To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, SDMed Observation, Planning & Ecoinnovation in collaboration with Panteion Univesity of Social and Political Sciences, Department of Economics and Regional Development  and the University of West Attica, School of Applied Arts and Culture,  organise the International Event entitled “Nature and Culture-based strategies and solutions for cities and territories : an idea whose time has come !, on November 26-28, 2018, in Athens, Greece. The event was put under the aegis of both the Ministry of Economy and Development, the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy.

The European Year is an occasion to reflect on the place that cultural and natural heritage occupies both in our lives and in territorial development and to often alert about the need to protect such unique values for the future generations. It is thus evident that nature and culture as an indivisible whole is an idea whose time has come ! This means that natural and cultural heritage should be recognized, understood, planned and managed together !  

ECHOPOLIS 2018 is very blue !! Placed under the aegis of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy it focuses on Maritime Spatial Planning. The Conference recognises that MSP is also a creative social and cultural procedure that  enhances attractiveness of  marine spaces and especially of insular territories and communities. Insular territories worldwide are strongly encouraged to present their plans, initiatives, policies and success stories. At the Conference they will have the possibility to meet with experts to discuss opportunities that arise from the Marine Spatial Planning procedure.

INSULEUR  (The European Network of Insular Chambers) is Endorser of the Event. The multi-use concept and its applications will also be fully discussed with an emphasis on combinations integrating Underwater Cultural Heritage     (UCH).

Maritime spatial plans and their cultural dimensions will be fully discussed due to the recent compliance, with Law 4546/2018  in Greece of the European Directive 2014/89/EU that established a framework for MSP and the perspective of elaboration and consolidation of maritime spatial plans until 2021.

This discussion is a follow-up of the previous ESPON-on-the-Road Transnational Conference about Blue growth and land-sea interaction, organised by Panteion University under the quality of ESPON Contact Point 2007-2013 in collaboration with SDMed Observation, Planning & Ecoinnovation, in November 2014, in Piraeus.

The event is not strictly European. It is aiming at bringing together scientists and cities and territories from all over the world that plan or implement innovative nature and culture-based solutions, thus creating a world-wide forum of exchange of their success stories. 

However the Mediterranean region with its rich natural and cultural diversity, both terrestrial and marine will be very present ! The Event will host the MED Social & Creative community featured by TALIA (Territorial Appropriation of Leading-edge Innovation Actions), the Interreg-MED Programme’s horizontal project promoting the coherence and impact of modular projects addressing the topics of Cultural and Creative Industries and Social Innovation. The community aims at connecting social and creative innovators in the Mediterranean to consolidate and share new models of development. TALIA together with two other INTERREG-MED projects, BLUEISLANDS and ALTER ECO  will lead an impressive INTERREG-MED Session !

The Conference is addressing to scientists and practitioners from all the traditional disciplines dealing with natural and cultural heritage (territorial planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers, light and sound designers, geographers, historians, oceanographers…) but also to computer scientists/engineers, digital humanities researchers, creative industries-heritage professionals, museum specialists, human-computer interaction practitioners, and creative industries professionals.

In the context of this inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary Event, focus will be put on intangible cultural heritage and its role in shaping cities and places and creating attractiveness of cities and regions in Europe and world-wordwide.

SOUNDSCAPES considered as part of natural and cultural heritage will be broadly discussed during a 1-DAY ECHO-CULTURE Session, also as a follow-up of the very successful ECHOPOLIS International 2013 & ECHOPOLIS National 2017 forums organised by SDMED in the past years.

The heritage and identity character of urban soundscapes and other landscapes ( lighscapes, nightscapes…) was recently fully recognized both in literature and in practice. An example is the inscription of the Jemaa El Fna Square on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage that has introduced or encouraged a new heritage register based on the consideration of oral expressions as they unfold in the urban space. More generally, sounds are part of the cities and the places, part of their sensorial landscape, of their identity. They are one of the urban markers, just like the visual landscape. Nevertheless, the relationship between soundscapes, heritage and attractiveness (including tourism) remains to be further explored.

Venue

Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
136, Syggrou Ave., Kallithea
Athens, 17671

Transport

The venue is accessible by Metro station FIX and by car

There will be limited possibility of parking

Hotel & Restaurant

Suggested hotels and restaurants near the Venue

will be announced soon.