MOMAr study tour: 18 European experts share best practices in the Czech Republic

Territorio Mudéjar has taken part in the study trip-visit to South Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, as part of the MOMAr programme, in which it participates.

After two years of work identifying good practices in heritage management in rural areas of Europe, this trip has allowed the projects presented by the partner from the Czech Republic to be seen on the ground. A form of knowledge exchange between international experts that offers the possibility of assessing the importation of successful cases to the reality of heritage in Zaragoza.

The conference began with a presentation of the tourist offer of the South Bohemia region by the director of the regional tourist office, together with a visit to the castle hotel in the town of Hluvoboká nad vltavou.

Afterwards, a visit was made to a historic malting plant in the village of Písek as an example of reconstruction of industrial heritage for social use. The building is now a public toy library offering educational exhibitions for children, with great success among the local population.

The experts got to know the Soběslav municipal library, a success story in the recovery of a disused historical space. The public facility is located in what used to be a medieval castle, which, thanks to the architectural renovation initiated by the residents, now offers a communal space for the local community dedicated to culture.

On the second day, the trip began with a visit to the monument to the national hero, Jan Žižka, in the village of Trocnov, a replica of a medieval farmhouse completely reconstructed with original materials and techniques. It is a necessary and unique place for the recovery of historical memory in the whole country, as no original building from that time has been preserved.

There was also a visit to a 14th century castle which the Malše River Castles Association is rebuilding through a cross-border cooperation project with Austria and which is part of an extensive line of defence along the common border.

There, a working session was held between the project partners to analyse cases of heritage infragestion and from which it was concluded that it is necessary to include the local population in all heritage management projects. Together with the Libau Foundation of Groningen, Territorio Mudéjar participated as a stakeholder, contributing its experience in the management of heritage resources in rural areas as part of local development in all its facets.

The day ended with a tour of the Renaissance town of Český Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town attracted millions of tourists before the pandemic but the consequences on international mobility have made it a case study because of the challenges and opportunities that are now opening up in the field of heritage management.

The Spanish delegation was made up of those responsible for the project on behalf of the Diputación de Zaragoza, Lorena Laga and Isabel Soria, as well as the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares; and the mayors of Quinto, Jesús Morales; of Torrellas, María Pilar Pérez; and of Velilla de Ebro, María Rosario Gómez.

They were accompanied by MOMAr’s European partners from Mehedinti County (Romania), the region of Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), the province of Groningen (The Netherlands), the Czech hosts, and the project’s technical advisory committee formed by Irene Ruíz and Marisa Sebastián.

Winners of the ARATUR draw enjoy a visit to Tobed

Paula and Enrique were the winners of the draw for a visit to Territorio Mudéjar that we made among the visitors to our stand at the ARATUR tourism fair at the end of November. This weekend they have enjoyed their prize and they have chosen to do it in Tobed, where they have been able to get to know the Mudejar heritage declared World Heritage by UNESCO.

They themselves have told us that they are looking forward to participating in the Territorio Mudéjar routes to get to know the rest of the towns.

RULES CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Research stays and projects 2021

3rd Call for research stays and projects Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis

Territorio Mudéjar announces the third edition of the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis research stays and projects aimed at directly supporting the work of researchers and project promoters who want to work on the development of villages based on the responsible and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage resources.

Territorio Mudéjar is an association of town councils, currently thirty-six member town councils and one collaborating partner, whose objective is to consolidate a unified and collaborative management network for the use of the historical and artistic resources linked to the important Mudejarartistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage , understanding them as a driving force for the development of the villages and as an and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up our territory.

Our programme of actions for the coming years has been designed in accordance with the strategic lines defined by the defined by the ” Roadmap of the Council of the European Union 2019- 2022″, which2022″ which, aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda, have as a guiding principle that “the cultural identity of territories will contribute to territories will contribute to sustainable social and economic development by differentiating markets and in turn allowing their integration into a diversified a diversified economy that can ensure their future success.

