The second Forum of Delphi was held on 17 and 18 April. It emphasized at the same time the model of governance and the business model of the cultural routes.
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european institute of cultural routes |
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| Michel Thomas-Penette |
| 01 August 2010 |
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At the end of the Forum, the participants accepted the Draft Charter underlining working suggestions aiming at the improvement of the effectiveness of the cultural routes management.
This Draft Charter has been submitted to the reaction of those of the participants who could not come due to transportation's problems.
It has been definitively adopted on 30 April and proposed to the Advisory Committee of the Cultural Routes on 3-4 May and to the Steering Committee of Culture on 5- May that took note positively.
Photo: from left to right, Lina Mendoni, General Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Hellenic Government, Hélène Ahrweiler, President, Delphi Networks and Christodoulos Yiallourides, Director of the European Culural Centre of Delphi
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Hélène Ahrweiler, President of Delphi European Centre
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THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS ONLY THE TEXTS OF THE CHARTER AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.
READERS WHO REGISTERED CAN FIND IN LINK THE COMPLETE TEXT IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH.
A PLATFORM FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK HAS BEEN SET UP BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE FORUM.
IT ONTAINS NOT ONLY ALL TNE TEXTS OF THE SPEAKERS IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH, BUT ALSO FUNDAMENTALS TEXTS ON THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT OF THE PROGRAMME, NEW POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AS REGARDS TOURISM IN EUROPE, THE PARTIAL AGREMENTS PROJECTS WITHIN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE...
IT CONTAINS ALSO A CALENDAR SHOWING THE MAIN EVENTS AS REGARDS CULTURAL ROUTES AND CULTURAL TOURISM.
IT HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR THE PARTICIPANTS TO THE FORUM, BUT ALSO FOR ALL THOSE WHO SUBSCRIBED TO THE WEBSITE OF THE INSTITUTE.
IF YOU DID NOT SUBSCRIBED YET, PLEASE DO IT!
ALL THE SUBSCRIBERS CAN ASK TO A FREE ENTRY TO THE PLATFORM IN WRITING TO:
Aurore Mallet
aurore.mallet@culture-routes.lu
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At the end of the first Forum of Delphi in May 2006, a “Declaration of Delphi� on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe was adopted by the participants. This Declaration evoked the creation of “synergies� between all potential participants and proposed organising future meetings where the aim would be to better define the responsibilities related to the governance of cultural routes, as well as the financial requirements of the programme.
It is on this basis that the governments of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Hellenic Republic decided to organise a second “Forum of Delphi� under the name, “Cultural routes as tools for intercultural dialogue, rapprochement of cultures, sustainable development, cultural tourism and European integration�.
The main aim of this Forum being to identify and analyse the steps required to carry out this programme whilst respecting the regulations which bind the cultural routes and its Charters, in order to clarify responsibilities, methods of governance and sources of funding.
Placed under the auspices of the Council of Europe, it brought together or received messages from representatives of the following: the European Union, (European Commission, European Parliament), local authorities, UNESCO, ICOMOS, NGOs involved in the questions concerning cultural tourism, networks authorised by the Council of Europe to manage cultural routes, those involved in new cultural route projects, universities and their students, civil society, information bodies, banking organisation and tourism professions.
In addition to the plenary session, three round tables tackled the following questions:
1 Tourist tools and products of cultural routes
2 Ethical and responsible tourism
3 The economic model for cultural routes and the promotion of destination Europe
The conclusions of these presentations and discussions are provided in the appendix.
All of the steps for setting up Cultural Routes were envisaged and illustrated by means of real examples, from the view of scientific research, guarantor of authenticity and cultural diversity, to the open interpretation of history and of the memory of Europe, the development of a European citizenship with an intercultural dimension attained through travel, particularly focused on young people and the development of a sustainable and social tourism which is established on the basis of ethical rules.
The economic bases of cultural routes and more generally of cultural tourism were also the subject of reflection, which was based on actual situations of cooperation between the public sector and private sectors, as well as the experience of tourism professionals and the economic sector in general.
All participants highlighted :
1- The growing success of the programme, due as much to the constant development of the cultural routes, which have already been accredited, as to the number of good quality proposals;
2- The essential role of culture routes for the protection and development of heritage in implementing sustainable tourism;
3- The importance of the programme in terms of addressing the increased need for intercultural dialogue based on actual meetings with others through their cultural heritage values;
4- The economic importance of the programme in terms of local and regional development and its role in facilitating social dialogue;
5- The wealth of the programme with regard to the implementation of tangible values and of the political priorities of the European institutions;
6- The importance of the programme with regard to the issues of developing a coherent and successful tourism for Destination Europe;
7- The importance of the programme for Euro Mediterranean dialogue.
