How can members of the Be.CULTOUR community better support each other and also share their experience with a wider audience?

 Based on the principles of peer learning, replicability of practices and co-creation methodology, this webinar series aims to accompany the participants towards a comprehensive understanding of circular and sustainable cultural tourism practices.

A mix of on-ground experience and expertise will guide participants into these innovative practices and show how to apply them context-specifically.

Nine editions throughout the year will touch on different but interrelated topics.

Keep reading for more information on each webinar.

Scientific Committee:
Antonia Gravagnuolo, CNR (coordinator)
Cristina Garzillo, ICLEI Europe
Malgorzata Cwikla, ICLEI Europe

Technical and organising committee:
Sophia Silverton, ICLEI Europe
Gioele Racca, ICLEI Europe

Webinar 9 - 15 March 2024 10:00 - 11:30 CET

Smart data management for circular cultural tourism assessment and monitoring

To reach sustainability and circularity goals, cultural destinations need effective data management tools.

In this webinar, a set of innovative smart data management and monitoring tools will be shared, towards better governance and assessment of the smart/circular destination. In particular, cultural heritage digitalisation can support circular cultural tourism destination managers and operators to manage and assess tourist flows, interest and appreciation in heritage sites integrating digital tools such as 3D visualization and Digital Twin in a human-centred and people-centred perspective.

Agenda:

10:00 - 10:05 Welcome and introduction

10:05 - 10:15 Peter Nijkamp and Karima Kourtit | Digital tools for Circular Cultural Tourism

10:15 - 10:35 Henk Scholten | The Governance of Digitally-transformed Society

10:35 - 10:55 Yneke van Iersel | Methodology and Application of 3D Visualization in Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

10:55 - 11:15 Maurice de Kleijn | A Digital Twin of the Via Appia Antica

11:15 - 11:30 Q&A and concluding remarks

Register here

Scientific Committee:

Antonia Gravagnuolo, CNR
Martina Bosone, CNR
Valentina Apicerni, CNR 

Webinar 1: Circular cultural tourism

The role of Heritage Innovation Networks for co-creation and communities empowerment

24 February 2023 - 14:00-15:30 CET

The webinar will address methodologies and tools for stakeholders’ engagement, serious gaming and co-creation, explaining how to bring together expert and local knowledge to let “hidden” cultural resources emerge and being recognized and fully exploited as a driver of local development, communities’ empowerment and innovative entrepreneurship through circular cultural tourism.

Agenda:

14:00-14:05 Sophia Silverton, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability: Welcome

14:05-14:15 Antonia Gravagnuolo, CNR ISPC: Horizon 2020 Be.CULTOUR project: Heritage Innovation Networks for circular and human-centred cultural tourism

14:15-14:25 Luigi Fusco Girard, CNR and University of Naples Federico II: Cultural heritage as driver of circular innovation

14:25-14.35 Małgorzata Ćwikła, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability: Co-creation of Action Plans for circular and sustainable cultural tourism in less-known heritage sites: the experience of Be.CULTOUR pilots

14:35-14:45 Break

14.45-14:55 Francesca Pozzebon, ERRIN: The guide for sustainable explorers: a step-by-step toolkit to engage your community and build your action plan for circular cultural tourism

14:55-15.15 Contributes from Pilots and Mirror Regions: On-the-ground experience

15:15-15:30 Q&A​​​​​​​


 24 March 2023 - 14:00-15:30 CET

Understanding the European value of cultural heritage: Power of networks

The webinar will address the concept of Europeanisation based on the intertwine of cultural networks operating in Europe. We will discuss the added value of being a member of a network and reflect on the opportunities and challenges faced by network operators. In addition, examples on the benefit from formal and informal networks will be presented, as well as guidelines on how to use the networks to develop innovative solutions towards circular cultural tourism. This approach reflects the ambitions of Be.CULTOUR and constitutes an important part of the concept ideation and development of Action Plans in its pilot heritage sites.

Agenda:

  • 14.00 -14.10 Welcome Dr. Cristina Garzillo Leemhuis, Senior Coordinator, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability 

  • 14.10 – 14.20 Jordi Mallarach, Executive Officer, Future for Religious Heritage

  • 14.20 – 14.30 Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General Europa Nostra and European Chair Climate Heritage Network

  • 14.30 – 14.40 Gerald Wagenhofer, Coordinator of the European Heritage Label@Network

  • Discussant: 14.40 – 14.50 Dr. Jermina Stanojev, Research and Policy Expert on Cultural Heritage, Culture and International Cultural Relations

  • 14.50 - 15.00 Break 

  • 15.00 - 15.10 Dr. Antonio Nicoletti, Director General, Regional Agency for the Territorial Promotion of Basilicata, Italy

  • 15.10 - 15.20 Pauline Alexopoulou, member of Larnaca and Famagusta Districts Development Agency, Cyprus 

  • 15.20 -15.30 Q&A and concluding remarks


21 April 2023 - 14:00-15:30 CET

Innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism

This webinar gives voice to prominent guests from academia, policy, business and practice to exchange views and showcase their own experience/experimentation in circular cultural tourism. It will define what is meant by innovative solutions for circular cultural tourism, what possible tools could be used to activate the process and involve the local community in the co-design, co-development and co-implementation of the solutions. Moreover, concrete examples from different continents will be presented and challenges will be thoroughly discussed.

