HIGHRES aimed to promote digital storytelling as a practical tool to safeguard and valorise Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), creating new opportunities and reducing inequalities in rural areas. The project’s main objective was to equip local communities and rural stakeholders with the competences to identify, document, keep alive, transmit and promote their ICH through engaging digital narratives, so that living heritage is not lost and can support sustainable local development. To achieve this, HIGHRES set three specific objectives: (1) to collect, analyse and share good practice examples of ICH digital storytelling, making transferable approaches visible and credible; (2) to gather and structure comprehensive training materials covering ICH identification, narrative creation, community involvement, digital storytelling production and promotion; and (3) to develop a coherent methodological framework and training pathway that guide users step by step from community engagement and heritage mapping to publishing and disseminating digital stories.
The HIGHRES project was proposed to simultaneously address the digital gap and low digital skills among adults in rural areas, and safeguard and promote European Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) as a catalyst for rural development and social cohesion. The project addressed three critical needs. Firstly, it aimed at the preservation and transmission of ICH in rural and remote communities. Secondly, it focused on improving the digital skills of the adult population in these areas, who face a high risk of digital exclusion and poverty. Finally, HIGHRES sought to integrate culture and heritage as a valuable factor for the competitiveness and sustainable development of rural areas, particularly through tools like digital storytelling and cultural tourism.