A number of suggestions and comments resulted from this:
Suggestions :
In order to strengthen the cultural routes programme in terms of its coherence, visibility and to give it the financial means that it requires, the participants suggested:
In terms of funding :
1- As part of the bilateral cooperation agreements between the members states of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, introducing budgetary outlines allowing exchanges and synergies between those in charge of cultural routes, as well as funding, enabling them to benefit from increased assistance from the European Institute of Cultural Routes;
2- Reinforcing cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Commission, aiming above all to create an extended Partial Agreement on cultural routes, based in Luxembourg on the premises of the European Institute of Cultural Routes;
3- Mobilising of all the signatory countries of the European Cultural Convention to create an extended Partial Agreement on cultural routes.
In terms of governance :
4- Assisting the extended Partial Agreement, by creating a Governing board composed of those member States participating in the funding, a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Directorates-General of the European Commission concerned and the Committees of the European Parliament concerned;
5- Introducing an Advisory Committee composed of representatives of the following: the networks of the cultural routes, international communities and platforms for heritage and tourism, the chambers of commerce, financial establishments, professional organisations from the heritage, culture and tourism sectors, NGOs or other pertinent entities;
6- Introducing structures into the member states of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, which will enable those in charge of cultural routes to come together, with the aim of offering them scientific and financial assistance and of encouraging their dialogue with the group of ministries concerned thanks to a unified representation, baring in mind regional and local abilities;
7- Increasing the resources that the Advisory Committee of cultural routes has at its disposal to carry out its evaluation work.
Comments :
In order to find and realise solutions for the requirements of each step in the implementation of cultural routes a number of suggestions were proposed :
The acaemic and scientific requirements :
Networking for European universities or research centres, for Chairs as well as Master degrees, focusing on tourism and heritage with a specialisation on culture routes.
Launch European summer schools on Cultural Routes.
The requirements in terms of interpretation and mediation :
Regular organisation of conferences on contemporary methodologies and the contemporary tools of designing, marking, interpretation and of mediation applied to cultural routes.
Regular organisation of a prize for publishers to encourage the publication of guides on cultural routes in line with the spirit of cultural diversity and European interpretation.
The educational and public awareness raising requirements :
Cooperation between the cultural routes programme and the European citizenship actions designed for young Europeans (Centre of European Culture, European Youth Parliament…).
Create a Club of cultural routes accompanied by a citizen Passport and Code of conduct.
The requirements in terms of marketing, communication and the media :
Establishment of a marketing approach for cultural routes of the Council of Europe and with the creation of a brand identity and checks and controls for products derivatives with this label.
The requirements in terms of professionalising tourism:
Extend the databases on the relations between the cultural route networks and the tourist professionals.
Create a dialogue between those promoting cultural routes and heritage professionals as well as museums and tourism professionals through a series of training for those in the chain of cultural routes (initial or ongoing training).
The requirements in terms of recognising the impacts :
Introduce pilot studies and indicators on the characteristics of tourist activity and on the impact of cultural routes on the regional development and economy of small and medium sized local enterprises.
Apply the research of the PICTURE programme (Pro active management of the impact of cultural tourism on urban resources and economies)…in small and medium sized towns.
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Gabriella Battaini, Director General, DG IV Council of Europe
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A Forum like Delphi, ensuing from a very long period of experimentation with a programme still seen as fundamental by the Council of Europe, comes at exactly the right time to respond to a key moment of cooperation which the European institutions hope to involve in the cultural tourism of “Destination Europe�.
It is not that - beyond its intercultural impact, its essential role in terms of concrete cultural cooperation – the economic effect of cultural routes in terms of local development is not visible.
The number of pilgrimage routes users (several million walkers, cyclists and riders…), the growing number of regional groups participating in the programme (several million) and the funding, the impressive number of cultural structures involved (several tens of thousands) and finally the number of European areas concerned easily show a strong economic dynamism within a sector which, for some European countries, constitutes one of the first sources of income.
The cultural routes programme plays an essential role in what Nicolas Bouvier, the great traveller called “L’usage du Monde� (the way of the world) or Jean-Marc Besse, the landscaper, “Le Goût du Monde� (the taste of the world).
If we can say that it helps, through travel and the spirit of discovery and sharing, to regenerate enthusiasm for the idea of a European construction, which is quite neglected in terms of economic policy, a precise definition of its operating models is urgently needed.
Without this, the desired cooperation for this programme between the sectors of the European institutions concerned with cultural dialogue, the mobility of its designers, the mobility of Europeans generally, European integration, regional development, improving the status of small and medium sized companies and maintaining European tourism at the highest global level, to quote only a few parts which are indispensable to the proper functioning, would be unable to successfully apply itself.