Agenda:

  • 11:00-11:05  dr. Ruba Saleh, ICHEC Brussels Management School: Welcome
  • 11:05-11:15 Philippe Drouillon, Senior expert in sustainable, agile and impactful business & catalyst of agile & participatory positive impact Teams, Organizations & Territories | B Leader. ICHEC Brussels Management School: Re-orient cultural tourism design, incubation and acceleration towards strong circularity and sustainability 
  • 11:17-11:27 Prof. dr.Daniela Angelina Jelincic, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Department for Culture and Communication, Croatia: Re-visiting the Essence of Tourism: Challenges in Innovative Circular Tourism 
  • 11:29-11:39 Hilke Arijs, Cultural Heritage policy coordinator, Zender, Belgium: Co-creation and heritage preservation through Wikipedia 
  • 11:41-11:51 Larissa Almeida, facilitator of learning processes, researcher and consultant in business management of creative tourism, Recife, Brazil: The power of networking: connecting civil society and public policies for creative tourism 
  • 12:03-12:13 dr. Tokie Laotan-Brown, heritage Architect, developer and cultural economist, Nigeria: Rammed Clay & Dance in Benin Communities 
  • 12:13-12:25 Q&A 
  • 12:25-12:30 dr. Ruba Saleh, ICHEC Brussels Management School: Conclusions and reminder of the next webinar



Webinar 4 - 15 May 2023

Values-based innovative marketing for less-known cultural tourism destinations

Among the trends that are shaping the future of travel and the emerging visitors’ need, sustainability plays a key role. A recent Amadeus-commissioned survey found that two-thirds of consumers consider sustainable travel a priority, and 37% of respondents think opportunities for travellers to be involved in the preservation of tourist destinations will help the industry to become more sustainable in the long-term.
At the same time, cultural tourism represents a great opportunity for smaller and lesser-known destinations. According to the UNWTO, 50% of travellers are driven by the desire to visit and experience the cultural heritage of the destinations they visit.
Therefore, it becomes increasingly important for destinations to create, develop and promote a sustainable and creative offer to attract new and conscious visitors.
In this webinar we will look at international examples of effective tourism promotion based on culture and sustainability and we’ll get to know the case study of the Ruhr region and the Gelsenkirchen area, that will bring a practical perspective to participants to develop their tourism offer.


Agenda:

15:00 - 15:10 - INTRODUCTION: Greetings and introduction 

15.10 - 15.35 - Emma Taveri - PRESENTATION: Promoting the less-known cultural destinations with creative marketing campaigns

15.35 - 16.00 -  Dirk Slawetzki - PRESENTATION: How an industrial area became a creative and green tourism destination. The case of Gelsenkirchen and the Ruhr Area in Germany.
16.00 - 16.20 - Emma Taveri, Dirk Slawetzki - PANEL DISCUSSION: How to innovate the offer and promotion of a
destination to attract new visitors 

This section will be led by a few guiding questions posed by the moderator, which the two speakers will answer with as practical an approach as possible bringing their professional expertise

16.20 - 16.30 - Q&A 


Webinar 5 - 23 June 2023 - 14:00 - 15:30 

Community-led and innovative entrepreneurship for circular cultural tourism

The webinar will address the challenges and opportunities of community-led entrepreneurship for circular cultural tourism. By sharing experiences of projects and initiatives operating in European regions, it will discuss the great potential of less-know and peripheral destinations in which cultural assets and local resources are co-managed by communities and stakeholders. Through the case studies, we will reflect on how engaging community capacity for collective care of cultural heritage could represent a key driver in fostering innovative entrepreneurship and sustainable social, cultural, and economic development.

