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, European Association for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, Danube Competence Center and the University of Avignon) aim at gathering, analysing, discussing and transmiting, thank to digital tools adapted and easy to use for a large audience, practices and skills of the members of the European networks of ECRs. In this framework, it is about taking into account all kinds of experiences and skills, no matter what the profile of legal entities - museums, association, institutions, local and regional auhtorities, librairies, SMEs, etc. - and physical persons : thus, the project involves, for example, inhabitants devoted to the visits of their village as well as city mayors wanting to build new sustainable touristic approaches for their natural and cultural heritage, museums staffs wanting to highlight their collections as European as well as school teachers organising school trips in other European countries, etc. Through its strongly inclusive and comprehensive approach, the project aims at going beyond centre/periphery and rural/urban dichotomies by taking into account all kinds of experiences and by thinking their transferability to other persons through. The ERASMUS+ DECRA project will apply this approach to four specific themes, linked to the European Cultural Routes: - Faro Convention : re-appropriation of local heritage and European valorization - Social inclusion and citizen participation - Accessibility of monuments and knowledge, inluding digital accessibility and multilinguism - Long-term development of European networks, including the Social and Solidarity Economy approach. The 24-months duration of the DECRA project will allow to collect data about experiences in the 18 involved networks (through a bottom-up approach), to analyze them and to develop digital tools enabling different target audiences to learn and use these knowledge and skills in order to foster a dissemination and a transfer of these skills and abilities, and thus, to foster educationnal and cultural cooperation at a European level, i.e. on a non-formal education level and through peer-to-peer learning. In this process, the University of Avignon will also be a strong asset to the project team et to the quality of the reflection and methodology on mediation towards different audiences.
The project ERASMUS+ DECRA (Developing European Cultural Routes for All) is based on a common thinking of 18 European Cultural Routes (ECR), some of them being certified as « Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe ». Assuming that ECR transnational networks are actually gathering a wide but unknown range of skills, know-how and knwo-how-to-be necessary to an efficitent implementation of European cultural cooperation, the French Federation of European Cultural Routes, the association NETZ – Media and society, the association TRANSROMANICA, the association ATRIUM on architecture of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, the Association for Preservation of Jewish Heritage (AEPJ), the Danube Competence Center and the Avignon University associated to implement a programme of data gathering, exchanges, skills development and promotion of projects and people involved in the ECR European networks. The DECRA project aimed at giving the floor to the members of the networks, regardless of their type, size, place of activity, seniority, field of work, skill level, etc.: they were the direct participants to the project and not only the subject of a study. Through an inclusive and integrated approach, the project dealt with all kinds of experiences and build a basis for the transferability of these experiences and related skills to other people. In this framework, it was also about fostering an enhancement of communication, interorganisational and intercultural skills of the participants. Furthermore, aiming at developing open and innovative practices in the digital era, the project started with what already exists and how it is perceived by those « making » the ECR in the field. Thanks to a bottom-up, participative and intercultural approach, it tested on-site exercises and tools to contribute to the development of a common digital platform enabling then the transferability of skills from one field actor to the other, but also the promotion of already implemented actions and projects, thus fostering their visibility and a high potential of experiences mutualisation. This approach has been applied in 4 different fields connected to the ECR activities, which have been explored through data collection and analysis through surveys, and during meetings where the participants could meet, exchange with local actors, test and develop their skills to promote their Route and where they were actually participating to the co-construction of the platform. - Social inclusion and citizen participation - Faro Convention: Promotion of local heritage - Physical and digital accessibility - Development and sustanibility of European networks All in all, 186 participants from 16 ECR and the Avignon University participated directly to this common approach. They are of all ages and have different backgrounds (employees, volunteers, students, scholars, etc.). To them, we should also add all those who participated indirectly: local actors who presented their projects during the meetings, elected official who welcomed the participants, project leaders who participated to the surveys, etc. that is more than 250 indirect participants. After 24 months, the most expected result is now available: the digital platform www.decraproject.eu which development will go on after the end of the project. It gives access to the project's contents and to the database of ECR projects. In the medium and long term, this platform will serve to share projects and skills, but also to foster synergies and new cooperations. Last but not least, it increases the visibility of the ECR and of the people making the networks richer and dynamic day after day, the field actors who are making perceptible and alive the values of democracy, tolerance, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding necessary to the European cultural cooperation and livinig together. After the end of the project, in fall 2019, a major campaign to disseminate the results of the project will especially target the ECR networks, national and European institutions, local representatives and wider audiences. To do so, the partners will rely on a special leaflet edited both in French and English and presenting the project's approach and results. Finally, the DECRA project lead to new cooperations between ECR, but also between the Avignon University and some ECR. A new large-scale cooperation project is currently being discussed to be implemented in a short term.