16. Dez 2024

STECCI project was presented by ZSI at the ACMC 2024 conference in Vienna.

The Romanian Cultural Institute in Vienna hosted the international conference Arts and Cultural Management – ACMC2024: Transgression and Collaboration in the beginning of November 2024. The event took place at the Romanian Cultural Institute Vienna, the University of Vienna, and "Das Café". Organised by the Austrian NGO Salon de la Sagesse in collaboration with ENCC (European Network of Cultural Centres), ENCATC (European Network on Cultural Management and Policy), ESACH (European Students' Association for Cultural Heritage), and the Romanian Cultural Institute Vienna, the conference aims to foster a global community in arts and culture. It seeks to promote best practices, encourage the exchange of innovative ideas, and inspire younger generations passionate

One of the conference highlights was the presentation “Citizen Science & Co-creation for Mutual Learning in the Context of Cultural Heritage based on European Projects”  on the STECCI project by senior project manager  Pamela Bartar from Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), which focuses on the stećci – medieval limestone tombstones recognised as UNESCO World Heritage, located across Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNSA), Serbia (UNSPMF), Montenegro (UDG), and Croatia (UMAS), and two mirroring sites with limestone monuments in Germany (SPK) and France (IMT).  The project adopts a transdisciplinary approach to address the impact of climate change on these unique artefacts, integrating scientists, conservators, citizens, policymakers, and the cultural and creative industries.

The project’s goals include developing sustainable preservation strategies, digital documentation, and socio-economic initiatives to enhance the cultural heritage’s value. A particular emphasis is placed on engaging local communities and fostering regional cooperation to create sustainable tourism opportunities. The ZSI leads the social innovation labs within the project employing co-creation methodologies to support cultural, social, and economic development.

Citizen science plays a crucial role in the project by broadening traditional research paradigms and linking knowledge production with actionable outcomes. It challenges the traditional boundaries between researchers and practitioners, promoting open and inclusive processes. The mutual learning model, rooted in systems thinking and emotional intelligence, supports collaborative problem-solving by emphasising transparency, empathy, and shared accountability.

To address real-world challenges, the project applies participatory and reflexive co-creation methods, bringing together citizens, civil society organisations, and scientists. Through workshops, case studies, and qualitative interviews, these approaches ensure sustainable and impactful results.

A core component of the project is the “My STECCI Stories” workshops, which combine storytelling, design thinking, and mapping walks to engage participants with cultural heritage. Storytelling serves as a powerful tool for fostering personal relations according to Relational aestethics. Relational aesthetics is an art-based approach that emphasizes social interactions and the relationships between people within the context of art. Instead of focusing solely on the artwork as an object, this approach prioritises the experiences and dialogues created between artists, participants, and the audience. The concept of relational aesthetics was introduced by French curator and art critic Nicolas Bourriaud in his 1998 book titled Relational Aesthetics. Bourriaud's work explores how contemporary art can create social interactions and relationships, emphasizing the importance of human connections within the artistic experience. In the context of the cultural heritage of Stećci relational aesthetics can be applied to engage communities in the preservation and interpretation of these historical artifacts. By fostering participatory experiences, such as collaborative art projects or community-led heritage tours, relational aesthetics helps to create a deeper connection between people and the cultural significance of Stećci. This approach not only enhances the appreciation of Stećci but also encourages active involvement in their conservation and storytelling.

The design thinking approach, termed "Mission to Mars," encourages participants to reinterpret the stećci's iconographic symbols through an iterative, user-centred process, reframing the artefacts’ historical and cultural contexts. This method provides different approaches for the entire innovation process in STECCI and enables community-based interventions and socially innovative solutions due to its participatory character. The approach can be used as a design thinking cycle or highlight specific phases. Mapping walks, meanwhile, involve semi-structured explorations of the landscape to gather spatial and cultural data. This participatory method strengthens community ties to heritage sites by capturing diverse elements such as topography, land use, and accessibility.

By integrating these participatory methods, the “My STECCI Stories” workshops create a multifaceted engagement with cultural heritage, highlighting its potential to inspire regional identity, promote sustainable tourism, and contribute to economic development.

Through these participatory methods, the STECCI project highlights the potential of co-creation and mutual learning to inspire regional identity, promote sustainable tourism, and contribute to economic development, aligning closely with the overarching themes of the conference.

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