During the week of 19 – 26 July, a Serbian educator participated in the JUMP training course, “European Cultural Heritage as a Pedagogical and Integration Tool in Education”, aimed at raising awareness of how cultural heritage can be integrated into school curricula and lesson planning as an effective educational and inclusion tool.
The first day of the course featured an outdoor non-formal learning activity designed to introduce the key concepts and definitions of culture and cultural heritage. By combining the principles of place-based education and outdoor education, the participant took part in a heritage walk through the town of Soverato, where she was invited to identify and classify elements of the local heritage as tangible, intangible, or natural. This hands-on experience encouraged her to observe the surroundings from a new perspective and to engage directly with the core theme of the course.
On the second day, the teacher explored the evolution of the concept of cultural heritage, tracing its development from a material understanding to a broader recognition of intangible heritage. This was followed by a reflection on the concept of Shared Cultural Heritage in Europe, highlighting the common cultural values and traditions that connect European communities despite their diversity. The session concluded with an introduction to the concept of dissonant heritage, presented as a valuable educational tool for fostering critical thinking and encouraging discussions on discrimination, power relations, societal values, and the ways in which dominant historical narratives can be questioned and reinterpreted.
In the afternoon, the Serbian teacher attended the workshop “From Place to Digital Story”, which introduced the use of ArcGIS StoryMaps as an innovative digital storytelling tool. The workshop demonstrated how places can be transformed into engaging educational narratives by combining maps, photographs, multimedia resources, and historical information and creating interactive learning experiences that connect students with their local cultural heritage.
The third day focused on the relationship between Cultural Heritage and Education, with particular attention to the role of digital technologies in engaging young people in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. Through the presentation of the “Let’s Book Trailer” workshop, the teacher discovered how creative digital media can be integrated into educational activities, encouraging students to reinterpret the cultural heritage of books while developing digital, communication, and collaborative skills.
The final part of the training was dedicated to the presentation and exchange of practical tools, methodologies, and good practices providing the participant with a rich toolkit of innovative pedagogical approaches for integrating cultural heritage into everyday teaching. The training concluded by reinforcing the importance of cultural heritage as a means of promoting active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, inclusion, and a stronger sense of European identity among students.
Author: Giusy Froio (JUMP staff)
