
Decoding European trends and needs in upskilling and reskilling rural cultural tourism operators, professionals, and volunteers in rural and/or deprived areas.
Express your InterestEU PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY
Institute for Sustainable Education and Development (ISEDE) e.V.
THEODOROS TSANAKAS MARIA KOIMISOGLOU OE
DalPro AS
SYNTHESIS CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LIMITED
VIENNA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATION VOLUNTEERS
VEKSTTORGET MARKED AS
Project Background.
Cultural tourism is gaining ground against other forms of tourism in the EU, with the European Commission indicating on their website that 4 out of 10 European tourists choose their destination based on its cultural offering.
In rural areas, tourism comprises of mostly small businesses which suffer from lack of cooperation, and workforce lack of skills and qualifications. According to the EU factsheet presented in 2017 at the Tallin Digital Summit, 169 million (44%) of Europeans aged 16-74 years old, do not have basic digital skills. In the context of DECODE, the percentage of individuals’ basic digital skills differs, with Cypriots and Greeks reaching 43% and 46% respectively, while Norwegians, Germans and Austrians reaching nearly 70% each.
As expressed in the title of the project, DECODE aims to decoding European trends and needs in upskilling and reskilling cultural tourism operators, professionals and volunteers in rural and/or deprived areas. Observing that cultural tourism operators, municipality workers, local rural shops etc. are not offered the needed support to increase the rural and/or deprived area’s cultural potential, we developed DECODE.
These workers and volunteers are rarely offered what they need to develop their skills and competencies, which makes them low-skilled and low-qualified for their jobs. The aim of the project is to provide the learners with the necessary skills and competencies, to promote their local rural and/or deprived area in the field of cultural tourism, with a training course and the use of digital means.
DECODE addresses these needs of local communities, authorities, professionals, volunteers in the field of cultural tourism with a comprehensive tool to enhance their knowledge, skills and competencies. The course and its results will also be made available to the wide public through the DECODE platform, which will be equipped also with an open badges accreditation system, in order to validate the learners’ knowledge.
Project Objective.
These workers and volunteers are rarely offered what they need to develop their skills and competencies, which makes them low-skilled and low-qualified for their jobs. The aim of the project is to provide the learners with the necessary skills and competencies, to promote their local rural and/or deprived area in the field of cultural tourism, through a training course and the use of digital means.
Project Timeline.
2nd – 3rd march 2023
Hitra – Norway
Review the conducted research for PR1 training course and endorse a theoretical framework. Discuss issues and needs as they have become evident from research. Organize and discuss training methodology and content. Review the beta version of the DECODE platform and receive feedback by partners. Preparations for the open badges accreditation system can be made. Assess the progress of PR1. Schedule internal Train-the-trainer course
Audience : 2 project managers/ researchers
5th – 8th June 2023
Vienna – Austria
Present training content and DECODE platform with open badges accreditation system. Hold LTTA – Review and adjust as needed. Share template for national reports from LTTA. Plan and schedule the local training sessions. Prepare for PR2
Audience : 2 project managers/ researchers
21st – 23rd Nov 2023
Cyprus
Assessment of all the PRs and an overall assessment of the project. Present evaluation & impact results. Discuss the outcomes of the PR1 local training sessions. Present the final version of the PR2 Policy Recommendations. Agree upon updates and changes. Plan sustainability activities. Finalize project
Audience : 2 project managers/ researchers + 2 trainers
Project Consortium
Expected Results…
The project will promote upskilling pathways for cultural tourism operators in rural and/or deprived areas, aiming to lower the skills and competencies gap, and will provide the learners with an innovative, interactive training program and an open badges accreditation system, with the use of digital technology. The results expected during the project and on its completion are the following: Short-term results (during the project life cycle):