GREEN AND MYSTICAL DANUBE STORYTELLING ROUTE – Transnational valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage for socio-economic development of rural areas in the Danube region
The Mystical Danube project aims to address challenges and needs in the Danube Region, focusing on the valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage for tourism development and regional economic growth. The project targets rural and less visited areas facing high unemployment and social exclusion, particularly among disadvantaged groups. By leveraging the rich natural and cultural heritage of these regions, the project seeks to foster community development through transnational collaboration and the creation of a thematic tourism route – the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route. This route will showcase local stories, legends, and knowledge, engaging local communities, including disadvantaged groups, in the development of community-based tourism services. The main project objective is to develop a coordinated joint transnational approach in the valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage as a tourism asset in rural and less visited areas in the Danube Region Programme area. The project’s main outputs will include 1 joint strategy for the valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage in rural and less visited areas of the Danube Region, as well as 10 Pilot site Action plans for the development of sustainable community tourism services and products.
MYSTICAL DANUBE Open-source database on natural sites and associated intangible heritage: https://mystical-danube.ceeweb.org/
Background
Local community is a great resource that can enhance economic development of a certain region, and at the same time feel included and as a contributing member of the community and society in general. We want to include local community, and especially the disadvantaged groups in creation of community-based tourism services that will be part of a new thematic route (the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route) created within the project, as a social innovation. Also, we want to include the local community members (special focus on disadvantaged groups in each region) in capacity building activities for the provision of these services which will enhance their employment, social inclusion and economic development in the Danube Region.
Goals & Objectives
- Strategy for valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage in rural, less visited areas
- Capacity building of local community stakeholders in the Danube region for the new thematic route
- Promotion of the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route as a new thematic route in the Danube region
Activities
- Mapping and collection of natural and associated intangible cultural heritage in the project's rural and less visited areas on which the Strategy will be based
- Mapping and analysis of examples of good practices in the Danube and broader region on projects and activities that deal with sustainable community tourism development
- Creating a Strategy on how to valorise mapped natural and associated intangible cultural heritage as a touristic resource for the creation of sustainable community tourism services and products
- SWOT analysis and tourism-related tools workshops for the development of sustainable community tourism services and products in Pilot sites
- Training and networking of local community stakeholders
- Development and implementation of Action plans for sustainable community tourism services and products in each Pilot site
- Development of the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route based on all Action plans
- Setting up of contact points for the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route at Pilot sites
- Developing the mobile app for promotion of the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route
- Promotion and implementation of the Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route
Types of services
- Knowledge sharing
- Data-collection
- Awareness-raising
- Event organisation