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Top level
Forside
Aim of the project:
To contribute towards the economic and social regeneration of the North Sea Coastal Region by conserving and highlighting the area’s natural and cultural heritage through the regeneration of a network of links and pathways around key coastal areas; thus facilitating opportunities for sustainable economic development along this network related to cultural and environmental tourism, outdoor activities and education.
This network of links and pathways emphasise the common cultural and natural heritage of the North Sea Coastal Region as a whole, not just of neighbours but also of the communities, regions and countries throughout the area. This aspect, along with the wide range of partners from the region, will ensure that NAVE NORTRAIL concept will attract visitors from the whole of the North Sea Region.
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Objectives:
NAVE NORTRAIL will:
· Create a Pathways Network - To facilitate access and to identify physical structures like footpaths, coastal sealinks, lines of lighthouses etc. in the coastal landscapes of the countries encompassing the North Sea, enabling visitors, domestic and international ones, to recognise a tourist oriented coastal cultural heritage concept
· Create a Heritage Network - Identify the vast variety of locations and areas of cultural importance and public interest in the countries facing the North Sea, and strengthen trans-national co-operation between different national institutions in order to identify the different aspects of the same North Sea Cultural Traditions that each of the participating institutions is managing and represents through their daily activities.
· Develop an Accommodation Network - Contribute to the development of a comprehensive understanding of a North Sea Cultural Concept within the context of European tourist marketing through a programme of business development/business support, targeted at small-scale enterprises of accommodation, catering, rental activities (boats, bicycles), traditional crafts etc. in areas with low levels of employment and thus create alternative sources of income in the coastal regions. The NAVE NORTRAIL project will seek to achieve the development of an accommodation network, including traditional food, in each of the regions taking part in the project.
· Develop a Pathway to Knowledge - Develop a common European North Sea Coast Cultural knowledge platform with differentiated information that can be targeted at diverse groups like the public, tourists, educational resources, business support etc. This knowledge platform will be developed on a high quality basis, based on the achievements of the best research environments in the participating North Sea Countries, and will address issues like comparative studies of cultural heritage and old ways of living (the fisherman/peasant), navigation (lighthouses), artifacts of different types of cultural landscapes and of cultivating the land, maritime cultural heritage and so on.
All the above are predicated on fostering local employment in areas with decline in primary and secondary sector employment but with excellent natural and cultural heritage resources. A significant transfer of knowledge between the partners on the cultural heritage of the North Sea zone will also be achieved.
Activities:
The project comprises a series of interconnected initiatives, which reflect the objectives above but are considered as themes that run throughout the project. There is a logical succession from Theme 1 to Theme 4 although the activities planned under each theme do not have to be completed before the next commences. The interaction that will take place between themes will propel the project towards its aim.
Theme 1. Pathways Network:
Partners will identify their route for Nortrail. The final route will be selected on the basis of visual content, safety, historic links, cultural richness, proximity to overnight accommodation, and access to other amenities. Final selection of the pathway will not take place until Theme 2 has been through its initial stages and those active in that task will participate in the selection of the route.
This work will be closely related to the work of public sector spatial planning, leisure and environmental services working in partnership with regional and local forestry, wildlife and environmental organisations. Existing paths will already be plotted e.g. the Danish West Coast Trail 'Agger-Bulberg', or the British Ordnance Survey Landranger Series. However, each region will define the spatial context of their route, some parts of the route may follow a continuous line of lighthouses for example, and some parts of the route may be connected by short boat journey. Within this theme the project will focus on assembling a meaningful route for all the paths selected. The experience of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and the Dutch Footpath Organisation will be drawn upon and the project will listen to their and the provinces experiences with existing long distance trails, specifically the trail N5 from Nieuwe Schans to the Flanders Coast.
Theme 2. Heritage Network:
The project partners will identify sites of cultural and natural heritage along the route and create linkages between them. This theme takes its energy from the rich inheritance of cultural and natural sites and landscapes around the North Sea Region and will be implemented virtually in parallel with Theme 3.
An expert group, known as the Editorial Board and recruited from partners, will be advisors to the co-ordination of activities between those responsible for sites along the route. This will involve the co-ordination of museums, organisations, local authorities, and tourism agencies. This expert group will be the same group referred to in Theme 4, whose main task will be the development of the Knowledge Library, but whose work on Theme 2 will contribute to the path selection process. The utilisation of such a group will ensure maximum impact of the their knowledge as well as maximum linkage between sites. The work of this group will ensure that these links reflect the common cultural and historical links throughout the North Sea Region, not just those of near neighbours. The work of the previous NAVE NORTRAIL project will contribute to ensuring that the optimum blend of knowledge, expertise and vision are integrated within the group, with the work of Hordaland County’s Centre for Cultural Landscapes being particularly useful.
Theme 3. Accommodation Network:
This theme has the most direct link with community economic development and covers more than merely identifying accommodation provision along the route. This aspect of the project will focus on ensuring the commercial benefits are shaped, prepared, developed, marketed and exploited effectively. Activities will range from induction sessions for guides to heritage sites to providing briefing sessions for local transport personnel to assisting the development of linked businesses along the route via training. There are strong links to Theme 4 that will ensure effective ICT provision not only for visitors and tourists but also for service providers along the route. This provision, along with the work of the Editorial Board, will again link the sites and pathway.
Some partners will already have implemented work in this area of service provision while others will only be beginning the process. Therefore, some partners, or small groups of partners may focus on developing such provision while others will concentrate on refining their services to accommodation providers.
Theme 4. Pathway to Knowledge:
There are three parts to this theme and they will progress concurrently. Together they will deliver the awareness raising and marketing aspect of NAVE NORTRAIL. The Editorial Board will develop these.
Part 1 Knowledge Library: Information employed during early part of the project that identified natural and cultural sites and established the route as well as the linkages between sites forms the core of the Library.
Part 2 Business Support: To ensure congruence of goals and to target the message of NAVE NORTRAIL’s marketing strategy across all partners the work completed on Business Support will move on to marketing. The NAVE NORTRAIL project will also be linked to other European tourist and special interest networks to ensure product integration.
Part 3 ICT and Internet: The NAVE NORTRAIL website is developed during this phase, moving from development work initially to maintenance and management. The site will be linked to suitable global heritage networks. A section of the site will be dedicated to service providers and will contain product information, new briefing sessions, instructions and business advice.
Project Implementation and Management Activities will include:
· Project Steering Committee, established from members of the National/ Regional consortia, will oversee the project’s implementation
· Advisory Forum established based upon the interest of NGO’s and other national and regional organisations and key authorities will provide the cross sectoral input the project needs to be effective
· National and regional consortia will be established from partners involved. These will ensure project co-ordination at a regional level.
The Editorial Board will be established to tie up and maintain an overview on the systematisation of knowledge and information distribution
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( 17.12.2009 )
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( 13.11.2009 )
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( 07.09.2009 )
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( 15.04.2008 )
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( 24.03.2008 )
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