What is
Discovery Journey: A Compass to Navigate Through Stories is a methodological toolkit designed to activate participatory storytelling processes about a specific area or territory through the direct engagement of inhabitants and communities.
Starting from the idea that people orient themselves through stories rather than maps – as suggested by writer Wu Ming 2, the compass supports cultural organisations, artists and local administrations in engaging communities in the collective exploration of the places they inhabit, embarking on a journey of discovery and re-discovery of places.
Discovery Journey builds on Sineglossa’s Nontourism methodology and the values of the New European Bauhaus: Beauty, Sustainability and Inclusivity. The Nontourism approach has been especially useful in the revitalisation of places in transition and fragile contexts – whether due to geographic remoteness, the overwhelming pressure of mass tourism, or because of depopulation or traumatic events.
Rather than providing rigid instructions, the methodology acts as a compass: a tool to orient people through a collective journey of discovery and rediscovery of a place. It contains:
- A theoretical introduction explaining how Nonturismo and NEB – New European Bauhaus’s principles inform Discovery Journey at its core, therefore how the methodology unfolds through a participatory, ecosystem-based process;
- A guided, step-by-step description of the main phases of a discovery process together with Tips and self-assessment pages:
- activating a local ecosystem of actors;
- engaging citizens through participatory meetings;
- transforming stories into artistic narratives;
- evaluating the impact of the process on the community.
Who it is designed for
Discovery Journey is designed for:
- cultural organisations and institutions;
- artists and professionals working with communities;
- local administrations
and any organisation interested in participatory cultural processes and territorial regeneration.
The methodology can be applied in different contexts, from small rural communities to urban territories facing the challenges of tourism, depopulation or social transformation.
Credits
The Discovery Journey methodology is realised within “A Discovery Guide for Recovery”, a project run by Sineglossa (IT), NGO Territory (UKR) and Fundacja Ziemniakii (PL), cofunded by Creative Europe programme of European Union.
This project has been co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme under grant agreement No 101173697. Views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) can be held responsible for them.
