The VAST project virtual Policy Roundtable discussion titled “Values as a key part of our Intangible Cultural Heritage” was completed with success, on Thursday 28 September.

 

The Roundtable, which brought together esteemed policy makers, museum professionals, and educational experts from the cultural heritage domain, was a resounding success. Participants engaged in profound discussions on the pivotal role of values within the realm of cultural heritage, exploring the connections between these values, democracy, and policy in general.

Dr. G Petasis, Dr. Dora Katsamori, and Dr. Xenia Ziouvelou, of the project coordinator NCSR Demokritos, gave a presentation on the VAST policy approach and vision. They also participated in the break-out room discussions with the experts in order to create a set of concrete policy recommendations.

The fruits of this collective effort will undoubtedly resonate far beyond the virtual confines of this discussion, influencing actions that honor the values embedded within our diverse cultural traditions.

A big thank you to all the participants for their invaluable and insightful participation!

The Scuola Primaria Morosini is the first educational Institute in Italy that joined the VAST project with an experimental activity, involving eight (8) primary school classes, for a total of approximately 160 children aged from 6 to 10.

The activity proposed to children was focused on the “Little Red Riding Hood” fairy tale, and it has been designed by teachers with the support of the VAST team from the University of Milan (UMIL) according to the activity handbook and related VAST methodology. The activity included the use of the Redcapp web application for digitizing the feedback of children during their experience.

Some classes used Redcapp in a collective modality: the teachers presented the fairy tale on the digital blackboard, and the choices made by the children involved the entire class as a group. The discussion on the values transmitted by the fairy tale, and the choices on the behavior to adopt were immediately discussed during the unfolding of the fairy tale.

Other classes opted for using Redcapp in an individual modality: each child lived the experience of the fairy tale through her own device and decided her choices on her own.

In both modalities, at the end of the activity, the teachers encouraged a discussion in which the children shared the motivations of their choices as well as their reflections on the proposed contents. The students have been finally invited to produce artifacts in the form of texts or drawings.

The activity proved to be functional to the development of the educational objectives promoted by the Civic Education curriculum, relating to “Constitution, national and international law, legality and solidarity to develop skills inspired by the values of responsibility, legality, participation, solidarity, of the person as a primary and non-negotiable value, to exercise active citizenship and learn to think for oneself”.

Furthermore, in addition to the disciplinary field of Civic Education, we note that the structure and contents of the Redcapp application have fostered the creation of a transversal and interdisciplinary teaching project, which involved the disciplines of Italian (types of text and narrative sequences), English (lexicon, grammatical forms), History (logical concepts of sequence and duration), and Art (graphic production and creative elaboration).

What a pleasure it was to share the activities of VAST H2020 project in the Galleria d’ Arte Moderna (GAM)  in Milano, on 10 November 2023.

Ιnspired by the Suzanne Jackson’s exhibition ‘Somethings in the world, 11 students of the last year of the Istituto Europeo Leopardi in Milano, accompanied by their educators, were invited to reflect about the concept of values and their role in our lives.

Through interactive activities and a brainstorming session, collaborating researchers of VAST project Dr. Dora Katsamori (NCSR-D), Ms. Carmen Gagliardi and Ms Ilenia Ulivi (both from Museo Galileo)  encouraged the students to create their personal mind maps and then, to work in groups and through dialogue  and collaboration to create  group ones.

A completely fresh and inspired view of how values emerged from contemporary art and perceived by youth in modern society.

Special thanks to Fondazione Furla for the warm hospitality at the  exhibition!

Many thanks to the educators of the Istituto Europeo Leopardi for the creative collaboration!

What do the values of Democracy, Freedom and equality mean to us today? How do we experience tolerance and dignity? Why do we need dialogue? Do we all mean the same thing when we say rule of law?

To help answer those questions, VAST partner Athens Epidaurus Festival organises a series of 8 theatrical workshops with the Municipality of Nice – Aghios Ioannis Rentis (in Athens, Greece) in the frame of the project’s research on how ancient drama values are communicated through theatrical approach. Each workshop lasts for 2 hours, is free of charge, open to the public and will run for 8 weeks.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday 26 October, 19:00 – 21:00
Thursday 02 November, 19:00 – 21:00
Thursday 09 November, 19:00 – 21:00
Thursday 16 November, 19:00 – 21:00
Thursday 23 November, 19:00 – 21:00
Saturday 25 November, 11:00 – 13:00
Thursday 30 November, 19:00 – 21:00
Saturday 02 December, 11:00 – 13:00

People over the age of 18 can participate, with pre-registration, at the Culture and Education Department of the Municipality (tel. 00302104906021 | mouseia@nikaia-rentis.gov.gr) and will take place at Mantra Blokou Kokkinias.

