Highlighting the cultural and architectural heritage of the village of Fikardou in Cyprus

On February 15, 2022 (Tuesday) the first workshop was held within the research program "TExTOUR: Social Innovation and Technologies for sustainable growth through participatory cultural Tourism" - https://textour-project.eu/.

The workshop was held with a physical presence for all stakeholders and was hosted at the hotel ‘The Royal Apollonia’, in Limassol. The workshop took place during the "2022 Winter School on Digital Cultural Tourism and Diplomacy" which started on February 13 and will end on February 19. The organizers of the workshop were the Research Centre "HERACLITUS" (Dr. Antonis Theocharous) and the "Digital Heritage Research Lab" (Dr. Marinos Ioannidis) of the Cyprus University of Technology.

CUT participates in the project representing the area of ​​Fikardou in the province of Nicosia, in collaboration with "GAIA Heritage" for the area of ​​Anfeh (Lebanon). The village of Fikardou is one of the few traditional mountain settlements in Cyprus that still retains its character and architecture from the 18th century, maintaining its authenticity in harmony with the natural environment. Fikardou is included in the Provisional List of World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO and received the Europa Nostra award in 1987. The aim of the project specifically for Fikardou is to highlight its cultural and architectural heritage, and to validate strategies for the development of this area.

The aim of the first workshop in a row, out of a total of four to be organized, was to network between the stakeholders, the local community, and the wider area. The goal of the workshop was to record the goals and hopes of the participants individually, but also of those who share as a group / community. The second part of the workshop was done in the form of an activity, by dividing the participants into groups to co-map the area of ​​Fikardou and the wider area of ​​Gourri.

The purpose of the activity was to record the points of cultural heritage and to separate them according to the category of cultural heritage that each point belongs to. Printed maps of the villages of Fikardou and Gourri, and coloured markers were used for this activity to record and categorize cultural heritage sites. The groups formed were asked to record the cultural heritage sites and to answer specific questions depending on the importance of each landmark.

Participated in the workshop:

• Fikardou Local Community Council
• Department of Antiquities
• Deputy Ministry of Tourism

• Nicosia Tourism Board
• Cyprus Tourist Guides Association
• Residents of Gourri Village  
• Owners of Agrotourism Accommodation
• Craft artists
• Professors and Lecturers of the Cyprus University of Technology

The TExTOUR project is funded by the EU under the H2020 Program, in which 18 partners from different European countries participate, forming the 8 pilots of the project.

TExTOUR uses Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) to develop, implement, test, and validate essential strategies and tools for the development of the participating remote areas, based on their cultural tourism potential (CT) potential. TExTOUR aims to work with local communities to create social, environmental, and economic benefits for all stakeholders and society at large.

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