The projects carried out in 2020 have strengthened one of our most important lines of work based on the development of actions that promote the retention and attraction of talent, actions aimed at the construction of highly qualified professional networks linked to the use of historical-artistic and cultural resources, contributing to medium and long-term territorial development.

Dedicated to Professor Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis, a staunch defender of the management of Aragonese heritage and of the territory, as an action of the people and as an innovative field of work full of future. His work exemplified with perfect coherence the possibility of combining research work of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people. of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people, not only favouring the knowledge, conservation and dissemination of its historical-artistic heritage, but also by modernising work processes and by proposing innovative innovation projects in which natural, cultural and heritage resources are a key element in the future of the towns.

Basis

1/ Subject matter and scope

The purpose of this call is to award FIVE GRANTS and ONE ACCESIT to researchers and professionals in the management of cultural and natural heritage for the development of a research or territorial project with a highly innovative character within one of the fields of activity or area of work specified below.

Proposals may address zero or preparatory phases, development phases or piloting and testing phases of ongoing projects.

Proposals must include as a fundamental part of their development a justified physical stay in one or more of the localities of Territorio Mudéjar. The projects presented must demonstrate a direct impact on at least three partner towns of Territorio Mudéjar and provide evidence of the influence of this impact on the rest of the territory.

Objectives:

  • To promote the knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches whose main purpose is to have a positive impact on the villages.
  • To incentivise work with a high territorial impact developed from the experience of people’s habitability.
  • To help the creation and implementation of a working network under a common vision of the possibilities of heritage, cultural and natural resources that helps to strengthen the rest of the sectors through interdisciplinary and collaborative work.
  • To create mechanisms for social participation in the field of heritage resource management from a territorial perspective.

Specific objectives:

  • To promote knowledge of heritage resources in order to encourage the implementation of projects, contribute to better protection and promote the conservation of the Mudejar heritage of the villages.
  • Contribute to a better understanding of UNESCO World Heritage and the benefits it brings to the territory as an international brand.
  • To give special support to projects that refer to the previous sections and that include two or more localities in the Mudejar Territory.
  • To support projects that serve as a framework for action for a wide range of sites or assets, or that propose solutions and formulas that contribute to improving the sustainability and management capacities of Mudejar Heritage at a general level.
  • Support projects that help to promote the social function of cultural heritage.

The areas covered by the call are the following:

AREA 1. New perspectives on Mudejar art:

– Updating of data and knowledge on Mudejar heritage in all its diversity: monumental, urban, ethnographic, linguistic, agrarian, hydraulic, geography, materials, processes, etc.

– Technical languages applied to the Mudejar: planimetry, photogrammetry and Mudejar 3D.

– Geolocation, cartographies and maps.

– Any subject that allows the scientific base on Mudejar art to be broadened.

AREA 2. Mudejar Territory-Cultural Landscape

– Property resources and the actions of individuals

– Natural and social contexts

– Interactions between landscape and monumentality

AREA 3. Cultural heritage management:

– New models of use beyond the classic concept of “tourist or leisure use”.

– Physical, economic and intellectual accessibility studies

– Future models for conservation or intervention.

AREA 4. Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage

– Mudejar heritage and the media

– New media discourses

– Interpretation and ways of accessibility to knowledge of the Mudejar heritage

AREA 5. Mudejar heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development

– The emotional bond as a key element for the care, protection and management of heritage.

– Population contexts: The value of intergenerational experience

– Social participation in the enhancement, exchange and collective construction of knowledge and new forms of learning.

The procedure for awarding grants will be processed on a competitive basis according to the assessment criteria established in the call for applications and, in accordance with Article 22.1 of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Law on Subsidies.

2/ Applicants

Proposals may be submitted by natural persons and groups of natural persons without legal personality who fulfil all the requirements of this call for proposals.

The applicant (or group of applicants) may be at an early or intermediate stage of their research career or professional activity and must be able to demonstrate:

  • Higher education related to the areas covered by the call for proposals
  • Master’s degree in Cultural Heritage Management, or related to one of the proposed fields of work, or documentary proof of at least two years of research or professional experience -remunerated or not-.

