Decoding European trends and needs in upskilling and reskilling rural cultural tourism operators, professionals, and volunteers in rural and/or deprived areas.

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EU 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. 

  • To address the needs of local communities, municipal and community staff, service providers, professionals interested in the promotion of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas, tourism students etc. 
  • To develop recommendations for cultural tourism stakeholders that will improve the practices of cultural tourism across the EU.
  • To advance learning attitudes and the adaptation of high-quality learning opportunities. 
  • To develop and utilise digital tools for the development and sustainability of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas. 
  • To address the needs of local communities, municipal and community staff, service providers, professionals interested in the promotion of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas, tourism students etc.
  • To enrich the skills of the target group in rural and/or deprived areas.
  • To advance learning attitudes and the adaptation of high-quality learning opportunities.
  • To develop and utilise digital tools for the development and sustainability of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas.
  • To develop recommendations for cultural tourism
  • To enrich the skills of the target group in rural and/or deprived areas. 
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):

  • Promote upskilling pathways for cultural tourism operators, both professionals and volunteers, in rural and/or deprived areas. 
  • Innovative, interactive training programme for cultural tourism operators in rural and/or deprived areas. 
  • 1 Learning, Teaching, Training Activity for at least 12 adult educators in the field of cultural tourism. 
  • 6 national reports on the outcomes of the LTTA for the improvement of PR1. 
  • At least 60 local operators in the field of tourism in rural and/or deprived areas will be trained on the contents of the DECODE training course. 
  • Provide for an online resource platform containing interactive material and an open badges accreditation system for skill validation. 
  • Carry out three face-to-face transnational meetings and 1 online. 
  • 6 Multiplier Events (5 national and 1 transnational) 
  • Provide for a sharing and promotional plan and strategy 
  • Provide for networking opportunities for partners. 
  • Internal documents/results developed within the project management and implementation activities, such as project work plan, reports for the National Agency, financial reports, evaluation reports, surveys, presentations etc.
  • All participating organisations aim to integrate the DECODE project results in their daily practice, as our goal is that the outcomes will produce adequate results from the participants involved in project activities. Also, the organisations will raise awareness of the need to provide more quality education and training. Long-term results (after the project life cycle): 
  • Improve and accelerate the training of cultural tourism operators, professionals and volunteers, and people in the cultural tourism sector in rural and/or deprived areas. 
  • Support rural and deprived areas to enhance and develop their cultural tourism product. 
  • Offer networking opportunities for local communities. 
  • Take into consideration a holistic approach for adult learners, and efficient practices to create autonomous learners.
  • Establish solutions to autonomous learning through the online resource tool, which will offer the potential of expanding and transferring knowledge to other fields, but also extending geographically in other EU Member States and at international level. 
  • Local and national organisations, NGOs, SMEs and other organisations will be equipped to use the project outcomes into their daily practice by providing awareness and relevant training to adults.