“Our heritage: where the past meets the future.”
The above statement is the motto of the European Year of Cultural Heritage (2018), launched with the aim to strengthen the feeling of belonging to a common European space.
We often ignore the powerful influence that elements from our past exercise on the development of our identity in the present. What is the history hidden behind the abandoned walls of a factory facing the sea? What can we learn from the transformation of an old Foundry in a place of cultural gathering? How were big industrial pavilions re-organised for hosting cultural and artistic events? How could long-existing productive activities survive till our days?
These questions inspired the development of the Interactive City Maps, within the Erasmus+ project Metropolis – Linking Cultural Heritage to the Jobs of the Future. The maps represent an innovative digital resource, aimed to assist teachers, schools and guidance professionals along the rediscovery of local industrial heritage and eliminate the negative stereotypes often associated to them.
Metropolis is meant to foster youngsters’ interest in the local labour market, analysing its developments over time and subsequently create links between past, present and future.
It is necessary to preserve our cultural heritage, being part of our identity, and transmit it to future generations.
We are currently working on a new resource: Metropolis Practitioner Toolkit. It offers a guide for professionals on how to harness digital developments in their work, including instructions on Metropolis City Maps and an analysis of local labour market.
About the project
Metropolis – Linking Cultural Heritage to the Jobs of the Future is co-financed by Erasmus+ programme (Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships for school education).
Partners
The partnership holds together 6 organisations:
- Coordinator: ASPIRE IGEN GROUP LIMITED (UK)
- Quality manager: CESIE (Italy)
- EUROCULTURE/EVROPOLITISMOS (Cyprus)
- FRIEDRICH-ALEXANDER_UNIVERSITAET ERLANGEN NUERNBERG (Germany)
- Monceau-Fontaines (Belgium)
- CHY Consultancy Ltd (UK).
For further information

Read more about Metropolis.
Follow us on
- Website: it.metropoliseu.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/EUMetropolis
- Twitter: twitter.com/EUMetropolis
Contact Simona Sglavo, simona.sglavo@cesie.org.