Opportunities for sustainable development of rural areas through cultural and natural heritage
UNESCO’s Section on Earth Sciences and Geo-Hazards Risk Reduction is encouraging representatives of rural areas/organisations/companies, including site managers of UNESCO designated sites, to apply for an open call for additional Replicator areas for the RURITAGE project.
RURITAGE: Rural regeneration through systemic heritage-led strategies project aims to support rural communities to increase their sustainable development capabilities through the enhancement of their unique cultural and natural heritage potential.
RURITAGE has six focus areas for rural development:
- Pilgrimage
- Sustainable Local Food production
- Art & Festival
- Migration
- Resilience
- Integrated Landscape Management
The project involves Role models and Replicators. The Role Models were chosen as “champions” due to their best practices in using cultural and natural heritage for rural regeneration and sustainable development. They support and mentor the Replicators by sharing their expertise and developed tools. This way the Replicators have the opportunity and resources to improve sustainable development in their area.
There is currently an open call for additional Replicator areas for the RURITAGE project. This is a great opportunity for rural areas/organisations/companies to expand their network with experts and international organisations while working on an EU horizon2020 project. This in turn could result in a great opportunity for future fundraising for their rural area, as well as cooperation possibilities for future projects. As a Replicator rural territories will also get access to all the tools and methodologies developed within the project, they will be invited to attend the “Launch Workshop” in Italy in November 2019 (costs covered by RURITAGE) where all partners will participate, and their organisation/company will receive great exposure through our social media networks.
Rural regions that are interested can apply through this website: https://en.unesco.org/ruritage/call/apply
If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact our colleagues from UNESCO HQ: Katrien Heirman (ka.heirman@unesco.org) or Irina Pavlova (i.pavlova@unesco.org).