Dimos Pylis - Project Coordinator (Greece)
The municipality of Pyli is a municipality of the region of Thessaly with its headquarters in Pyli. It consists of 7 Municipal Units and has a total area of 751 sq.km. Its population amounts to 12852 habitants, based on the 2021 census. The current mayor is Mr. Konstantinos Maravas.
The cultural policy of the local authority of the municipality is based on several actions and activities targeting to the achievement of various goals like the protection of cultural heredity and identity, the support of the artistic and intellectual creativity, the development of the conditions for the citizens’ participation, concerning not only the pleasure but also the creation of the cultural goods and the promotion of the cultural communication with other regions.
The cultural policies, including of course the digital museums, are made in order to make use of the civilization, as a tool of marketing for the update and upgrade of the cultural image of the municipality and thus its touristic and financial enhancement.
The local cultural policy, through the organization of cultural activities, events, digital museum festivals etc, can serve as a powerful means for the municipality’s development. It activates the participation of the active and available regional population and creates new jobs, having as a result the employment of the local manpower. This contributes to the familiarization of the habitants with the city’s identity, culture and specificities, and leads to the promotion of knowledge and educational fermentation of the people with their place.
Kadir Has University - Project Partner (Turkey)
Kadir Has University (KHAS) was founded in 1997 in Istanbul. The university, with its five faculties (Art and Design, Communication, Economics and Administrative Sciences, Engineering and Natural Sciences, Law), is dedicated to becoming a leader in educational and cultural fields in Turkey and establishing itself as an international center for research and scientific development.
Cibali: From a Tobacco Factory into a Scientific Institution…
Behind ancient Byzantine walls stands the oldest part of Istanbul. These ramparts distinguish and define Cibali, the neighborhood where Kadir Has University’s main campus is situated. It is only a few meters away from the Haliç, the harbor inlet known to English speakers as “the Golden Horn” since Ottoman times. Cibali takes its name from the time of the conquest of Istanbul when, according to common belief, a soldier from Bursa named Cebe Ali Bey entered the city by breaking through the rampart doors. Since that time, this entryway into the city has been called Ali Bey, and the neighborhood, Cibali.Located nearby, in the present neighborhood of Unkapani, was the Zeugma, a port that opened into the city’s economic center during the Ottoman era and continued to be used until the 19th century. Activity around the Zeugma brought liveliness to the surrounding area, but Cibali also benefited from this hustle and bustle: Ottoman warehouses and caulkers along the Haliç shore of Cibali gave witness to the flourishing businesses in that part of the area. In earlier times, Cibali’s harbor called the Puteae, or Porto del Pozzo was lined with warehouses bursting with goods destined for the consumers of Istanbul. The passageways through the Cibali gates were instrumental in getting these goods from the port and into the city. After the conquest, the Cibali area started to develop.
Cibali became a favorite of sea captains, and famous seafarers like Murad Reis, Mustafa Pasa, and Kemal Reis had mansions in the neighborhood.Two factors link Cibali with Istanbul’s identity: fire and tobacco. As Cibali was a trade center and there were many caulkers using flammable materials in the construction of ships, there were many fires. If there were northeast winds, these fires, both outside and inside the Haliç walls, represented a clear danger, especially because the city at that time was composed of so many wooden houses. During this time, many of the larger conflagrations were called “Cibali fires.”The Cibali Tobacco Factory, founded in 1884, was an important institution that changed the neighborhood socially and economically. Around the turn of the century, its large factory building housed tobacco processing and cigarette production. There were several reasons for locating such a large factory in this small neighborhood. At that time, tobacco customs were collected in that area, and many people who supplied the factory’s manpower lived nearby. Indeed, if we look at the many photographs taken during the 1900s that document the life of the factory, the picture is quite remarkable. There were 1500 women and 662 men (a total of 2162 people) working there. The Tekel Cibali Cigarette Factory was, in fact, a small town complete with local police and civil servants, hospitals, a daycare center, grocery stores, schools, a fire department, sports facilities, trade unions, and restaurants.
On March 1, 1925, after forty years of French administration and with the establishment of the republic, the control of the factory passed to the state. For many years the factory processed, stored, and sold tobacco. Then in 1995, the factory, most of which had been shut down, was abandoned. In 1997, the Finance Ministry handed the buildings to Kadir Has University. Dr. Mehmet Alper was appointed architect in charge of restoring and renovating the factory buildings into a university campus. In March 1998, the work began. Working together with university planners, the architects in charge of the restoration have taken great care to preserve the original character and architectural integrity of the buildings while at the same time enhancing the space to suit the university’s needs.Between 1998 and 2002, the Tekel Cibali Cigarette Factory was transformed, by the Kadir Has Foundation, from a warehouse that produced and sold tobacco into an institution of higher learning. After four years of restoration work, Kadir Has University Cibali campus officially opened its doors on February 13, 2002. The new KHAS campus combines elegant facades, sunny atria, and large, airy interiors with quality education and research facilities. Thus, the new campus of KHAS represents a significant step in fulfilling the university’s mission of building a future out of the country’s past by establishing in the heart of Istanbul a hub where culture, education, and scientific research meet to address the changing needs of Turkey and the world.
