The ideas behind Metropolis have been inspired by the European Year of Cultural Heritage, as partners have looked for a way to celebrate forgotten aspects of their regions’ heritage, using this to add value to their engagement with young people. In particular, the project will focus on the industrial heritage found in areas, which more recently have become associated with post-industrial decline. This is because such decline and the employment/social problems it has created has now come to overshadow the successes of the past. This is particularly problematic for young people, who were born well after the decline set in and so have little understanding or connection with the industrial positives of the past. Therefore, they define their local area by the problems in the present, something that also impacts on how they perceive their (lack of) long-term future in their region. The project’s activities look to address this disconnection between the past, present and future by creating resources that highlight the value of regions’ industrial heritage and the positive legacy this has created for the present/future labour market. This approach will mean that young people’s stereotypes of their region are challenged, as they gain a better understanding of the successes of the past. In turn, this will enrich their outlook for future local employment opportunities, something that will mean that they are more enthusiastic and motivated to build a career locally.

Aims and Objectives

In order to achieve this Metropolis embraces open and innovative digital practices. This is epitomized by the interactive city maps of each chosen region which will be created by the project. These maps will encourage young people to explore their local areas in a new way, by creating educational ‘heritage trails’ which takes them out of the classroom and into the city. These maps will combine facts and information about sites of industrial heritage with interactive content and knowledge checks, all of which will be presented in an engaging, gamified way. As a result, by embracing geo-mapping, mobile digital technology, the project will add an innovative kinesthetic level to learning and guidance for young people. Given that these young people have grown up digitally native, this will help to increase the impact of the project’s engagement with regions’ industrial heritage by presenting information in a medium well-used by young people.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Metropolis-Linking-Cultural-Heritage-to-the-Jobs-of-the-Future-231885490861011/

Twitter: @MetropolisEU

Projektdetails

Projektverantwortlich

Katrin ChristlZur Projekt-Website

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Projektlaufzeit

01.10.2018–30.06.2021

Projekt abgeschlossen

Erasmus+

Disclaimer of liability: this project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication; the Commission is not responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.