Aξιοποίηση Συμβόλων Αγροτικής Παραγωγής σε μια Εκπαιδευτική Παρέμβαση με Πολιτιστικό, Αισθητικό, Κοινωνικό-Οικονομικό και Αναπτυξιακό Περιεχόμενο

Abstract

It is well accepted that activities and programmes, implemented under a twofold aim of promoting a region's cultural heritage while protecting its sustainable potential, not only reveal the area’s cultural identity but also provide forms of resistance against cultural homogenization. Among such activities, some interdisciplinary participatory educational projects, linking art and culture to sustainable development, prove to be effective in multiple ways: While educating, they contribute to the development of aesthetic values, motivate local communities to discover and respect tradition and cultural wealth, encourage active participation in social life and lead to innovative production that could be of economic interest both to the local community and the cultural industry.

Some interesting aspects of this hypothesis are investigated in this study that analyses an experimental educational project entitled “Scarecrows in the Land of Asklepio”. Designed and coordinated by the Departments of Education of the University of the Aegean, the project was implemented by teachers, pupils and university students in collaboration with cultural societies of Rhodes and the Municipality of South Rhodes. The interdisciplinary program has focused on the possibility of considering the “scarecrow” as al symbol of the rural identity of the village Asklepio, representing traditional economic activities, traditional lifestyle and the area’s sustainable inputs. As such the scarecrow became a key issue for inspiring actions of artistic, environmental and socio-economic content. The final product of the project took the form of a local festival. During the festival the entire village, appropriately decorated with more than 200 scarecrows, became for one full day a scenery of multiple traditional and non-traditional activities that confirmed the main research hypotheses regarding the potential of such educational interventions.