The call is not open to legal entities of any kind: companies, partnerships, associations, communities of property or groups under any other type of legal associative formula.

When the project is submitted by two or more persons, the formula is called “team” and each member of the team must be accredited individually.

If the project submitted is part of a research project linked to a university, public research centre or private (non-profit) centre, this must be indicated in the project report.

The acceptance of the project and the development of the stay is compatible with other professional activities as long as the compatibility mode is specified and justified in the project report.

The project submitted may have other sources of funding as long as they are complementary and are specified in the report.

Total income may never exceed the development costs of the projects.

3/ Requirements

  • Hold a Bachelor’s degree, Graduate or Architect’s degree or equivalent.
  • Master’s degree in specialised heritage and/or in the various related areas or accredit a minimum of two years of research experience and/or professional career in the field in which the proposal is developed (whether paid or unpaid).
  • Be up to date with their tax and social security obligations, as well as accrediting compliance with obligations for the reimbursement of subsidies.
  • Not be subject to any of the causes established in art. 13 of the LGS.

4/ Deadline for submission

The deadline for submission of applications is MONDAY, 12 July 2021.

Proposals sent by e-mail will be accepted until 23.59 hours (Spanish time).

If the application contains errors that can be rectified, the organisation will inform the applicant so that, within a period of three days from the date of communication, they can proceed to rectify them as an essential condition for the application to be taken into account in the evaluation process.

5/ Characteristics and conditions

Timeframe: The timetable of projects and placements will run until 24 December 2021. The project completion report must be submitted by 29 December 2021.

Duration: Proposals must be developed within a minimum of THREE months and a maximum of FIVE months.

Endowment: The projects will have a maximum financial allocation of 6,000.00 € (in the case of the accesit the maximum financial allocation will be 4,000.00 €) which must be justified in the project report according to the expenses indicated in the following section.

Expenditure chargeable to the grant: The budget must identify the items subject to and deriving directly from the needs of the project – for example: expenses arising from the development of the work, materials, travel, meals, accommodation, etc. – including, where applicable, the corresponding taxes.

In the event that the project has other sources of funding, the following must be specified: Entity, duration, actions financed (object and content) and to which part of the project it is addressed.

Compatibility: The development of the stay is compatible with other work, professional or research activities justified to the organisation. The project must indicate the degree of compatibility and the method of work to be carried out in order to avoid overlapping and non-compliance with the conditions indicated in this call.

Number of calls: Beneficiaries may not obtain full support in more than two consecutive calls for the same project. Therefore, resident researchers who have been beneficiaries in the last two calls will not be eligible to apply for the call and will be excluded if they do so.

** Exceptionally, researchers who have not exceeded the amount of €12,000.00 in two consecutive calls may be considered as beneficiaries if they have been awarded an accesit in previous years’ calls.

Others:

The beneficiaries will be included in the entity’s civil liability insurance.

Beneficiaries shall not enter into any kind of employment relationship with the entity.

All aid shall be subject to deductions and taxes as stipulated in the legislation in force, which shall be deducted from the corresponding financial envelope.

6/ Applications

Applications should be sent to the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar in digital format to the following e-mail address: info@territoriomudejar.es

  1. Application-Basic identification data of the applicant and the project
  2. Copy of ID card.
  3. Summary of the applicant/s professional career (maximum 2,000 characters)
  4. Project/proposal summary (max. 2,000 characters)
  5. Abbreviated academic and professional CV (max. 5 pages)
  6. Five developed works that, in the applicant’s opinion, are relevant as a starting point for the proposal (Summary of each project of max. 2,000 characters).
  7. Report on the project to be carried out, including (max. 5 pages): Title; Background and current status of the subject; Hypothesis, methodology, work plan and timetable; Description of the specific objectives of the project; Locations directly and indirectly affected by the proposal; Location or locations proposed for the stay and expected length of stay; Detailed budget for the research, which will refer to the amount requested.
  8. Optionally, a letter of recommendation from a relevant person in the field of the proposed work may be provided.
  9. In the case of teams, both the application and the award decision must expressly state the implementation commitments undertaken by each member of the team, as well as the amount of subsidy to be applied by each of them, who will also be considered as beneficiaries. A sole representative or proxy of the grouping must be appointed, with sufficient powers to fulfil the obligations which, as beneficiary, correspond to the grouping. The team will undertake not to dissolve the grouping until the limitation period provided for in Articles 39 and 65 of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2003 has elapsed.

