May mountains and cultures connect us

Beneficiary:   Bieszczady Poviat

Slovak partner:   Mesto Giraltovce

Implementation period:   01/03/2017 - 31/12/2017

Realized project value: € 84,486.73 , including ERDF co-financing: € 71,813.72 ,

The implementation of the project was a response to the need to develop new, non-traditional promotional forms, deepening the level of knowledge about multiculturalism. The project partners, wanting to give an impulse to the development of tourism based on rich cultural heritage, created a mobile application which is a compendium of knowledge about tourist attractions, monuments, history, and cultural events in both regions. A number of soft activities related to the subject of multiculturalism in the Polish-Slovak borderland were also carried out, incl. workshops for representatives of institutions, NGOs and local leaders, a multicultural event, forum, festival.

The main activities carried out under the project:

• Let's get to know each other. A school for the effective promotion of the borderland . During the task, three rounds of journalism and media workshops were carried out for representatives of institutions, NGOs and local leaders from Poland and Slovakia who needed support in the field of creating information and using e-technologies related to the promotion of the multicultural heritage of the border area. The workshops were conducted by specialists in the history and culture of the region, journalism and modern information methods.
• Let's go the route for five. Interactive crucible of five cultures. The implementation of the task ensured the presence in the virtual world. A mobile application was created containing information about many cultures and the most important events in the border area. Workshops were organized, during which students from Poland and Slovakia were introduced to the methodology of quests.
• Let's take out our treasures. Polish Borderland Pearls Festival. In the Bieszczady Poviat, one multicultural event and three accompanying events were organized, showing the cultures related to the supported area (Ruthenian, German and Jewish culture day). During the main event, the entire festival square was divided into zones of different cultures. The zones were to show the multiculturalism of the area and its diversity in terms of initiatives undertaken in its area. They promoted not only food, but also music that was diverse in terms of origin. By creating an opportunity to present the folk rituals of other groups once inhabiting the area, it was presented as a melting pot of cultures.
• Remembering the past, let's meet. A forum was organized in the city of Giraltovce, the main task of which was to draw attention to the crimes that took place during the Second World War. Experts from Poland and Slovakia were invited to bring the topic closer to the debate. The discussion was addressed to secondary school students from both partner cities. An accompanying event was an exhibition consisting of historical photos showing the life of the Jewish community on the border.
• Let cultures connect us.   The Slovak Borderland Pearls Festival was to show the multiculturalism of both partner cities and both partner areas. Folk groups from the town of Giraltovce and regional folk groups from the partner town of Ustrzyki Dolne performed during the event. Apart from the folklore in the form of singing and dancing, the products of craftsmen from both partner cities were presented during the event. As part of the festival, there was also a presentation of three cultures (Polish, Slovak and Jewish), which undoubtedly contributed to increasing the attractiveness of the event