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he International Council on Monuments and Sites
has positively assessed Slovenia’s bid to get selected works of architect Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) in Ljubljana included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Since many of Plečnik’s cultural heritage is not accessible to public, Ljubljana Tourism has started to digitalise Plečnik’s heritage and make VR and AR experiences out of the digitalised materials. Additionally, Ljubljana has prepared a self-guided tour in the Nexto mobile app showing how the city would look like if Plečnik was able to complete major metropolitan projects that were never implemented. The digital content will be 3D modelling in AR and VR technology. The new tour will join Plečnik’s Ljubljana cycling tour and Žale Cemetery Tour, both celebrating his architectural wonders.Find out more at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1643/ and https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/stories/take-the-bicycle-tour-through-plecniks-ljubljana/
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GenovaJeans
is an important example to improve the image of the city using cultural heritage and creativity to attract tourists. Genoa is working at very important projects that put together the great history of the city with a special capacity for technological and industrial innovation. GenovaJeans marks the birth of the street of Jeans, a touristic, commercial, cultural, itinerary aimed at enhacing the streets (via Pre’, via del Campo, via San Luca) where the fabrics were produced and used since ancient times. The city wants to enhace its role and Italy in the birth and development of the most popular garment in the word, an icon of pop culture. The project is connected with Museum Diocesano and Museum Mazziniano to enhace them. Find out more at: www.genovajeans.it
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14 Henrietta Street in Dublin
is a museum of architectural and social history, as told through the walls of the building and the lives of the people who lived there. From the outset of its 10-year long journey in 2008 to rescue, stabilise and conserve the house, the work was informed through engagement with former residents alongside a model of cross-sectoral decision-making. Here stories and research met the perspective of architects, conservators, social historians, former residents, artists, and archivists. Additionally, in Spring 2021, 14 Henrietta Street was invited to participate in a European pilot project alongside museums such as Pompidou and Courtauld to use their software and data loggers. These provided feedback support and support for the ongoing development of software in building conservation to reduce day to day environmental damage, preserve objects and protect the fabric of the building. Visitors receive a guided experience through the house with the stories told through our guides, poetry, digital archive films and stories. The building is the primary artefact in the collection, and first-hand memories and handed down stories from former residents and their families inform the tour and animate the building’s curation. The museum’s exhibits are also highly accessible with an induction point in each room to complement the audio-visual displays. Find out more at: https://14henriettastreet.ie
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EPIC
EPIC is a high-tech visitor attraction housed in the brick vaults of the CHQ Building, a beautiful historic warehouse in Dublin’s Docklands. In this museum Irish history has become a dynamic, immersive experience, rather than a long list of names and dates. Thus, here visitors can explore Irish culture and history in a fully interactive way with touch screen video galleries, motion sensor quizzes, remastered audio from 100 years ago, a ‘whispering’ literature gallery and engaging films. The museum is arranged in 20 galleries where it explores the reasons people emigrated and celebrates their impact across the globe. EPIC’s digital storytelling is a sustainable model of exhibition making, allowing the museum to be updated with new stories or recent social changes in Ireland, such as marriage equality. As committed as it is to being an open and accessible museum, it has an app in multiple languages that can be used to assist the wider museum experience. Find out more at: https://epicchq.com
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The Urban Mediaspace Aarhus project
has transformed the industrial port environment into a new and lively city environment, creating a dynamic correlation between the city-centre and the waterfront. The comprehensive project includes the iconic DOKK1, which is Denmark’s largest library and an international trendsetter for future library environments. Though physically close to the city-centre, the area was previously inaccessible to the public; but has now turned into a creative and social hub, and the space is designed to attract visitors all day round. Find out more at: http://www.urbanmediaspace.dk/sites/default/files/pdf/uk_ums_haefte_2015.pdf
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Dublin local authorities
take open data one step further by creating the ‘Culture Near You’ map. It was identified that for Dubliners, visitors and city planners, there was no central source of information about culture in the city. The project has culturally mapped Dublin city and provides city planners dynamic cultural information as they make strategic decisions about Dublin’s future. ‘Culture Near You’ uncovers the diverse cultural activities of the city and makes them widely available to residents and visitors. There are currently over 3,500 cultural assets on the map and infinite possibilities for that number to increase. The impact of this project has been enormous. It gives everyone the opportunity to find hidden gems nestled in Dublin neighbourhoods and gives visitors the opportunity to experience the city from a local and community perspective.Find out more at: https://www.dublincity.ie/culturenearyou/#
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Since the 14th century Lazareti building complex
was established as the first quarantine in Europe where anyone who wanted to enter Dubrovnik needed to stay for 40 days beforehand. The complex has since served many purposes and is now being revived as a common ground for different cultural content for the local community and the tourists as part of the ‘Lazareti Creative Hub of Dubrovnik’ project. Through this venture segments of the Lazareti complex were renovated and equipped for cultural-touristic programmes. Special interest was put on environment care by implementing LED lights in the Lazareti complex, and the building venues were adjusted to people with disabilities, whereas tourist guides were educated how to guide them. The general aim of the project is the improvement of cultural heritage management through valorisation the cultural heritage venues and spreading the cultural-touristic offer based on the cultural heritage of Dubrovnik.Find out more at: https://lazaretihub.com/en/press-releases/lazareti-once-and-today
