IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

European policies identify cultural heritage and landscape education as crucial for training active, responsible citizens and as part of the right of every citizen to participate freely in cultural life. The “ScAR (Schools Activate Resources)” project (2018-2021) has driven an experimental action set in a context rich in critical issues and on a fragile and scarcely recognized heritage as that of the urban periphery of Milan (Italy). Students from primary to secondary school have been involved in a participatory process to discover, interpret, and communicate the cultural values hidden in the proximity landscape around their schools, also using an array of Information-Communication Technologies (ICT). The “Edulands for transition” project (Erasmus+ KA220-SCH) is continuing a similar action at the European level involving Italian, Spanish, and Austrian schools and focusing on the green deal as an environmental but also a social and cultural issue. The two projects are based on the co-design among teachers, researchers, public and private institutions, and associations of innovative, accessible, interdisciplinary, and inclusive educational methodologies to increase young citizens’ sense of belonging to the neighborhoods, active citizenship, and responsibility in the common good’s care. The purpose is to educate young citizens to understand their proximity heritage as a system of values in constant evolution and as a source of intergenerational and intercultural dialogue. The aim is also to promote participation and awareness towards tangible and intangible cultural heritage preservation as a means for sustainable development.