The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) hosted a thought-provoking event in Athens, Greece, on 19 October, titled “AI is All Around Us” which addressed the latest advancements in AI and the consequent challenges encountered by the public, research, and private sectors. Notably, the VAST project, made a significant impact by sharing its insights and initiatives.

Alexandros Nousias, of partner NCSR Demokritos, contributed with a captivating presentation titled “From Open Source to Responsible AI Licences” where he outlined the trajectory from open-source AI development to the integration of responsible licensing practices. The presentation highlighted the necessity of ethical considerations and responsible practices in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.

 

VAST project partner National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) cordially invites the general public to a full day conference dedicated to Ancient Greek Drama and Theatre Values Across Space and Time in the frame of the project on Tuesday 3 October 2023 in Athens, Greece.

In view of the finalisation of the VAST project in the coming months,  partner NKUA organises the event so as to present to the general audience the research results of the project in relation to how the perceive the past and present of values in ancient Greek drama.

Time: 10:00am – 20:00pm

Place: Amphitheatre Alkis Argyriadis, Central Building of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Conference language: Greek

The Agenda is available to DOWNLOAD HERE

 

VAST Project partners organise a Policy Roundtable discussion titled “Values as a key part of our Intangible Cultural Heritage” online on Thursday 28 September 2023 from 10 am to 12 pm CEST. 

The Policy Roundtable is addressed to museum experts (museum directors, professionals responsible for designing policies and cultural heritage programs/activities, etc.), educational experts (school directors, educational experts responsible for the design of educational programs, in ministries, etc.), policy makers (professionals in the cultural heritage domain, ministries, public authorities, municipalities, EU policy makers, etc.).

The objectives of the Policy Roundtable will include:

  • Discussion on values, a key part of our intangible cultural heritage, in the context of democracy and policy in general
  • Presentations on the findings of our policy research
  • Co-creation of a set of concrete policy recommendations

As the number of participants is limited, your registration is required here by Tuesday 26 September.

We look forward to your participation!

VAST project partners traveled to Florence, Italy, to attend the final physical plenary meeting before the end of the project at partner Museo Galileo  premises between 11 – 13 September 2023.

The two-day plenary meeting included an interactive guided tour by professional museum staff through the exceptional exhibits of the Galileo Museum, accompanied by the active participation of  partners in one of the VAST project’s educational activities that are placed in the Museum.

Following up on the guided tour, a dedicated workshop took place with the participation of invited museum educators and curators where participants had the chance to get acquainted with the VAST Platform.

Additionally, the presentation of the innovative cultural space of AYLON Lyceum, which is soon to open in Athens, Greece was demonstrated along with the Antigone exhibit.

 

 

In the frame of European Heritage Days 2023  the VAST project in collaboration with the Folklife & Ethnological Museum of Macedonia- Thrace co-organise the educational activity “Values traveling through Folktales” which will be realised between 22-24 September 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The activity has an intergenerational character and is addressed to a mixed audience of school-age children and their accompanying adults with a duration of 1,5 hours. There are 4 available sessions with 15 participants per session. Participation is free and spot reservations can be made over the phone on +30 2310 889840.

  • Friday 22/09: 18.00 – 19.30
  • Saturday 23/09: 10.00 – 11.30 and 12.00 – 13.30
  • Sunday 24/09: 11.00 – 12.30

The educational activity aims to thoroughly explore the European values presented in the Museum’s permanent exhibition, which focuses on the significance of hydropower as a source of energy in the pre-industrial era and the watermill – flourmill as a laboratory connected to the timeless need for sustenance.

The participants will use the popular folktales as a vehicle to explore the exhibition, while VAST researchers will investigate the ways in which the ethical and social values of Europe are expressed through the operation of its institutions, the lives of its citizens, and the European cultural heritage. Participants are invited to discover these values based on their personal views and experiences, to express them visually, and then to reflect on their impact, their ability to transform and evolve through time.

 

How do values travel through Art?

The VAST project invites audiences to find out by participating in an experiential workshop on values, hosted at the MOMus – Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The workshop will take place on Sunday 17 September 2023 at 13.00 at the Museum’s premises and will last for an hour.

The activity is hosted by MOMus on the occasion of the photographic exhibition ‘Eyewitness’ of the leading photo journalist Yannis Behrakis.

*Pre-registration is not required! We will be expecting you at the museum premises.