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FUTURE EPICS is one of the programmes
financed by European commission with the innovative view on exposing immaterial heritage to Dubrovnik Festival’s guests. FUTURE EPICS brings together a combination of production, theatre, dance, sociocultural organisations with a common goal to rediscover certain aspects of European cultural heritage with an accent on empowerment of young artists and audience.Find out more at: https://futurepics.org/future-epics-lab-scenography-in-heritage-held-from-11th-to-14th-march-in-dubrovnik/
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‘BIG dock’ is the new permanent exhibition
of the Maritime Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, which gives visitors the opportunity to get close to the star architect Bjarke Ingels’ thoughts, visions and creative process about the creation of the already iconic underground museum building that houses M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark. In the exhibition the story is told by Bjarke Ingels himself – through films, statements, models and one of his favourite media: the comic book. Here he uncovers, among other things, why he deliberately chose to break the competition rules and instead wrap the museum around the dock – and the magic that arises when a historic industrial monument – the dry dock – is revived through modern ground-breaking architecture. The museum created a virtual reality film showing the architectural process of the construction of the museum which located partly underground at an old dock in the harbour of Helsingør. Find out more at: https://mfs.dk/en/exhibition/big-dock/
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Avoiding overcrowded and congested beaches
The “Platages Secures” or Safe Beaches app is an app that shows how crowded beaches in Palma are in real time, as well as lists the current and active safety measures that are in force. The app shows different occupancy levels that showcase how full a beach is at any given time allowing for less congestion and for the visitors to plan their trip to the beach in advance.Find out more at: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1522274113 and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playas.palma&hl=en&gl=US
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The city of Dubrovnik
has launched its first digital nomad-in-residence (DN-I-R) programme to help make the city attractive as a long-term base for people who have the freedom to work from anywhere. Through a joint programme between the City of Dubrovnik and its Tourist Board, operated by the remote workspace and events company Saltwater Nomads, ten digital nomads with a wide social media influence were selected via an application process to stay in Dubrovnik free for a month. During that time, alongside their usual work they attended design thinking workshops to provide input on the city’s strategic and sustainable direction in which the city should move and adapt to COVID-19 challenges.Find out more at: https://www.total-croatia-news.com/digital-nomads-in-croatia/53143-nomad-partners
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Visualise art with AR
The Fallas festival, an annual traditional celebration in the city of València, has offered the city the opportunity to partner with the University Research Institute on Robotics and Information and Communication Technologies (IRTIC) and the Engineering Technical School of the Universitat de València (ETSE-UV) to create an augmented reality application. This augmented reality allows users to interact with the ninot painting of the artist Ramón Solaz, which can be visited at the Ninot Exhibition. The ninot symbolises a neuron which forms part of a virtual brain. The user can explore it through the mobile application to obtain information about the latest discoveries on the field of neuroscience. The augmented reality application can be installed on numerous operating systems and can identify several types of neurons. Find out more at: https://www.uv.es/uvweb/engineering/en/etse-uv-news/augmented-reality-fallas-neuroscience-1285923366775/Novetat.html?id=1286033492616
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Digital tools for a sustainable visit
Planet CPH is an app that aims to inspire visitors to Copenhagen to more sustainable behaviour. Planet CPH is a location-based app that presents the user with two types: Sustainable “points of interest” (POIs) nearby complete with all relevant information and directions. In addition, the app contains inspiring guides with video and text with various sustainable themes (for example cycling). The app highlights high quality experiences that are sustainable in one or more categories for sustainability: environmental (biking possibilities, clean harbor areas for swimming, public water posts, sustainable food as well as attractions working to implement sustainable measures in the visitor experience); social (green and urban areas that hold possibilities for locals and visitors to meet and share a moment of culture or dining, as well as organizations with altruistic activities); and economical (small shops with locally produced goods). Find out more at: https://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/koebenhavn/diverse/om-planet-cph
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Exploring like a game
The QUESTO app is a self-guided interactive tours app that helps tourists discover the Alba Iulia by solving quests in a creative way. Thanks to the Questo app, visitors can play a very interesting city hunt inside the Alba Carolina Citadel and around the city. Find out more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnW2112yE6M&t=1s
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A city exploration game
“Narratologies” is a location-based app offering alternative, self-guided city exploration and shopping tours. The app creates a hybrid experience of urban cultural exploration by utilizing gamification techniques combined with location intelligence. The app guides visitors independently and at their own pace around the city while exploring hidden stories and acquiring unique rewards from local businesses, providing the user with an exciting way to experience Athens off the beaten track.Find out more at: https://narratologies.com/
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Dubrovnik Visitors
