Ferrara First JEWELS TOUR Local Stakeholder Meeting
On December 12th, 2024, the Municipality of Ferrara organized its first local stakeholder meeting as part of the JEWELS TOUR project. The event, held in the premises of the municipal offices, combined in-person and online participation to ensure broad engagement.
The meeting focused on exploring opportunities to enhance Jewish cultural heritage as a key asset for sustainable tourism in Ferrara. Discussions highlighted the historical and cultural significance of the Jewish community within the city and the potential for integrating this heritage into local tourism strategies.
Participants were introduced to the main objectives of the JEWELS TOUR project and its activities so far, including the stakeholder mapping process and the local context analysis and best practices mapping to contribute to the Collective Research on Jewish Cultural Heritage in Europe. The logic behind the project and the continuous connection between the interregional and the local level was explained to the participants, thus clarifying their fundamental role in the project. Particular attention was given to the topic of digitalization as a key tool to enhance and promote Jewish cultural heritage, closely connected to the policy instrument selected by the Municipality of Ferrara as the focus of intervention within the project: the Regional Operational Programme (POR) establishing the use of ERDF funds for Emilia-Romagna.
An interactive session encouraged participants to share their perceptions of the value of Jewish heritage, existing best practices, and potential obstacles to its promotion. Key themes emerged around the need for greater collaboration, the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage, and the development of strategies to enhance accessibility and visibility at both local and international levels.
The event underscored the importance of creating synergies among stakeholders to support ongoing preservation efforts while contributing to broader regional tourism goals. Participants also discussed how Ferrara can leverage international partnerships within the JEWELS TOUR framework to exchange experiences and adopt successful strategies implemented in other cities.
The meeting laid the groundwork for continued dialogue and collaboration, with the next stakeholder session scheduled for January 2025.