The DiOtherCity project created an innovative, hands-on adult learning programme for CCI and tourism professionals to learn practical applications of digital tools and design innovative cultural experiences in their cities, with a particular focus on creating alternative narratives and new digital environments, while designing city tours in peripheral urban spaces. This transnational project was carried out by partners in 6 cities across Europe—Barcelona (Spain), Mons (Belgium), Nicosia (Cyprus), Paris (France), Rome (Italy), and Zabrze (Poland)— to yield new insights into the local experiences of cities of different sizes and cultural contexts, as well as exploring common problems and solutions in the areas of tourism, heritage, and the CCIs in Europe. Such a fruitful knowledge exchange is reflected not only in the project’s main output, an adult education programme that is widely applicable to countries across Europe and the world, but also in the training sessions carried out directly with young professionals in the CCIs and adult educators, whose skills were enriched by the lessons and experiences of others from different sectoral backgrounds and cultural contexts. The DiOtherCity project was initiated and carried out in response to pre-existing sectoral conditions and the dramatic changes inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic that left many CCI and tourism professionals unemployed or underemployed (especially those who were self-employed, freelance, or on short-term contracts), and thus in need of new entrepreneurial opportunities and additional training in soft skills and technological competences. Tourism and heritage have always been linked closely to the CCIs, providing both an audience and an income for many professionals in the sector, though mass tourism has become unsustainable, and its negative impact on local communities and ecosystems has long been criticised. The pandemic further highlighted the importance of experience tourism, focused on “living” authentic experiences in cities rather than just visiting them. This overlap between tourism and cultural experience privileges peripheral areas and alternatives to the main attractions in city centres, as well as championing the greater inclusion of local and national audiences in the determination of their own cultural attractions and realities. As a result, the DiOtherCity project achieved its objectives of contributing to the improvement of digital and entrepreneurial skills in the CCIs in Europe and to the decentralisation of urban tourism and cultural routes through the design and testing of an online adult education programme centred on new cultural and heritage narratives, combined with digital content creation. The project carried out its testing and creation activities with the active involvement of professionals in the CCIs, including young professionals who were unemployed or underemployed and other freelance professionals and adult educators looking to further develop their digital skills through the creation of cultural projects. DiOtherCity applied a “learning by doing” methodology, with participants taking active part in the learning process and assimilating course content through the hands-on practice of new skills, self-assessment opportunities, and in-person training sessions. The project also privileged the creative use of digital tools for city tours, including multiple toolkits explaining the use of 25 free digital technologies, including Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, QR Codes, Podcasts, Audio Guides, 180º and 360º photos, digital applications for online and in-person treasure hunts, storytelling through social media, and more. The complete online course is comprised of 5 cohesive modules, 6 best practice examples from the project partners’ countries, and 4 toolkits with a total of 25 digital tools, as well as 17 sample tours created by participants in the project’s C1 Training and National Testing workshops. As such, it is intended to provide a comprehensive introduction to the main phases of creating a city tour: from gathering inspiration and researching and developing an idea to developing the tour’s narrative and technological structure and elements, as well as learning how to make city tours part of a sustainable, inclusive business initiative. The course is available indefinitely and free-of-charge in six languages (English, Spanish, French, Greek, Italian and Polish) at: https://oer.makingprojects.org/oer/diothercity/, and contains the following modules: Module 1: Introduction to creating innovative city tours with digital tools Module 2: Research- shape your idea Module 3: Storytelling- how to engage your audience Module 4: Technological skills- incorporating digital tools in your tour Module 5: Entrepreneurial competencies- new dreams and opportunities In addition to providing an overarching structure for creating a city tour, these modules also help learners develop key competences for future work in digital environments and the CCIs, including: literacy, digital and technology-based skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to adopt new competences, active citizenship, entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression, and multilingualism. The project also produced the following reference documents and guides to help users make the most of the materials on offer: 1. A Tourism Profiling and Training Methodology Report to explain the methodology used and justify