7/ Selection process and criteria

The project selection process will be carried out on the basis of the evaluations of the Scientific Committee and the entity’s management team, which will draw up a ranking according to the following criteria:

  • Curricular profile, training and previous achievements of the applicant: 15%. The orientation of the curricular profile in relation to the area of work chosen by the applicant will be assessed.
  • Quality of the project and innovative nature of the proposal: 35%. The project must be well thought out and presented in a rigorous and detailed manner. The framework of objectives/actions/resources/budget should be well planned. The timetable should be realistic. The project should provide for its evaluation and future viability.
  • Territory of impact / number of localities involved: 35%. The way in which the project acts on the territory will be assessed. It may be a direct present or future impact, but in any case it will be an essential requirement. It will be highly valued to foresee a realistic impact without falling into the tendentious and mediatic.
  • Complementary activities involving the local population: 15%. An activity involving the local population in the development of the project will be assessed. Involvement does not necessarily have to be through a cultural activity. The introduction of activities that have an unconventional cultural impact will be valued.

8/ Evaluation and resolution

The decision on the grants will be communicated as of Monday 19 July 2021.

The call may be declared totally or partially void and the decision of the commissions shall be final.

Once the call has been resolved, the list of beneficiaries and the composition of the evaluation commission will be published on the Territorio Mudéjar Association’s website www.territoriomudejar.es.

In no case will individualised information on the applications received or on the deliberation of the evaluation committee be provided.

9/ Formalisation, justification and payment of aid

Formalisation: Beneficiaries must sign before the start date of their project, according to the calendar, and at the latest before 1 August 2021, the acceptance commitment that will act as an indispensable document for the receipt of the aid. Once the acceptance document has been signed, they must join the project on the date indicated in the calendar.

Payment: The grant will be paid in three instalments: 40% at the start, once the acceptance commitment has been signed; 40% halfway through the project; and the remaining 20% on delivery of the final project report. These conditions will be general to all beneficiaries unless, exceptionally, the project report justifies the need for a different financial distribution over time.

Justification and presentation of results:

Beneficiaries will be obliged to justify compliance with the requirements and conditions established in this call for proposals by means of: An intermediate report halfway through the stay that allows the progress of the project to be evaluated. A final report on digital support of the project describing objectives, fulfilment of aims and results; and a financial report justifying the cost of the activities carried out.

Financial control:

The interim report shall include a revision of the estimated budget either confirming its continuity or proposing necessary adjustments where justified.

The final report shall include a detailed financial report as follows:

  • A list of expenses incurred indicating the creditor, amount, date of issue and payment. As the project includes an estimated budget, the list of expenses will be classified according to the items of the subsidised project or activity. Where applicable, any deviations that may have occurred in the development of the project must be justified.
  • Proof of payment: Invoices, tickets or supporting documents and proof of payment. If the payment has been made in cash, this must be indicated on the expense document with the concept correctly specified.
  • The justification of fees shall be made by sworn declaration and shall be detailed in the report according to the results developed, specifying the working hours assigned to the actions carried out.
  • The justification of mileage expenses shall be made by means of a sworn statement and a detail shall be included in the report according to the results developed, specifying the journeys made and assigned to specific actions.

Non-compliance:

The aid will be cancelled and the amounts received will be reimbursed when the conditions established in these rules are not fulfilled and in general in the cases established in article 37 of the General Law on Subsidies.

