Atlantic Association
The challenge addressed by AGREE focuses on the joint valorisation of an exclusive heritage of the Atlantic Area. According to the identified challenge, the project explores joint solutions to exploit and enhance the cultural assets involving local communities.
The Atlantic area has played an historical role, almost exclusively around the thematic of great journeys and Discoveries which happened mainly from the early XVth until the XVIIIth centuries. AGREE is then a great opportunity to boost tourism development of the Atlantic Area from a transnational perspective using the characteristic that links all these Atlantic territories as places of origin of journeys, navigators and in expeditions and business.
Contact ATLANTIC ASSOCIATION -
Transnational Cooperation Framework
The prominent role of the whole Atlantic Area as regard great journeys and explorations should take place at transnational cooperation framework level. By fostering joint development and addressing shared promotion, the recourse to a transnational network appears mandatory and even innovative to look for cultural sustainability in a period of economical shortage.
This transnational approach is totally original and corresponds to the fundamental statements of AGREE. Cooperation will strengthen the Atlantic identity into the territory of the partners but also the creation of a label in Europe and abroad linking the Atlantic Area to the Great Voyages and Explorations. It’s new, it doesn’t exist actually a network that recovers this legacy.
AGREE transnational approach recovers the historical legacy of each area, with the skills and expertise of the different partners, towards an upper dimension for their tourism promotion. The relevance of sharing tourism resources and strategies managed by the partners is clearly a result of the transnational approach
Transnational approach per se is a powerful means to access major information and new ideas, to provide innovation, to increase capacity building and to supply recourses for improving the results. Learning from the experiences of the other territories, exchanging ideas, knowledge and sharing development are going to generate added values and will contribute to improve the network upcoming governance.
Finally, transnational approach validates learning and experiences, avoiding unnecessary duplication of experimental work and offering a large database for comparative analysis. The creation of a transnational scientific committee for the Atlantic network and the creation of the cultural route, the transnational promotional strategy or developping transnational tourism products, are parts of project transnational approach.
Atlantic Association Vs Cultural Route
The new Cultural Route ownership is belonging to the Atlantic Association and this is also an interesting approach to ensure the durability of the network. It means that the Cultural Route will always be supported by their members and the rotation in the management responsibility will allow other Atlantic territories to capitalize on the project outputs.
The continuous support of the Council of Europe should also be considered for the sustainability and durability of the network. Finally, there are many opportunities of funding and investment through the participation to the Cultural Route as demonstrated by other cultural Route in Europe.
Our target for capitalization is represented by the Atlantic territories where the great nautical explorations took place. Roughly, we will divide these locations into two categories, those belonging to the AA cooperation area and those from abroad. Target group for capitalization is linked to the governance bodies in charge of the tourism and cultural heritage valorization.
