BlueMed PLUS is now set to begin!
The project, submitted in the framework of the Interreg MED fifth call for modular projects (2nd call for transfer and mainstreaming projects) will give continuity and capitalize on the results gained from the previous BLUEMED project on new territories and coastal areas.
The partners involved in the project team come from several European countries such as the University of Calabria and the Apulia Region in Italy, the Thessaly Region and the company Atlantis Consulting in Greece, the Municipality of Vlora in Albania and the Municipality of Budva in Montenegro.
BlueMed PLUS aims to capitalize on the most relevant experiences, results and outputs of the previous BlueMed project which ended in 2020 and focused on the enhancement of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) for the development of sustainable tourism in the coastal areas and islands of the Mediterranean.
BlueMed PLUS will make use of the main results of BlueMed where experience to produce optimal results for the realization and management of underwater archaeological trails has been achieved, by establishing innovative and good practices.
The underwater archaeological itineraries, developed in BlueMed, are based on the use of new methods for in situ protection, and new technologies for the enhancement of UCH including augmented reality (AR) for divers, based on an innovative underwater tablet, and virtual reality (VR) which also allows those who do not dive to enjoy the submerged cultural resources and discover the cultures and society of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations in a captivating and fascinating way.
BlueMed’s multidisciplinary model for the management and sustainable enhancement of the UCH has already been tested at the “Capo Rizzuto” Marine Protected Area in Italy, at the Peristera shipwreck – Alonissos island in the Region of Thessaly in Greece, and at the submerged sites of Cavtat in Croatia. In BlueMed PLUS, such results and skills will therefore be transferred to three new territories, respectively in Italy, Montenegro and Albania, focusing attention on the stretch of sea of the lower Adriatic that preserves an immense UCH that is still barely known and valued.
BlueMed PLUS will enable the transfer of skills and knowledge gained in BlueMed and improve the capacity of the receiving partners to improve the management of underwater sites of historical/archaeological interest, also through the creation of Knowledge Awareness Centers (KAC) in their territories, promoting new destinations as resources for the sustainable development of coastal tourism.