Cultural heritage - asset for Cross - border cohesion and prosperity

Funded by: Bulgaria-Turkey IPA Cross-border Programme, CCI Number: 2007CB16IPO008

The project partners are: Alliance for regional and civil initiatives (ARCI) – Haskovo branch and Vize Municipality, Turkey

Overall objective:
“To promote the development of cross-border region through providing regional cohesion and increasing competitiveness in order to achieve long-term sustainability and prosperity.”

Specific objectives:
“Strengthening the cross-border cooperation through establishment of new joint cultural products and services in the Haskovo-Kirklareli region”;
“Establishment of information network for development and promotion of common cultural heritage”;
“Valorisation of cultural resources through ICT usage”.

Тhe project main stakeholders are (target group): representatives of cultural institutions, Tourist companies, tour operators and tourist information centers, local authorities, researchers and people with disabilities.

The project started with (project activities): conductingstudies of the cultural heritage in the regions of Haskovo (Bulgaria) and Kurklareli (Turkey) and development of a Conception for cultural heritage development in the Haskovo – Kirklareli region.As a result of the conducted studies 100 sites / events (traditional festivals and customs) of cultural - historical heritage of the region will be described. At least 4 cross-border tourist routesincluding the studiedsites / events and measures for their promotion and will be proposed.

The results of the studies and the Conception will be presented at a round table on "Valorisation of local resources and cultural heritage". The roundtable stakeholders will identify common initiatives to implement the measures outlined in the Conception.

Within the project implementation, 15-minute movie and 3 minute trailer for the cultural - historical heritage in the border region Haskovo - Kirklareliwill be made, that will cover at least 10 of the studiedsites / events on both sides of the border. A digital map of the region will be prepared, as the tourist routeswill be GPS tracked and 3D photos of the sites included in them will be made. Digital map will be uploaded on the project website.

Implementation of the project will be completed with the conduction of Cross-border tour and conference on "Cultural Heritage - Cross-border asset cohesion and prosperity". During the cross-border tour will be visited part of the mapped routes and the included in them sites.

Expected results:
Elaborated"Study on the state ofcultural and historical heritagein theKirklareli province(Turkey);
Elaborated"Studyofcultural and historical heritagein the region ofHaskovoandConceptionfor cultural heritage developmentin HaskovoKirklareli region”;
Conducted"Bulgarian-Turkish Roundtable"Valorisation oflocal resourcesand cultural heritage";
Taking photos, GPS mapping, creating of promotionalfilm,trailerandwebsite;
Developedcatalogue "Cultural heritage of Haskovo andKırklareli";
Conducted cross-border tourandfinal conference"CulturalHeritage-asset for cross-border cohesionand prosperity."