Maribor's reflection on the first year of NPA
22 June 2018 | Maribor (Slovenia)
Within the NewPilgrimAge project, the Municipality of Maribor participates as a project partner with the aim
to revitalize cultural heritage and promote common European values, such as solidarity and hospitality. To
achieve these objectives, several activities were carried out during the first year of the project.
We appointed a local Change Driver, a competent and motivated person, representing a bridge between public
authorities and stakeholders. We have established a local stakeholder platform (LSP) where participants are
representatives of the four helical networks (quadruple helix approach).
At the LSP Workshop on November 28, 2017, the NPA project was presented and the influence of
the local community on the success of the project. The development potentials of cultural heritage were also
shown.
On the LSP Workshop, on March 5, 2018, Transnational vision statement was presented. The participants
agreed with consensus on the Local vision. Local vision for the next ten years is: The city of Maribor is a
distinctive destination, related to the cultural heritage of Saint Martin, both in the local as national and
European scale. Saint Martin's route, passing through Maribor, is a recognizable and an important generator of
tourism and entrepreneurship in the city, as it contributes to the creation of new entrepreneurial initiatives
associated with new services and offerings for visitors of the route. The residents of the city, especially young
people, are aware of the importance of the cultural heritage of Saint Martin and the values that are symbolized
by him and are proud of this heritage.
At the LSP Workshop on May 31, 2018, participants demonstrated significant interest in two videos on cultural
heritage of St. Martin, i.e. “St. Martin's Route” which explains the importance and geographical properties of
this pilgrimage route, and “The Old Vine” which highlights one of the most remarkable attractions of Maribor.
The attendees recognized that they got (in addition to their existing knowledge) some new insights into cultural
heritage of St. Martin, especially because St. Martin's Route leads through the areas that are familiar to them,
like city of Maribor and its surroundings.
Participants learned about good practices of cultural heritage valorisation and selected the most important
valorisation areas at the local level: Visibility of Saint Martin';s route and the cultural heritage along the route,
The Old Vine as a symbol of the natural and cultural heritage, associated with Saint Martin, Creating new
offers, products and services for visitors to Maribor and Saint Martin’s route and Raising awareness of the
material and intangible cultural heritage of Saint Martin, with an emphasis on young people, and building a
culture of values which Saint Martin symbolizes.
With the “NewPilgrimAge” project, we want to strengthen cultural tourism and thus contribute to the success
of the local economy and community.
Author: Alenka Likar Mastnak, Project Manager at Municipality of Maribor