10/ Dissemination of project results

The Asociación Territorio Mudéjar may request the collaboration of the beneficiaries of the grants in activities to disseminate the projects. To this end, the beneficiary will provide the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar with all the information and documentation required and will grant the latter, free of charge, the appropriate rights for the dissemination of the results.

Beneficiaries must mention in materials or results the origin of the aid by means of the phrase “Project carried out with funding from Territorio Mudéjar through the call for applications Estancias Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis 2021” and include the organisation’s logo whenever possible.

For its part, the association Territorio Mudéjar will always identify the authorship of the projects.

11/ Acceptance of the rules

Participation in this call for applications implies acceptance of its rules and its decision, which shall be final, as well as the waiver of any type of claim.

Exceptionally and for duly justified reasons, the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar reserves the right to interpret and modify the wording of the rules in order to clarify or specify their content, without this implying a substantial or arbitrary alteration of the same.

For any queries, applicants may contact the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar by e-mail at info@territoriomudejar.es

We are back in the classroom in the Master’s course on cultural heritage management

Last week, the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, taught one of the sessions in the Master’s course on cultural heritage management at University of Zaragoza in in-person mode, discussing how important it is to have a line of research and cataloguing of historical and artistic heritage in order to carry out significant long-term projects that have an impact on the region.

In connection with the anniversary celebrated a few days ago – World Science Day for Peace and Development – we would like to point out that the scientific method is also applied to the humanities and, obviously, to heritage. The scientific method consists in obtaining a set of knowledge through systematically structured observation and reasoning.

At Territorio Mudéjar we are committed to research as a key element and to scientific rigor in our work. Our ongoing efforts have a cross-disciplinary approach involving researchers from diverse fields, and we participate in academic networks and national and international activities such as conferences and workshops, in order to find common ground on important outcomes and conclusions based on scientific evidence, to share good practices, establish new ways of collaborating and researching, and to create synergies.

Getting back into the classroom motivated us to believe that we will soon be able go back to performing activities on-site with students like the one seen here in the photo, taken last year. This activity consisted in applying theoretical contents, using a heritage space as a place of learning.

Thus, Territorio Mudéjar progresses in its project for educating heritage professionals, which we are developing in conjunction with the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, to define the characteristics required of managers of historical and artistic heritage in rural settings.

    Training for developing a line of work on preventive conservation

    At Territorio Mudéjar, we have completed the course offered by the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain (IPCE) entitled “Guía para planes de conservación preventiva” (Guide to preventive conservation plans), which took place over the past four weeks. We started out by identifying and analyzing conservation issues related to cultural assets and ended with the design and implementation of procedures to address these issues. During the course, which seeks to generate standardized working procedures to which quality control rules can be applied, we discussed examples such as the actions underway in Magallón and on the tower in Ricla.

    This training activity through the IPCE allows us to develop a line of work at Territorio Mudéjar related to preventive conservation plans.

      Project MOMAr: Heritage beyond tourism

      At Territorio Mudéjar we strive to develop Mudejar heritage management practices that foster responsible, sustainable tourism designed by those in the places where the heritage is located, always in conjunction with their inhabitants. We are convinced that preservation, research and dissemination of the Mudejar identity are key factors in the creation of tourism activities.

      To consolidate this aim and share best practices, from today until November 13, we will be attending the second Interregional Event for Exchange of Experiences 2 (IEE 2), held in the province of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, entitled “Heritage, further than tourism: a sustainable future”.

      Researcher Irene Ruiz Bazán (professor at the Polytechnic of Turin and Territorio Mudéjar fieldwork researcher) was in charge of moderating the good practice seminars in which several towns belonging to our network stood out in the presentation of unique projects.

      The mayor of Torrellas, María Pilar Pérez, presented the Miau urban art project, which has been in place in the town since 2016.

      From Alagón, as part of the Heritage and Education seminar, Julián Millán and Pablo Sebastián discussed the interesting work they are doing at the Ribera Alta del Ebro Workshop School.

