POLARIS

Cultural and Natural Heritage in Arctic and Sub-Antarctic Regions for a Cross-Cultural and Sustainable Valorisation Process and Tourism Development:  Siberia, Lapland and Patagonia. FP7-Marie Curie Actions-People-International Research Staff Exchange Scheme, 2013-2017.

Project summary

This project intends to undertake a comparative study of three different regions: the Russian North and Siberia (Russia), Finnish Lapland (Finland) and Patagonia (Argentina). These regions have a series of common features as regards their natural and cultural heritage, and are destined to experience similar changes due to the global warming and globalisation processes.

The protection and the promotion of cultures, territories and heritages strengthen a socio-economical development process for local communities. Such sustainable valorisation should generate high-level know-how and good practices that can be transferred to specific territories with national and international protection (National Park, National Reserves, UNESCO labels, etc.). Huge natural spaces in Arctic and Sub-Antarctic regions get specific attention from international community (UN and EU) due to current global warming and the impacts of climate change on cultures and territories. These regions have fragile ecosystems that can be rapidly damaged by mass tourism or by a not well- controlled development strategy implemented by public institutions or private companies.

This project aims at studying these extreme regions, training professionals working in public administrations in order to improve their educational background, and students with postgraduate curricula linked to tourism, geography, natural heritage, politics and social economics. Cross-cultural training transfers and valorisation processes applied to the fields of tourism studies and the tourism industries, as well as cultural heritage and regional development of territories will be offered. Long- term sustainable actions will be implemented at international level, such as an International Network of Regional Tourism Observatories, and network of intangible cultural heritage information sources.

Aims

This project intends to undertake a comparative study of three different regions: Siberia (Russia), Scandinavia (Sweden) and Patagonia (Argentina). These regions have a series of common features as regards their natural and cultural heritage, and are destined to experience similar changes due to the global warming and globalisation processes. The protection and the promotion of cultures, territories and heritages strengthen a socio-economical development process for local communities. Such sustainable valorization should generate high level know-how and good practices that can be transferred to specific territories with national and international protection (National Park, National Reserves, UNESCO labels, etc.). These regions have fragile ecosystems that can be rapidly damaged by mass tourism or by a not well- controlled development strategy implemented by public institutions or private companies. POLARIS project aims at studying these extreme regions, training professionals working in public administrations in order to improve their educational background, and students with postgraduate curricula linked to tourism, geography, natural heritage, politics and social economics. The project results could benefit to local communities: the development of touristic clusters and sustainable tourism can be highly beneficial for the local economies and for the whole economic development of the selected regions.

Objective Of This Survey

Collect data that will help to analyse the local perception of cultural and natural heritage as possible resource for tourism development. Another objective is to identify specific educational tools developed by museums and dealing with local heritage. These tools will be analysed as case studies with cross-cultural and sustainable recommendations for international visitors.

Target Participants

Museums and cultural associations managers and employees, touristic guides, local touristic agencies, students in arts, history, sports and tourism, local communities and population.

The participation in the survey is 100% voluntary, and can not give place for any payment. The participation in the survey does not present any foreseeable risks or disadvantages for the involved volunteers. The survey will last 10-15 minutes. Data collected will be used by the project scientists only, and exclusively for research purposes. It will be kept on a hard disk, in a physically and technically secured environment. You have right to ask questions and withdraw yourself and your data from the project at any time without consequences. We commit ourselves to provide you a copy of the record of your interview (paper, written or video).

The Team

  • CEARC, UVSQ
  • KTU (Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania)
  • NEFU (North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Republic Sakha, Russian Federation)
  • ULAP (University of Lapland at Rovaniemi, Finland)
  • UNPA (Southern Patagonia National University, Argentina)

 

Involved members:

  • Jan Borm
  • Alexandra Lavrillier
  • Semen Gabyshev
  • Maxence Rojo

 

Resources:

 

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