Palace of Culture - Project Partner (Romania)
MOLDOVA National Museum Complex is the largest museum organization in the eastern part of Romania. It is based in Iași, in the Palace of Culture, a recently restored very famous neo-gothic edifice, which houses four main museums: the Art Museum of Iasi, which continues the mission of the first art gallery of Romania, founded in 1860 within the first modern national Romanian university, Moldavia’s History Museum which has taken over the patrimony of the Antiques Museum founded in 1916 as part of the University of Iasi, the Ethnographic Museum of Moldavia, whose core was set in 1943, as well as “Ştefan Procopiu” Science and Technique Museum, whose collections were organized starting with 1955. Also in the Palace of Culture operates the Heritage Conservation-Restoration and Research Center, which has scientific investigation and restoration laboratories adapted to the different types of materials composing the exhibits: stone, ceramic, wood, metal, textiles, paper etc.
MOLDOVA National Museum Complex also includes in its structure several satellite museums: the Union Museum of Iasi, ”Mihail Kogalniceanu” Memorial Museum of Iasi, “Poni-Cernatescu” Museum of Iasi, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Palace of Ruginoasa, the Archeological Reserve-Museum of Cucuteni and the Wine and Vineyard Museum of Hârlău.
MOLDOVA National Museum Complex has experience in implementing educational and cultural projects aimed at disseminating knowledge on cultural themes and in raising awareness as for the importance of intercultural understanding and transmission of cultural history, promoting social inclusion and non-discriminatory behavior. Apart from the identification, collection, restoration-conservation, storage and display of cultural heritage, MOLDOVA National Museum Complex has developed and implemented programs meant to raise and increase awareness of the public as for their relation to the past and to the present as well, and educate by means of cultural projects. .
Mercato delle Gaite - Project Partner (Italy)
The Mercato delle Gaite Association was established in 1989, when the first Statute was drawn up. The Mercato delle Gaite Association is non-profit and pursues only civic, solidarity and socially useful activities. It operates within the territory of the Umbria Region, pursuing the aim of carrying out, in the Municipality of Bevagna, the historical re-enactment of the “Mercato delle Gaite”, with particular reference to the years between 1250 and 1350. The members of the Association are the associates members of the four Gaite (Gaita San Giorgio, Gaita San Giovanni, Gaita Santa Maria and Gaita San Pietro) and the pro tempore members, which are the Podestà (or President), the Mayor of Bevagna, the delegated councillor and the President of the Pro Loco (association promoting local culture and tourism). Each Gaita is in turn constituted into an Association with its own organisational autonomy and its own financial and patrimonial power.
The Mercato delle Gaite event, which has been running for more than thirty years, takes place in the last ten days of June and experiences its most significant moment during the days of the Market, which takes place in the four quarters, which in ancient times were called “guaite” or “Gaite”. The re-enactment in question boasts a faithful and precise historical fidelity, which makes the event one of the most important in Europe. To accompany the Market, a number of trades have been conceived, which follow the ancient production techniques that were used in the medieval period. While remaining faithful to the historical evidence, each Gaita has been able to give its Market an autonomous and characterising physiognomy which we can also find in the choice of the trades presented to the public, inspired by a strict fidelity to the economic reality of Bevagna.
The days of the festival are then characterised by other key events, starting with the opening ceremony of the Mercato delle Gaite, in which the entire town meets in the main square; the Archery Competition; the taverns, where everyone has the chance to taste food from ancient historical recipe books; and many other events that animate the town of Bevagna during the month of June.
The Cultural Circuit of Medieval Crafts is a workshop consisting of four philological reconstructions within evocative spaces and atmospheres; in the four Gaite, which recreate ancient times workshops, and can be considered real museums, the artisants present their crafts, showing visitors the entire production process, the tools that were used and the actual products. Interactive laboratories are also organised in the workshops, allowing children and adults to experience the activities, materials and production methods.
AKETH - Developmental Centre of Thessaly - Project Partner (Greece)
Founded in 2004 in Trikala, Greece, Anaptyxiako Kentro Thessalias AKETH-DCT (Developmental Centre of Thessaly) is a nonprofit organization, accredited by Greek National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance, which operates as continuing vocational education & training (VET) center/provider.
The mission of the organization is aligned with the E.U. strategic framework about fighting the rising levels of unemployment –particularly among young people, by providing certified education & training opportunities, counseling & personal development in order to contribute in their life improving.
AKETH-DCT has a great experience in the field of education, in both E.U. Programmes and National Programmes, Especially in the implementation of EU, AKETH-DCT has built a great agenda in several topics such as: training and recognition policies, ICT development, adult education, schools partnerships, sustainable development, energy, environment etc.
Staff members of the EU dept of AKETH have high educational and academic profile and have been involved in many social and scientific analyses something that is highlighted in their CVs and scientific/research experience.