      And from Daroca, Irene Ruiz mentioned the work being done in Territorio Mudéjar, with contributions from researchers Ricardo Monreal and Marta López – 2020 Fieldwork grants – in the Mudejar civil architecture management project, which they are carrying out in accordance with the objectives of the new Fundación Campo de Daroca management body, reaching an important milestone by converting the Palacio de los Luna into a benchmark and a management model for private civil architecture.

      On Friday, streaming from the Museo de Momias in Quinto, it will be time to look to the future in the conclusion sessions and also in the workshop on rural heritage management in the era of COVID-19, an issue that Territorio Mudéjar has thoroughly addressed so as to remain active while complying with all the safety measures and ensuring the safety of our visitors, but also, above all, that of the inhabitants of our towns.

      Moreover, we have launched a multiplatform digital work solution in order to continue progressing with our projects online, aiming to work in an effective, innovative manner with historical and artistic resources, to the benefit of Mudejar heritage and our region.

      Territorio Mudéjar has a strong presence in this forum, in which up to 12 people from our network are participating: students in the Challenge Program, members of city councils like those of Villarreal de Huerva and Maluenda, 2019 and 2020 fieldwork researchers, and more.

      * Territorio Mudéjar is a member of MOMAr Interreg Europe (Models of Management for Singular Rural Heritage / Modelos de Gestión para el Patrimonio Rural Singular), which, under the leadership of the Provincial Government of Zaragoza and funded by the European Union, involves entities from six different countries.

      Territorio Mudéjar as a role model of adapting one’s work in the era of the pandemic

      Territorio Mudéjar outlined today, at the MOMAr Interregional Event, its strategy and the measures taken to continue its projects during the pandemic, in the hopes that our experience aids others in finding windows of opportunity at a time in which we must remain committed to sustainable heritage management and safe culture.

      The director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, connected from the Museo de las Momias in Quinto to talk about the ways in which Territorio Mudéjar acted responsibly to protect both its network and the inhabitants of the member towns when COVID-19 broke out and the lockdowns began in March. First, the entity analyzed its action plan for 2020 and then arranged new ways of working with the towns, partners and professionals that are part of Territorio Mudéjar.

      • Daily tours of the region were replaced with virtual efforts thanks to the development of a platform that was already in progress and has proven to be highly efficient, overcoming the distances between the member towns. This has also prompted a move to develop a similar model for smart working in each of the towns.
      • Meetings also went online and we took part in national and international conversations to prepare transnational calls for proposals. Thus, the entity has constructed a network of professionals able to work remotely at the same pace and with the same goals.
      • In addition, Territorio Mudéjar has expanded its communication environments, linking our towns with international entities.
      • This has enabled them to continue using their heritage spaces, even while working remotely. And to continue focusing on creating new models of use for heritage spaces.
      • In the process, they have had to overcome difficulties, such as having to constantly reorganize their teamwork efforts and their project timelines.
      • Another complex issue was ensuring that the work done was always certain to be respectful of the inhabitants living in the historical and artistic heritage settings.
      • They also had to reorganize catering and projects.

      As the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, explained, “Our biggest success over these past months was our ability to naturally adapt to the unexpected situations, finding and taking advantage of the opportunities that arose along the way. For example, we have had a considerable presence in high impact projects like Google Arts and we were able to participate in high level events that, under normal circumstances, would have been hard for us to attend”.

      In general, Territorio Mudéjar has not only continued its projects, but it even expects to see significant growth in 2021.

      El Viajero, a project serving the towns and the people who work there.

       

      Following long hours of work and preparation, we are now finishing up the details on our project entitled “El Viajero” (The Traveler), in which we are now doing pilot testing on three activities, never losing sight of sustainability: implementing specialized tours of our heritage based on the research projects we are involved in, creating a central information and booking office, and launching a podcast channel that can be accessed via our website.

      Visit the podcast by clicking here.

