02/23/2023
Presentation of innovative solutions for the improvement of cultural tourism
On February 22, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities organized the presentation of innovative solutions for the improvement of circular cultural tourism in Bač, Sremski Karlovci, and Irig at the Cultural Station "Svilara" in Novi Sad.
The project teams that participated in the hackathon in Brussels presented their solutions. The presentation was organized as part of the "BeCULTOUR: More than cultural tourism" project, which SCTM is implementing in partnership with 14 other international organizations, and with the support of the EU Research and Innovation Program HORIZON 2020. The project concerns improvement and innovative development in the areas of cultural, historical, religious, and natural heritage and tourism in six European areas - among which is Vojvodina, i.e. the mentioned municipalities.
At the hackathon, the project teams achieved enviable success for the proposed solution, while the proposal of the team from the municipality of Bač received the first audience award for the "Bač by Touch" application. In addition to the solution from Bač, the proposals "FRUŠKING 8x4x4" and "Cultural overload - Irig road" were also presented.
On this occasion, Dr. Nenad Ivanišević, Secretary for Economy and Tourism of AP Vojvodina, addressed the attendees, and pointed out that Vojvodina does not have to invent content, but that it is necessary to develop special software solutions in cooperation with local self-governments that would help visitors to access contents more easily and more complete.
"Sremski Karlovci and Fruška gora are centers of spirituality, therefore in the new Tourism Development Strategy of AP Vojvodina, we apostrophized precisely cultural and religious tourism as a new type of tourism which should be developed", said the provincial secretary Ivanišević and added that, after the completion of the Fruška Gora Corridor, Fruška Gora itself will stand out as a special pearl of the tourist offer of AP Vojvodina, which certainly requires the creation of new contents while preserving historical, cultural, tourist, but also natural potentials.
The secretary pointed out that in the current year, the amount of funds for the public tender intended for tourism workers has been significantly increased, from last year's 180 million dinars to about 320 million in 2023. The competition has recently ended and will greatly help the tourism and hospitality sector to adequately prepare for the upcoming tourist season.
"By connecting culture and tourism, we would offer our guests much more than an ordinary trip to our country," said Danijela Vanušić, Assistant Minister for Cultural Heritage and Digitalization.
She emphasized that tourists are no longer looking only for historical data or museum exhibits, and from that desire came the need to explore local authentic things and natural surroundings.
Nikola Tarbuk, Secretary General of SCTM emphasized that cultural resources at the local self-government level are a potential and generator of both social and cultural development, as well as economic growth.
"Local authorities should undertake more intensive activities in the development of local cultural policy and support for the improvement of public services in this area," said Tarbuk.
He expressed his satisfaction that SCTM was recognized to be one of the 14 international partners in the "BeCulTOUR: More than cultural tourism" project in cooperation with the municipalities of Bač, Sremski Karlovci, and Irig, as well as that the project submitted by our organization was the first at ranking list of proposed projects.
Dr. Ruba Saleh, lecturer of the ICHEC Brussels Management School and member of the organization of the BeCULTOUR hackathon event, presented the activities carried out so far on the project. She used the opportunity to thank SCTM for the support provided to the project teams during the development, promotion, but also when seeking financial support for the implementation of the proposed solutions.
Presentation BeCULTOUR hackathon and acceleration_Ruba Saleh.pdf
Philippe Drouillon, lecturer of the ICHEC Brussels Management School, during the presentation about the four-month BeCULTOUR Acceleration Program, which the innovators attended, emphasized the importance of entrepreneurial action and dedication of the members of the Serbian three teams. Belgian examples of good practice in the field of cultural heritage were presented by Koen Demarsin, director of Zender, the Flemish regional development agency for cultural heritage.
Philippe Drouillon - BeCultour_Acceleration and Enterpreneurship.pdf
Presentation Serbia_Koen Demarsin.pdf
Presented innovative solutions
Frušking 8x4x4
Frušking is a new word in the Serbian language that flirts with English, since the terms it wants to associate with end in -king, such as: walking, biking, hiking... The first part of the neologism goes to the word fruški, which is an adjective that means - what belongs to Fruška Gora.
The game for tourists includes walking, cycling, and hiking on Fruška Gora. Also, 8x4x4 are the dimensions of the mysterious box intended for tourists, which contains 32 stories about 32 places, 32 Fruška Gora wines, and 32 historical figures.
Frušking is a cure for frustration and relieves stress. When a man is deep in the forest, he connects with the primordial and realizes that he is not and cannot be a guest in nature. Following the map facing east, the tourist returns to himself.
Members of the project team: Avakum Kvasa, Vera Novković Jelena Panić Knežević i Vladimir Ivanović.
Presentation Frusking 8x4x4.pptx
Bač by Touch
In recent years, especially in the smartphone industry, "touch" technology has become widespread and especially viable among the younger population.
This solution envisaged the creation of an interactive touch screen, which would contain various programs and solutions in the form of a digital environment, virtual and sensory experience, promotion of cultural heritage, local businesses, households, rural areas, general tourism, and nature conservation. As for the virtual and sensory experience, it is envisaged to create a virtual environment in which it would be possible to experience many aspects of medieval life at the fortress of Bac, which also contains 3D dynamic audio, characters who will answer a series of questions about Bac in the form of multiple-choice dialogues.
Members of the project team: Milan Končara, Zorica Subotić, Stela Badivuk, Branka Mandić i Danilo Kuljanin.
Cultural overload - Irig road
This solution envisages the creation of a digital map of Irig and will provide tourists - both those already at the site and potential ones - with information about the natural and cultural heritage, stories, images, video content about the site, as well as elements that will increase their engagement. This will be a personal tour guide, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The digital map implies the creation of a new tourist product - the identification of attractions that will be part of the digital map of the area, as well as the education of all involved providers.
Project team members: Ana Aleksić, Lula Miloš, Milica Rudić i Dejan Masliković.
