The City of Šibenik decided to include all target groups that are part of the development of the integrated action plan in three small-scale actions that took place this summer.
By Ines Saric, City of Šibenik
The first activity was held in June 2021 and was part of an international children’s festival. It was in line with the goal to increase the residents’ awareness of cultural heritage issues with a focus on young children. The workshop was experimental, as it was the first time to address a young audience (aged 3 – 5) on this rather “serious” subject of cultural heritage. The kids participated actively and were very interested to learn more about Šibenik’s rich cultural heritage. The second goal was to develop a digital mapping of the cultural heritage sites. A workshop that held in the city library on 24 June 2021 with the participation of ULG members as well as representatives from the city’s Department for City Property Management was dedicated to this topic. The objective was to realise a digital interpretation of cultural heritage sites through a web platform (currently still in a test phase and not available for public use). In addition empty spaces in the Old Town were mapped and other relevant data needed for the future integrated action plan was collected.
The third small action dealt with the goal of social inclusion, in particular caring for the elderly. The idea was to attract elderly people to socialise and get to know their neighbours (respecting COVID-19 measures) through the creation of a less-used public space into a corner or “kantun” as it was called. In cooperation with the local neighbourhood council a “coffee and stories from the Old Town” event was organised during which five retired locals gathered in the less frequented Robert Visiani park and exchanged stories about their life and what it was like to grow up in the Old Town. In a very lively and entertaining discussion their childhood memories became alive again, from the places where they used to play soccer, or sing traditional Šibenik songs (Šibenik is famous by their a cappella signing called “klapa”) or where they went on a first date or had the best ice-cream in town…. The results of these exchanges were documented in a short video documentary.