      In collaboration with Turismo de Aragón a(the Aragon tourism office), which called upon non-profit private entities to submit proposals for actions promoting tourism, this initiative seeks to create rural innovation concentrators based on heritage, an objective that we are also developing as part of the LEADER Local Development Strategy through the local action group ADRI Calatayud-Aranda in the projects approved for 2020.

      At Territorio Mudéjar, as an artistic and historical heritage management entity focused on the Mudejar, we believe that heritage is a driving force for the development and identity of our towns. And we consider preservation, research and dissemination of the Mudejar identity to be key factors in the creation of tourism activities, which must always be designed from within the region and in conjunction with its inhabitants. This is how we explained it in January at FITUR and this remains our guiding principle in the “El Viajero” project.

      The project aims, on the one hand, to enhance the possibilities for bringing visitors of several kinds to the region: traditional travelers, attracted by businesses and activities such as nature, cuisine and spas, to name a few, already existing in the towns, research or educational travelers, and even business travelers; and on the other, it seeks to improve job opportunities and uphold the businesses of professionals related to Mudejar monuments and heritage in each of the towns, such as city council tour guides and heritage and nature-related business owners.

       

      Four signature tours of our member towns have been pilot tested with small groups. Designed by students in the 2020 Challenge Program (DPZ-Universa) the central theme is knowledge about the Mudejar, given that we are supported by superb guides who can explain the topics based on scientific facts.

      These tours endeavor to define the towns in this region as a space for tourism focused on preserving our heritage, upholding local communities and opening up hard to reach spaces by means of tailored management and outstanding customer service.

      After thoroughly defining the subject matter, in the end the students decided to group the tours around four topics:

      a) The origin of the Mudejar: coexisting cultures. Here, we observe how coexisting Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities are reflected in the urban design, dwellings and main monuments.

      b) Mudejar highlights, including tours of buildings that clearly reflect the characteristics of Aragonese Mudejar art.

      c) Mudejar towers, discovering monumental heritage, urban design and the landscape through these towers.

      d) World Heritage, focused on visiting the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Territorio Mudéjar and learning about all the complexities of the Mudejar phenomenon.

      Central information and booking office: We have designed and implemented, on a trial basis, a digital switchboard that gives us a line of communication 24 hours a day/7 days a week to meet the information needs of anyone interested in Aragonese Mudejar art and the towns where the monuments are located.

      It also enables us to offer our member towns an assessment tool in terms of accessibility to heritage buildings and analysis of demand. The virtual switchboard can be reached by telephone and will forward calls to the pertinent information providers in each town after offering introductory information about Mudejar heritage.

      El Viajero: a Territorio Mudéjar podcast channel. The aim is to accompany visitors with entertaining audio clips about the context, history, customs and interesting facts about the places visited. This offers an opportunity to become more familiar with the destination and prepare the journey beforehand, or to be accompanied at all times. This podcast channel got started thanks to one of the Territorio Mudéjar 2020 fieldwork grants, and it will now become part of the El Viajero project.

      More information in:
      www.territoriomudejar.es/podcast/

      Like all of our projects, El Viajero is the result of a significant amount of networking and cross-disciplinary collaboration. In this case, students in the 2020 Challenge Program participated (Cátedra de DPZ (DPZ Chair) and Universa), in collaboration with researchers involved in the 2020 Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis fieldwork grants; Estudio Mique is in charge of technology and usability issues, and Viajar por Aragón has advised us on how to create a model for the Territorio Mudéjar routes in order to complement the existing heritage tourism options and combine proper use of heritage with tourism activities, never losing sight of sustainability and the impact these activities have on the relevant town and its inhabitants.

      Our work always takes into account the sustainability of the projects and respect for the inhabitants of our towns. For this reason the activities, which required moving around the towns and were scheduled to take place in October and November, were carried out in highly reduced formats, following diverse recommendations and regulations.

      Access is possible via our website homepage (www.territoriomudejar.es).

      Further information will be available very soon!

