Preserving oral cultural heritage through artistic interpretationand attracting high quality tourism

It has been already a month since I ‘ve began volunteering for the PALIMPSEST Project, a research project co-funded by the Interreg V-A Greece-Italy 2014-2020. These first weeks have been really special and I believe it’s a great moment to share my experiences about this unprecedented journey!

First of all, I should introduce you to the project. PALIMPSEST (Post-Alphabetic, Interactive Museum using Participatory, Space-Embedded Story-Telling) is a European project of cross-border cooperation between Greece and Italy, that aims to develop an interactive open-air, participatory museum experience in Ioannina, Greece and Bari and Lecce, Italy. By restoring layers of the cities’ past that have been lost or forgotten, PALIMPSEST’s goal is to preserve assets of oral cultural heritage through artistic interpretationand attract high quality tourism.

My main assignments are the creative editing of the collected material of the project, as the oral stories of Ioannina’s past that have been collected by local student, the assistance in the implementation of the project’s interactive art installations in the open urban public space,and finally the collection, organization and editing of the material to be uploaded on the project’s website.

Although everyone in the PALIMPSEST Team has different backgrounds and expertise,the whole project is based on the principles of cooperation and collaboration.We always work as a team. The host organization and mentors have been very helpful and have welcomed me warmly! You never feel unguided or left out, as you are a major part of the whole process and from the first moment you actively take part in it. Everyone tried to make me feel at home and our weekly meetings are always an opportunity to come together, discuss the progress of the project, think, formulate new ideas, correct old ones, and in general they are an occasion that we are all looking forward to attend!

Through the IVY initiative, and especially through the PALIMPSEST Project,I’ve become familiar with what EU does to support local communities, and surely the opportunity to become a volunteer has been a lifetime experience as it provided me with a new point of view and a fresh perspective. I am sure that more young volunteers should be informed and participate, as through this unforgettable adventure they will experience what European solidarity means as well as widen their horizons, learn new things, meet new people and further develop their skills. Something that definitely happened to me!

Nefeli Florou, IVY Project Partner at PALIMPSEST

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