Insofar as the conclusions of the plenary meetings and the round table reports have already put into perspective the important areas which formed the subjects of our analysis, concrete presentations and operative suggestions, it seems important to once again flag up two areas which should enable these issues to be responded to in the near future.
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General Conclusions and signature of the Trilateral Agreement
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Photography: from left to right, Michel Thomas-Penette, Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes, Gabriella Battaini, Director Géneral DG IV Council of Europe, George Poussaios,General ecretary for Tourism and Zoé Kazazaki, Head of the Directorate for International Relations, Hellenic Ministy of Culture and Tourism
Tools and Products
It is striking to note the extent to which the cultural routes programme corresponds to a concrete translation for the citizens of the studies, agreements, charters and recommendations drawn up by the Council of Europe, the European Union, UNESCO and ICOMOS in terms of material, immaterial and environmental cultural heritage. The concept of integrated heritage, the concept of landscape democracy and the concept of respecting cultural diversity are inherent not only when planning cultural routes, but also in the everyday life of locals and visitors.
The wealth of content, the desire to put forward new destinations and the tourist products designed in a sustainable and regional framework, whilst respecting the European aspect, the introduction of a European passport and the respect of individual approaches within a spirit of meeting others, are such novelties in a European tourist environment which did have a tendency to standardise itself and to therefore grow poorer, despite the mainly “cultural� perception of the tourists who visit Europe.
To sum up, with cultural routes, we are returning to an old approach - the Grand Tour, a pilgrimage route from the Middle Ages, an educational rite of passage – but this time available to a larger number and not just the elite.
Thanks to new technology allowing simulation, information in real time, the integration of theoretical information and practical information, democratic participation, cultural routes – in the context of a more general development of cultural tourism – are a striking example of the theories of Alvin Toffler on the “Third Wave�.
The industrial and technological innovation which, for a long time, served standardisation, today, thanks to new information and communication technology, serves to make the conception, implementation and sale of tourist products more flexible, to respond to a more individualised demand and to a strong interaction between the designer, service sector businesses and clients.
The dialogue of those in charge of cultural routes with tourism professionals, which was certainly not possible twenty three years ago when the programme was first conceived, has become possible, not with large groups, but with those professionals who have turned to a niche tourism, sustainable tourism and social tourism.
Ethical and responsible tourism – New tourist paradigm / New economic paradigms
Classic tourism is based on the identification, even the artificial creation of the dream of escaping, a change of scenery and of the unknown, realised as a period of beach and exotic tourism. The tourist industry has introduced an increasingly fixed pattern which unites modes of transport, support structures, gastronomic provision and tourist visits to serve this dream. If the product can adapt to apply itself to bigger numbers, then prices can be reduced, while the profits remain high because standardisation reduces the need for research and development. The other culture is therefore reduced, most often to a folklore and caricatural vision, a cheap exoticism.
Cultural tourism is also based on a dream of escaping and of knowledge, of dialogue with the unknown, with others. But it demands a range of modes of transport, in order to respect sustainable development. It is a real expression of personal wishes and the fulfilment of the need for personalised contact. It rests on literary imagination as much as on the need for knowledge. In essence, in such a framework, no journey can correspond to another, or, more precisely, the same offer must be able to adapt to individual and culturally different approaches. In this framework, an integration of means is not possible. The model’s economy is decentralised and it needs to facilitate regional effects and demands a sharing of responsibilities.
The notion of the network is therefore central.
However, over the years, mass tourism and even cultural tourism have considered culture and heritage as the means to serve products and required these means to adapt according to the economic constraints of the market. Cultural tourism business models were not fundamentally different to those of tourism in general; only the prices were higher, therefore making it an elite form of tourism.
We could say that the new cultural tourism is also a form of “mass tourism� as it impacts millions of people, but it is divided into many individual steps.
In other words, the success of pilgrimage tourism, walking holidays, green tourism, in which the values, sharing, voluntary work, and splitting the costs have taken on considerable importance, has drastically changed this economic concept.
A social economy, considering social capital – in the sense of the definition of the OECD and the work of the Council of Europe – has entered the field of tourism, forcing us to rethink the models and to review the frames of reference of impact and the nature of the indicators.
The work of Joseph Eugene STIGLITZ, to quote just one author, puts the individual back in the centre of economic phenomenon, therefore returning individual culture to the focus of economic desire and returning sharing to the focus of the tourism economy.
A forum such as Delphi certainly causes us to rethink the governance and economic model of cultural routes in the context of the quotation of Philippe MADEC, an architect, who opened the third round table: “ Culture is no more the context of our actions, it is even the condition to achieve them�.
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