       

      Territorio Mudéjar, an example of good practices at the seminar on cultural heritage as a sustainable resource in ‘empty Spain’

      Territorio Mudéjar participates in the leading forums on heritage and innovation, including the online seminar entitled “El patrimonio cultural como recurso sostenible en la España vaciada” (Cultural heritage as a sustainable resource in empty Spain), sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports. We not only attended, in this case, but also stood out as a role model of good practices.

      At this meeting, coordinated by the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain (IPCE) and held on October 5 and 6, the lecturers included full professors of the art history department at University of Zaragoza Ascensión Hernández Martínez and María Pilar Biel Ibáñez, who gave a conference entitled “La cultura y el patrimonio como recurso: la lucha de Aragón contra la despoblación” (Culture and heritage as a resource: Aragon’s fight against depopulation).

      In line with the theme of the seminar, they discussed how this demographic challenge requires coming up with strategies to encourage people to stay in places with difficulties and studying measures that generate social benefits for the residents, attract visitors and possible new residents, and turn heritage into a driver of the economy, tourism and employment and, above all, to uphold a cultural identity.

      In this regard, they explained how we, at Territorio Mudéjar, strive to consolidate a unified, collaborative management network for the use of historical and artistic resources linked to important Mudejar heritage in our towns. And also how we see these resources as a driving force in the development of the towns and as emblems of identity for upholding the communities existing in our region.

      They further highlighted that our entity ensures that the projects directly affect the region through responsible and sustainable management of Mudejar cultural heritage.

      Experts from the IPCE, the University of Seville’s Industrial Heritage Laboratory, the Santa María la Real and DeClausura Foundations, the Polytechnic University of Madrid School of Architecture, and Asociación Amigos de los Castillos, to name a few, also participated in the seminar. They discussed the issue of desertion of rural areas and the ensuing consequences for heritage, including the loss of traditional architecture and monuments, movable assets, habits and intangible customs.

      They also assessed good practices such as reputable cultural routes, famous restoration projects, preserved monuments, foundations whose efforts have had excellent outcomes and models such as that of Territorio Mudéjar.

      University of Zaragoza colloquium on the entrepreneurial adventure in rural settings

      On October 15, Territorio Mudéjar took part in the discussion entitled: “Tu desafío: Conocer el mundo rural y sus posibilidades” (Your challenge: Discovering the rural world and its possibilities), organized by University of Zaragoza as part of its rural exchange program (Challenge Program) to talk about the entrepreneurial adventure.

      Territorio Mudéjar is an active participant in this initiative, and has just started the second phase with its student internships. The director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, explained this, stressing that the program offers an opportunity for young people, who learn from it, and for the rural setting in which they develop their ideas.

      Victoria Trasobares noted that Territorio Mudéjar makes use of its resources by generating a professional workplace; in other words, each area developed is professionalized. Since the entity works with historical and artistic heritage, there are obviously professionals with skills in this field.

      Therefore, art history students are being trained in Territorio Mudéjar to construct learning experiences that take the context into account: Mudejar art, Aragonese art and a general context, because all genres are subject to some kind of influence.

      Through this project, Territorio Mudéjar provides support in skills-building for art historians, so that they know how to search for information and how to use it. They also learn to discern the key components in ensuring that a project can be implemented with a likelihood of success.

      In addition, this work helps further the project aimed at defining a specialized job profile for cultural heritage designated as UNESCO World Heritage located in rural settings. This Territorio Mudéjar project is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, and by the Provincial Government of Zaragoza through its direct support for our entity.

      Adrián Tambo from Ecotambo, Alicia Sáchez from #DulcesLocuras, Fran Saura Armelles, veterinarian, María Fernández Pérez Muro with the human resources recruiting and development department of Caja Rural de Aragón, Sandra Barceló, psychologist and independent educator specializing in social matters and mindfulness, and Yolanda Gimeno Cuenca, an environmental expert at Riegos del Alto Aragón, also took part in the University of Zaragoza course, sharing their experiences.