News & Activities
The News & Activities section showcases the ongoing journey of the #ASenseofEU project, highlighting key moments, events, and collaborations across partner countries. From meetings and training mobilities to local initiatives, this space reflects how the project evolves in practice and brings people together around a shared vision.
Throughout the project, partners work collectively to explore and strengthen the connection between people, places, and cultural heritage. By exchanging experiences, testing ideas, and engaging with communities, the consortium transforms concepts into meaningful actions that support learning, inclusion, and a stronger sense of belonging.
Together, these activities contribute to the creation of practical tools and shared knowledge that empower individuals and communities to value and promote their local identity. This section offers a glimpse into that process, capturing the experiences and stories that shape the project over time.
Connecting Across Europe
Kick-Off Meeting in Þingeyri, Iceland
26–27 May 2025
The Kick-Off Meeting of the #ASenseofEU project took place in Þingeyri, Iceland, bringing together partners from Italy, Spain, Iceland, Romania, and Sweden to officially launch the project.
During this first in-person meeting, the consortium laid the foundations for a shared journey aimed at empowering young adults and older adults living in rural or remote areas at risk of social exclusion. Through intergenerational exchange, the project promotes skills in digitalisation and the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, reinforcing both a strong Sense of Place and a shared European identity.
Set against the inspiring landscape of Þingeyri, the meeting fostered collaboration, mutual understanding, and strategic alignment among partners. Key discussions focused on project objectives, work packages, roles, and upcoming activities, marking an important step toward building inclusive, connected, and culturally aware communities across Europe.
Training Mobility in Gubbio, Italy
22–28 march 2026
At the end of March 2026, the medieval city of Gubbio, in the heart of Umbria, hosted the first training mobility of the Erasmus+ project #ASenseofEU – Empowering rural communities to digitize, share and exploit Sense of Place across Europe through inter-generational exchange. The activity took place from 23 to 27 March, with participants arriving on 22 March and departing on 28 March.
The training brought together young adults aged 18 to 35 from Iceland, Italy, Romania, Spain and Sweden, along with trainers and facilitators from the partner organisations. The main objective was to strengthen participants’ knowledge and skills related to Intangible Cultural Heritage, Sense of Place, community engagement, digitalisation and sustainable tourism in rural and remote areas.Throughout five intensive days, participants engaged in a learning-by-doing experience that combined conceptual inputs with practical application.The programme included interactive presentations, group discussions, workshops, case-based group work, and reflection sessions. Participants explored key concepts such as Community Mapping and reflected on how local identity and heritage can be recognised, preserved and enhanced. Particular attention was given to the role of digital tools in safeguarding and sharing cultural heritage, as well as to the importance of intergenerational exchange in strengthening community cohesion.Through local exploration and the visit to the Ecomuseum of the Tiber River, participants were able to observe concrete examples of how Intangible Cultural Heritage is embedded in everyday life and local traditions.A key moment of the training was the final group activity, where participants worked in international teams to design a rural tourism product inspired by their own communities. This exercise allowed them to apply the knowledge and methodologies acquired during the week, focusing on sustainable and community-based approaches rooted in local heritage.The feedback was overwhelmingly positive: 94% of participants rated the experience 4 or 5 out of 5, and 100% said they would recommend it to others. Beyond the content, what stood out most was the international environment, the opportunity to learn from different perspectives and share diverse understandings of what “home” means.
This mobility represents an important step for the #ASenseofEU project. The experience and feedback gathered in Gubbio will contribute to the further development and refinement of the training modules, which will be implemented in the upcoming Heritage Labs in each partner country.
Transnational Partners Meeting in Valencia,Spain
1 September 2026
Partners meet in Valencia to plan the project’s final phase
On the 1st of September 2026, the sunny city of Valencia welcomed partners from across Europe for a full day of work on the #ASenseofEU project. Representatives from all six partner organisations came together: Asociación UNO (Spain), BlaBankinn (Iceland), I-CON (Romania), Open Impact and Incipit Consulting (Italy), and NCK, the Nordic Centre of Heritage Learning and Creativity (Sweden).
Hosted by UNO, the meeting marked an important step for the project, opening its final stretch of work. Throughout the day, the team looked back at everything achieved so far and agreed on what lies ahead, sharing out the tasks that will carry the project to a successful close.
A good part of the day was dedicated to the project’s toolkit, with each partner presenting the section they had worked on and gathering feedback from the group to make sure everything fits together well. Building on this, partners also planned the upcoming Heritage Labs: hands- on sessions that each country will run between September and December, bringing younger and older adults together to explore and share their local cultural heritage.
The team also reviewed the progress of the #ASenseofEU Digital Collection, now up and running, and talked about how to involve even more people and organisations in contributing to it over the coming months. On the communication side, partners agreed to keep sharing updates online, publish articles, and organise a local event in each country before the project wraps up.
The day ended with an update on the practical side of things, including confirmation that funding had been transferred smoothly to all partners, and a look at how the project’s quality will continue to be monitored as the Heritage Labs and Digital Collection move forward.
The Valencia meeting leaves the team with a clear path for the months ahead: finishing the toolkit, running the Heritage Labs in five countries, growing the Digital Collection, and spreading the word, all leading up to the final meeting, which will take place in Sweden.