The event “DIGICULT – Cultural Heritage: A Source of Resilience and Learning through Digital Education”, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme KA220-VET – Cooperation Partnership in Vocational Education and Training, ended with great success. The event, held in Turin at CIOFS-FP Piemonte ETS – Piazza Maria Ausiliatrice 35, was well attended, with over 350 people connected online and over 120 in attendance. Among the participants, there was a representation of young people who took part in the piloting of the project, actively contributing to its development.
The DIGICULT project aims to create professional opportunities for young people by integrating cultural heritage as an element of resilience and digitisation as both a training and employment tool. Through an innovative process, it worked to increase the digital skills of young people, enabling them to think together and work on the concept of cultural heritage.
The Multiplier Event was opened by the institutional greetings of Silvana Angela Rasello (CIOFS-FP Piemonte ETS) and Arturo Faggio (Piedmont Region). Daniela Varone (CIOFS-FP Piedmont ETS) recounted the journey and then left the narration of the project phases to the partners. At the beginning, Yianna Orphanidou (University of Nicosia) and Enrica Vaschetti (Le Terre dei Savoia) took the audience through the development of the innovative digital heritage curriculum, which created an educational pathway combining advanced digital skills with cultural heritage knowledge. Afterwards, Ruth Hurley (Ballymun Job Centre Co-Operative Society Limited), Yianna Orphanidou (University of Nicosia), Elisabetta Donato (CIOFS-FP Piedmont ETS) and Anita Kelava (eMundus), explained how the dedicated e-learning platform was implemented, which facilitated access to the training content. This phase included engaging piloting, where participants tested and provided valuable feedback, further enhancing the training. Finally, the event featured the creation by our CEO and Founder Chryso Christodoulou (DIGIPRO) and Alessandra Paulitti (FAI) of an educational game that makes learning about digital cultural heritage interactive and fun.
Giorgia Pesce (CIOFS-FP Piemonte ETS) then introduced the testimonies of two young beneficiaries (Madiha Mfassi and Nicoletta Ungureanu) who moved the audience by telling about their experience, and Sara Clerici (FAI) with Lowissa Wallgren Frånberg (The Nordic Centre of Heritage Learning and Creativity) recalled the mobility activities for students and trainers.
The day then saw the intervention of the Egyptian Museum of Turin with Sara Menato, Coordinator Social Media and Special Projects Egyptian Museum with the project Giovani Visioni al Museo and Giorgio Proglio with tabUi APP, concrete examples of digitisation applied to the discovery and enhancement of cultural heritage. The afternoon ended with the FAI experiences recounted by Sara Martinetti, Elena Castelli and Federica Amelio.
Daniela Varone, on behalf of the lead partner CIOFS-FP Piedmont ETS, expressed great satisfaction with the enthusiastic response received from the participants. “The presence of so many young people was particularly significant, as it shows the interest and commitment of the new generations towards the valorisation of digital cultural heritage. The DIGICULT project offers a concrete opportunity to interact and work with our cultural heritage.“
The event underlined the importance of the synergy between digitisation and cultural heritage as tools for resilience and learning. The active participation of experts, professionals and young students confirmed the value of these initiatives in the contemporary educational and cultural context.
Many thanks go to all partners, speakers and participants who made this day a success. Special thanks to the young people and trainers who took part in the piloting, whose contribution was crucial for the validation and improvement of the project.