Fostering Creativity and Connecting Cultural Assets through Monuments

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The main objective of the proposed project RyTHM is the valorisation of two significant monuments in the Greece-Albania cross border area in order to enhance knowledge regarding the value of local heritage, foster creativity, strengthen regional identity, and increase the attractiveness of the area for visitors so as to support economic growth. Both countries have a rich cultural heritage, tangible and intangible. However both countries have to deal with current challenges concerning the promotion and enhancement of their cultural assets and their proper valorisation for the benefit of the local communities, but also for thewider public, especially young people. By tackling common issues of efficient cultural management RyTHM explores the spillover effects of heritage preservation in tourism and in the development of the creative sector. The project also proposes ways to invigorate cultural tourism and to promote cross-border cooperation between cultural institutions and organisations. In order to achieve its objective the project RyTHM aims at creating: - Upgraded, specially modified, rehabilitated & enhanced cultural spaces in Corfu(Greece) and Finiq(Albania) so that they can host visitors for cultural initiatives and events of contemporary culture. - A Cultural Ideas Incubator enhanced by the establishment of a Local Support Group. The incubator will act as a hub for the production &organization of cross-border cultural initiatives with a long lasting effect and provide training opportunities to young artists. - Joint cultural initiatives such as performances & visual arts events that are going to bring to the spotlight the newly enhanced spaces in both countries and raise the cultural and touristic profile of the project area. The aforementioned activities will benefit local communities by increasing the number of visitors and by providing entrepreneurship opportunities. They will also benefit visitors seeking a unique cultural experience in the cross-border area Tourist businesses will have the chance to expand their existing services and proposed new cultural destinations. Young people will be given new opportunities to showcase their talent and express their creativity. Local authorities will gain in capacity with their participation in the commonly developed management of cultural resources in the cross-border area. The novelty of the project lies in the introduction of "œunexpected" collaborations between practitioners of cultural preservation and agents of cultural innovation jointly developing efficient solutions for the improvement of cultural experiences. The cross-border approach is best suited as a means to deal with common challenges regarding cultural resources and the exchange of specialized know-how and best practice to benefitcultural stakeholders and civil society. The added value for the programme area is the introduction of integrated and coherent actions that lead to smart valorization of the two areas cultural assets.

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