(AIM) The core aim of the project “All Roads Lead to Rome” is to offer training, tools and logistical support to young people who want to take advantage of the economical potential of the ancient Roman roads in terms of employability, self-entrepreneurship, and local development. The purpose is to give them knowledge, expand their capabilities, and sharpen their skills. This will enable them to identify strategies and to exploit economic opportunities which maximise the economic value of the Roman roads network. (ISSUE) Roman roads make up a system of infrastructure built two thousand years ago in order to connect the various regions of the vast Roman Empire. According to a recent study of Copenhagen University there is “a remarkable pattern of persistence showing that greater Roman roads density goes along with greater modern road density and greater economic activity in 2010”. In recent years, historical infrastructure systems like the various Roman roads have received much attention and contributed to the economical, social, and cultural development of the areas in which they are located (e.g. the Via Francigena or the Camino de Santiago de Compostela). In comparison with these, the potential of the greater Roman roads network is not at present adequately exploited. Moreover, the system itself is not well known. This is the case even with the young people who live, study and work in both urban and rural areas that depend on the heritage of these Roman roads. These roads make up part of the European cultural heritage but also have the potential to be an economic resource as starting points of new projects of economic development in both local and international contexts. (SOLUTION) The project will achieve many goals through its open educational environment (namely, an online platform) and innovative educational strategies and products. It will close the knowledge gap regarding Roman roads and their connection with local communities. It will provide the know-how and skills to transform this historical infrastructure into a source of economic, social, and cultural development. It will give the opportunity to participants to build a network anywhere in Europe. This network will boost the economic development of the individual areas and connect all involved people who want to engage in economic activity concerning the Roman roads. (TARGET) The project targets students who attends universities and who would like, at the end of their studies, to be engaged in a business or scheme that involves the promotion of European Cultural Heritage, especially Roman roads and the places linked to them and by them. (ACTIVITIES) The project consist of three core activities (Intellectual Output). The first activity will be the building of an online platform, which will present an official window on the project and its achievements. The second activity will be a series of analyses and surveys that aim to clarify the state of the art. This includes mapping of Roman roads, existing economic and cultural activities associated with them, and summarising data about Roman roads and their economic potential to European young people. All of the data collected will be edited and made available in a online open-source final publication. The third activity will concern the production of educational content for the platform and the implementation of micro-trainings for the participants of the project. (IMPACT) The project will impact: (a) young people, teaching them to identify and to recognise a strong connection between knowledge and economic reality; (b) the promoting partners, making stronger connections through an integrated approach; (c) third parties, making them aware of the existing local institutions, associations and companies connected to local cultural heritage. Furthermore, it will impact: (d) the local level, creating specific itineraries and stimulating territorial research; (e) the national level, increasing liveability and improve the condition of underdeveloped areas of the country; (f) the European level, increasing the active role of young people, stimulating active citizenship, social innovation, and the promotion of a common cultural heritage.
General Objective: to encourage students to appreciate the rural and urban areas in which they live, enhancing their potential in terms of employability and self-entrepreneurship. Specific Objectives: - To offer concrete tools for Capacity Building in self-entrepreneurship through the cultural enhancement of the Roman Routes; - To stimulate students to a better knowledge of their territorial identity and of the connections of their territory with other national and European areas through the ancient Roman routes.
The idea of the project is to create a high quality training for university students who want to engage in economic activities for the promotion of the European cultural heritage, in particular by enhancing the value of the Roman roads, an infrastructure system built two thousand years ago which connected various regions of the vast Roman Empire. Often poorly known and therefore still little exploited, the Roman roads represent an important part of the common European heritage and a potential both for the well-being of the communities living on them, sometimes unconscious of having such resources at their disposal, and for the increasingly topical challenge of regenerating territories; it is enough to think of the economic, social and cultural development of the areas crossed by the Via Francigena or the Way of St. James of Compostela. The project intends to highlight the economic and social potential of the Roman routes and thus of the valorisation of the cultural and historical heritage through education to cultural enterprise.