Small mountain and rural communities have their traditions, festivals and practices passing down from one generation to the next. Our contemporary life poses a threat to cultural continuity as it once was. Tramontana is an effort to document, protect and share local heritage with partners across Europe.
Local communities work closely with the project that documents their intangible heritage, catalogues and research the information and then finds innovative and creative ways to promote and disseminate it. The program has four main actions that cover all aspects of intangible heritage protection: Terra Tramontana, Semina Tramontana, Lab Tramontana and Vox Tramontana.
Terra Tramontana action set out to collect audio-visual information from 350 points establish a specific methodology and themes as geo-economic, ethnolinguistic, social, historical and religious. The inquiries collection are in “The circle, the line and the fold: Needs, values and changes in European mountains”. The project used multidisciplinary expertise; such as anthropological, linguistic, ethnological, historical, cultural and more.
Semina Tramontana model focuses on education originating from research. A direct result of comparative analysis and rethinking of the initial project concept led to the creation of 75 workshops from each partner.
Lab Tramontana is a very innovative approach to cultural diffusion here creativity flourishes over the groundwork laid by the research. Intangible heritage is very much living heritage. Its evolution and relevance grow with new artistic expressions of the local communities initiated by the project.
Vox Tramontana is a publication of the body of work of the Tramontana program.
Many projects sprout from the multiple facets of intangible and local heritage, as well as its research, such as digital archives available for the public to access interviews, recordings, videos and more. Local Approach favourites are:
Educational project “I listen, I remember, I feel”, school children are encouraged to recollect their memories given by their relatives and record them in their voice over a few sessions. They understand how they connect, through memory, to the local heritage. Listen here.
A heritage to discover and experience! introduces tourists to the intangible heritage experience of the region, along with an inventory and active encouragement for participation.
The Tramontana Network has reached 100 000 people and looks for more partnerships to develop a holistic European archive of local immaterial heritage. It is very much an evolving project that adapts and looks for innovation in cultural heritage management. Their practices apply to any small community that wants to protect their hidden treasures.
I want to learn more:
https://www.re-tramontana.org/
EuropaNostra Awards Tramontana Network