Agenda:

Welcome and introduction

14.00-14.05    Antonia Gravagnuolo | CNR Institute of Heritage Science, H2020 Be.CULTOUR project coordinator

Community-led entrepreneurship: European leading experiences

14:05-14.20    Eva Leemet | Loov Eesti - Creative Estonia

14:20-14:35    Antonella Fresa | Promoter S.r.l, H2020 INCULTUM project

14:35-14:45    Anna Salvagio | 5 Senses Open-air Museum of Sciacca, Italy

14:45-14:55    Antonio Della Corte | “La Paranza” Cooperative, Catacombs of San Gennaro, Naples
Discussion and reflections

14:55-15:05    Hanna Szemző | Metropolitan Research Institute, H2020 Textour project

15:15-15:30    Q&A and concluding remarks


Webinar 6 - 15 September 2023 - 14:00 - 15:30 

Creative tourism and the role of arts, interpretation and storytelling

The webinar will address creative tourism initiatives where the community, artists, and other stakeholders are involved in co-creation strategies to implement a cultural-led change in a destination. Among the creative tourism experiences, the innovative and collective storytelling, art-based practices, and the contemporary interpretation of cultural heritage through community engagement can represent a powerful driver for sustainable development, especially of less-know places. By sharing projects which, in different ways, challenged tourism issues with creative solutions, we will discuss the role of arts in regeneration processes, placemaking, and shaping new promotion concepts.

Agenda:

14.00-14.05   Antonia Gravagnuolo, Valentina Apicerni, Martina Bosone | CNR Institute of Heritage Science

Welcome and introduction

14:05-14.20   Julia Calver | Course Director in the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Leeds Beckett University and former Chair of 'Saltaire Inspired’

14:20-14:35   Tiago Vinagre de Castro | Cultural Manager and co-coordinator of the CREATOUR Observatory

14:35-14:50    Sofia Marasca | Communication Manager at Sineglossa and coordinator of Nonturismo project

14:50-15:05    Mariana Calaça Baptista | Executive Director of Art&Tur – International Film Festival
Panel discussion

15:05-15:20    Fabrizio Panozzo | Professor of Cultural Management at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Scientific Director of AIKU

15:20-15:30    Q&A and concluding remarks


Webinar 7 - 5 October 2023 - 10:00 - 12:0 

BREAKFAST AT SUSTAINABILITY'S

What is ‘circular cultural tourism’ and how can it contribute to sustainable regional development in Europe?

The next edition of ICLEI’s flagship Breakfast at Sustainability’s series will take place on 5 October 2023 from 10:00-12:00 CEST, and will bring together representatives of EU institutions, cultural experts, regional officers, and tourism stakeholders to discuss the unexplored potential of cultural heritage as a driver of circular tourism.
As Europe’s regions are recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector, and as global trends are transforming the travel industry, this is a timely moment to revisit how circular approaches to tourism, human-centered destinations, and heritage-led transformations can contribute to building a sustainable future for all.
Participants in this online event will acquire a better understanding of Tourism Transition Pathways in different contexts and will gain key insights on how local cultural assets can drive sustainable tourism strategies. This edition will be hosted online by ICLEI Europe in collaboration with ERRIN and CNR, in the context of the Be.CULTOUR project, a Horizon Europe project developing heritage innovation networks as drivers of Europeanisation towards a human-centered and circular economy.

Agenda:

  • Kirsti Ala-Mutka, Policy Officer, DG GROW, European Commission
  • Anne Grady, Seconded Cultural Heritage Expert, European Parliament
  • Gianluca Saba, Head of International Relations Office, Comune di Genova, representative of the UAEU Sustainable Tourism Partnership
  • Antonia Gravagnuolo, Be.CULTOUR project coordinator, National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
  • Maria Kapari, Co-Founder, Joy of Culture (Cyprus)
  • Kirsi Sippola, Development Manager, HAMI, Visit Häme (Finland)

Moderated by:

  • Stephania Xydia, Officer, Sustainability Culture & Cultural Transitions, ICLEI Europe
Keynote Listener:
  • Dr Małgorzata Ćwikła, Officer, Sustainability Culture & Cultural Transitions, ICLEI Europe


Webinar 8 - 30 November 2023 - 14:00-15:30 CET

Innovative finance for circular cultural tourism


The webinar presented and discussed innovative investment models for circular cultural tourism as tools for creating shared value in local ecosystems, supporting social and community-led entrepreneurship through sustainable impact-based finance. The experimental model of the Pledge Fund hybridised with a Project Development Assistance instrument for innovative cultural tourism enterprises/startups will be presented and discussed with representatives of financial and public institutions providing feedback and insights. Examples of "circular" investment programmes for tourism, culture, creativity and cultural heritage will be presented, supporting the regeneration of heritage sites and the generation of positive impacts for local communities.

Agenda:

14:00 -14:05 Aliona Lupu, Iniziativa Cube: Welcome and introduction

14:05-14:20 Ilaria D'Auria | Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association
14:20-14:35 Bonnie Burnham | CHiFA Cultural Heritage Finance Alliance
14:35-14:50 Gianluca Gaggiotti | EVPA European Venture Philantropy Association
14:50-15:10 Aliona Lupu | Iniziativa Cube

15:10-15:20 Discussion:

Anatolie Risina | Verde e Moldova, Agency for Development of Moldova
Christer Gustafsson | Uppsala University, EIT KIC Culture & Creativity member​​​​​​​

15:20-15:30 Q&A session and conclusions