Partners are involved in common actions and in developing strategies to promote geotourism by evolving new development policies, new products and new methods, experimenting on those issues and working on preserving geological monuments.
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DISCUSSION AND DETERMINATION OF QUALITY CRITERIA :
European Geoparks offer unique scenery based on a special geological heritage. According to the Application Form two of the main aims of the INTERREG IIIC Project ĞEuropean Geoparks: A tool for Geotourism Development in Europeğ are:
Firstly the creation of common high quality standards for all European Geopark services and secondly the offer of a high quality touristic product intimately linked with other sectors of the local economy. In order to achieve these goals the partners of the INTERREG III C project decided to prepare proposals for the Geopark evaluation process. Two draft proposals (see: Annex II: 1.Proposal for the determination of the evaluation criteria by Mouseio Fysikis Istorias Apolithomenou Dasous Lesvou, 2. Proposal for the determination of the evaluation criteria by Hartmut Escher, Sylvie Giraud, Heinz Kollmann, John Morris, Karen Toebbe, Richard Watson and Marie-Luise Frey) were prepared and distributed by e-mail to all partners by the 31st of August 2003.
The exchange of ideas concerning the evaluation process achieved through continuous communication between the partners.
During the 1st thematic seminar for the evaluation process of the Geoparks held in Enna, Sicily, Italy all partners agreed to a common evaluation procedure that assures objective control of the quality of the service offered to the tourists by the geoparks.
The main points of the evaluation procedure are:
In the final stage of this process representatives of UNESCO and IUGS were participated in the evaluation process.
EXCHANGE OF KNOW HOW :
Expert missions were organized among geoparks aiming the exchange of experience and know how among partners. Project partners along with coordination meetings organized in a different project partner each time had the opportunity to visit the hosting geopark's infrastructures and services and discuss the stage of development, the organization of geoparks activities and any weak points.
In the course of the first semester of 2005, the Natural history Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest (MPFL) and the Reserve Geologique de Haute Provence (RGHP) have been working together to exchange know-how in various fields in different forms.
1. A meeting of staff in charge of management the shops
2. A training session for technical staff in the area of making casts of fossils (scientific quality).
The RGHP greeted the manager of the MFPL shop to explain how the shops function and exchange information on the practices and results of each structure in their local context.
The points discussed concerned the following areas: Knowledge of the clientele, The products sold and their prices, Museographic presentation of products, The local context, Local craftsmen and their products, The search for new products, The strong and weak points of our operations.
This exchange led to: better understanding between partners, raising awareness to tourist’s buying behaviour, identifying sources of information for the purchase of new products, understanding the need to raise awareness among players to the creation of products corresponding to our clientele’s expectations, providing a valuable human experience since the staff involved in this exchange is not usually able to move or become involved in European programmes, considering the possibility of shared products in the future, providing training for technical staff on the making of plaster casts of fossils.
This is a skill the RGHP has been developing over the past 20 years, in particular with the scientifically accurate replica of the ammonite slab (250m2, 1,500 ammonites) for the Iron & Steel Museum in Kamaishi City, Japan.
Two RGHP technicians went to Lesvos to train MFPL technicians in these skills that may have various applications: scientific, commercial, protection...
This session led to: raising awareness of the team to other techniques and providing them with know-how, envisaging commercial development of this activity, highlighting the activity of technical trainers who are not usually players in European programmes, providing a human experience through the exchange of cultures, practices, mutual understanding and discovery leading to a desire to pursue such cooperation.
In conclusion, this type of action organized in the context of this programme, Interreg IIIC provided excellent conditions for cooperation with long-lasting results. When it has been possible to engage such a movement between individuals and structures it usually persists well beyond a particular programme.Similar exchanges are planned between Marble Arch Caves geoaprk (N. Ireland - UK) and Psiloritis geopark (Greece)
EXCHANGE OF EXHIBITIONS :
In 2004, the Natural history Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest (MPFL) presented an exhibition corresponding to the Reserve Geologique de Haute Provence (RGHP) expectations on fossil olive, bay and pine trees with many fossil specimens, photographs, artefacts representing the use of mythology with respect to time, documents, ceramics...That same year, the RGHP prepared an exhibition on a dinosaur found in its region comprising a reconstruction of the dinosaur, fossils, explanatory panels, photographs, etc. The RGHP expanded the dinosaur theme to the geological period of its presence to send the exhibition to Lesvos and give it more general appeal.Each partner had the texts for their exhibitions translated from English into their own languages (Greek and French), to make these exhibitions available in three languages: English, Greek and French.
Through these exhibitions it was possible to:
ORGANISATION OF OPEN CONFERENCES ON GEOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT :
2003 Conference held on 2-5 October 2003 in Anogia - Crete – Greece
The open conference examined specific topics on geotourism, crucial for the success of the operation. The subjects of the open meeting were:]
2004 Conference held on 29-31 October 2004 in Madonie Geopark - Sicily - Italy
This open conference examined specific topics on geotourism, crucial for the success of the operation. The main subject was methodologies to attract young people to visit geoparks through several activities.
2005: Conference held on 5-8 October 2005 in Lesvos island – Greece
The open conference concluded with the results of the project and in parallel examined the results of the operation in specific topics on geotourism development. The subjects of the open meeting are:
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