the importance of peripheral and experience-based city tours to create more sustainable tourism and cultural practices, and to improve economic and working conditions for CCI professionals; 2. A Course Overview document summarising the objectives, contents and resources of the course for easy reference; 3. An Experiences Guide including participants’ experiences and project partners’ recommendations for using the course and creating alternative city tours. During the course’s development, project partners implemented 2 key activities dually designed to train CCI professionals and test the materials developed for the course through hands-on activities. First, the project gathered 9 young CCI professionals in Poland for a 5-day in-person C1 training that encouraged international cultural and knowledge exchange and tested the project’s outputs to improve their quality, impact and transferability to other countries and contexts. Afterward, participants took part in international online sessions and national meetings mentoring them through developing their own city tours with digital tools. Second, a total of 105 participants from the partner countries and several countries in Latin America took part in in-person and online National Testing workshops that disseminated the course materials and put them into direct use with professionals from varied fields, including CCI and tourism professionals, adult educators, university professors, schoolteachers, NGOs and several policymakers. Both training opportunities were evaluated via questionnaires and received positive feedback, with a strong call for continued programming using the project materials, thus illustrating the clear efficacy of the DiOtherCity project’s resources and their direct impact on CCI and tourism professionals at the European and international levels, as well as the future possibilities the project has generated for intercontinental cultural and knowledge exchange. A further 152 individuals took part in the national and international multiplier events organised by each partner country, including varied professionals in tourism and the CCIs, adult education organisations and policymakers from several partner countries. Throughout the course of the project, DiOtherCity’s activities, multiplier events, social media campaigns, and in-person meetings allowed it to reach a total of 382 CCI professionals, 214 adult education organisations and 44 policymakers, thus permitting the successful dissemination and ongoing impact of the project and its materials. The long-term benefits of the project include its impact on adult learners’ upskilling in digital and technological areas, soft skills and interpersonal skills, and their consequent improved employability; the ongoing availability of the free course materials online; the fostering of new entrepreneurship opportunities for professionals and citizens alike; and the transferability of the course and its digital tools to new training environments, sectors, countries, and continents.
DiOtherCity's main objective was to design and test an adult learning program for CCI & tourism professionals who wish to learn practical applications of digital tools to design innovative cultural experiences in their cities, with a particular focus on creating alternative narratives and new digital environments while designing city tours in peripheral spaces. This objective was carried out under the horizontal priority of encouraging technological & soft skills development and social inclusion through creativity and the arts, with the goal of promoting new competences in entrepreneurship, cultural awareness & expression, and active citizenship. The project also wished to foster innovation and digitization in city tours and contribute to the reduction and decentralization of mass tourism through the promotion of peripheral areas, thereby highlighting the social and educational value of European cultural heritage in all areas of EU cities. Finally, DiOtherCity intended to address and ameliorate unemployment and job insecurity for CCI and tourism professionals by improving and extending the offer of high quality learning opportunities for adults, especially by promoting digital upskilling through the creation of cultural projects.
DiOtherCity responded to pre-existing sectoral conditions and the dramatic changes inspired by the COVID pandemic that left many professionals in the CCIs unemployed or underemployed, and thus in need of new entrepreneurial opportunities and additional training in soft skills and technological competences. Tourism and heritage are closely linked to the CCIs and provide work for many professionals in the sector, though mass tourism has become unsustainable and its negative impact on local communities and ecosystems has long been criticized. The pandemic further highlighted the importance of experience tourism focused on peripheral areas and alternatives to the main attractions in city centers, as well as the greater inclusion of local and national audiences. To improve digital and entrepreneurial skills in the CCIs in Europe and contribute to the decentralization of urban tourism and cultural routes, DiOtherCity offered an adult learning program with an innovative, hands-on methodology centered on new heritage narratives and digital content creation. This course allows cultural professionals new opportunities for digital upskilling and building sustainable, inclusive businesses in the CCIs through the creation of city tours.