The Dubrovnik Visitors service enables the city authorities to monitor the number of people that is currently in the Old Town in the City of Dubrovnik. It gives data about the number of people that entered to the city and based on that information the city authorities can make smarter and more informed decisions concerning the organisation of pedestrian movement around and inside of the Old Town. Find out more at: https://dubrovnik-visitors.hr
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Whereas the official visitors’ guide “This is Athens”
is published in English, French, and German to target the largest markets for tourism in Athens, it is true that there is also growth potential to attract visitors from China. Consequently, the City of Athens and the Athens Traders’ Association partnered to launch the Toorbee app, a B2B platform that aims to bridge the gap between Athenian travel supply and Chinese travel demand. The app provides information on sight-seeing, hotels, shops, and restaurants to Chinese Online Travel Agencies while letting Athenian service providers create their own content for better targeting, higher conversion rates, and instant payments. Find out more at: https://www.toorbee.com/28-12-2018-athens-airport-launches-new-app-for-chinese-tourists/
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Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP)
The Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) has led to significant investments into Florence’s public transport network and is currently implementing a wide communication campaign for eco-friendly behaviours. For instance, Firenze Walking campaign promotes walking as a mobility alternative to reduce the congestion of mass tourism. The IF app – Infomobility Firenze – also encourages sustainable mobility by offering the users alternative solutions and making them aware of the carbon footprint of their transport choices, while rewarding them for behavioural changes in favour of more sustainable solutions.Find out more at: https://fsr.eui.eu/publications/?handle=1814/68840
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Infomobility Florence APP- Platform
Infomobility Florence (IF) is a service platform dedicated to integrated urban mobility management. It gives real time information on mobility services, including public transport real time arrivals, parking slots and charging station availability, access limitation to certain areas of the city, changes of circulation rules due to accidents, roadworks, etc. IF is also used by the city to promote sustainable transport options.Find out more at: https://www.omnys.com/en/news/florence-province-infomobility
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The Urban Garden
The Urban Garden initiative is part of the Metamorphosis Project in Alba Iulia. It aims to create a network of urban gardens around schools and kindergartens within the city where children and teachers can promote urban gardening and can use the gardens as a learning space. The urban gardens were developed within the neighbourhoods. This way schools and citizens could “adopt” their own plot to take care of. Several events such as a seeds-exchange-event, a recycling workshop, a cooking workshop, and a painting workshop took place and expanded the urban gardening idea. Find out more at: https://metamorphosis-project.eu/sites/default/files/downloads/Fact%20Sheets%20Alba%20Iulia.pdf
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Discovering nature through augmented reality
The Dublin Bay Biosphere actively uses smart technology to promote sustainability. Sensing Ecologies is an augmented reality app developed by the Biosphere and artist Fiona McDonald as part of a public art project. The app senses where the user is and builds wildlife soundscapes around them. Voiceovers and interviews are also included which educate the user on both wildlife and the effects of climate change. This year they will install solar powered signage, water bathing monitoring sensors, and they will also use drones in collaboration with GIS systems to map and survey wildlife ecosystems. Find out more at: http://www.fionamcdonald.digital/sensing-ecology
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Encouraging ecological values among the little ones
During the Covid 19 lockdown, the Dublin Bay Biosphere used remote technology to run a HomeSchool Biodiversity Series, and community programmes that encourage children from across the city to become Biosphere ambassadors. In June 2021, Dublin Bay Biosphere in partnership with Scouting Ireland launched the Dublin Bay Biosphere Award. This allows children to earn a badge which can be sown onto uniforms or clothing in recognition of their efforts to protect local wildlife. Find out more at: https://www.dublinbaybiosphere.ie/events/home-school-webinar-series/and https://www.dublinbaybiosphere.ie/biosphere-award/about-the-biosphere-award/
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Rotterdam is discovering new sustainable spaces within its urban centre
Through the Rotterdam Roof Days festival, everyone can admire the city from a new perspective: flat roofs. These flat roofs are a new urban space that the city is looking at to create new accessible and attractive space within the city centre as a sustainable alternative to creating new building and help increase breathing space and urban recreational areas within an increasingly crowded city. Find out more at: https://rotterdamsedakendagen.nl/en/
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CLIMATic City Centre for the improvement of public spaces
Gdynia is running an innovative project called CLIMATic City Centre that aims to improve the quality of public spaces, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, for a greener environment. As it is pursuing climate neutrality, Gdynia has increased green areas in the heart of the city. And it has taken several measures to reach that goal: It has designed new infrastructure to change transportation habits that will limit and change the direction of car traffic and it has rearranged its parking system. Additional bicycle lanes were installed and sidewalks available for pedestrians were widened. Gdynia has also created tree lines and pocket parks that are being constantly developed.Find out more at: https://sea-city.pl/gdynia-takes-care-of-the-environment/
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A guide for more sustainable business and events
Meet Copenhagen City assists professional international delegates to plan their study program and match the delegations with relevant partners and experts. To help organizers and businesses host more sustainable large conferences, meetings and events in Copenhagen, Wonderful Copenhagen has developed a digital Sustainability Guide that lists all the sustainable options with 6 planning areas: travel & transportation, venues & accommodation, materials & communication, food & beverages, socially responsible partnerships and lasting impacts. Find out more at: https://www.wonderfulcopenhagen.com/convention-bureau/sustainable-events/start-planning-your-sustainable-event