This document describes the Bigfoot Project, which aims to address challenges facing rural mountain communities through an intergenerational learning approach. Younger generations are migrating away from rural areas due to lack of jobs, while elderly people feel marginalized and lack a role. The project brings older and younger community members together to share skills and knowledge, conducting activities like hiking trips, cooking courses, and storytelling about local heritage. Participatory mapping involves community members in identifying resources and needs. The project helps promote economic development, cultural heritage, and sustainable management of local areas.

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CROSSING GENERATIONS, CROSSING MOUNTAINS
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CROSSING GENERATIONS, CROSSING MOUNTAINS

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- Migration of younger people to urban
areas due to the lack of job opportunities
- Socio-cultural marginalization of elderly
people, loss of their role as promoters of
the local knowledge and traditions
- Lack of opportunities of dialogue among
generations and of valorization of existing
younger and older inhabitants
competences
in order to support sustainable
community development
Loss of Intergenerational
connections
Sustainable development
challenges
Rural Mountain Community Challenge

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How?
Intergenerational Community Service Learning
•Tool focused on community integration and
social dialogue
•Tool aimed at maintaining physically and
mentally active lives of older people
•Tool aimed at making them feel they are
actually useful to society and not a burden
•Thus that in turn gives them a drive to
contribute to community development, while
improving at the same time the wellbeing of
younger generations.

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• Valorizes skills and knowledge of older
and younger generations
• Combines in Big Foot traditional
knowledge with modern communication
tools and expertise in order to enable
innovative, creative and productive joint
solutions for local sustainable development
The Intergenerational Learning Approach thus

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Gubbio,
ITALY
Trikala,
Greece
Berkovitsa,
Bulgaria
Participating Communities

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• Local families: through participatory mappings
of the territory (answering to questions as: What
can be found on our territory ? Where ? What do
we want to valorise ? Transmit to the others ?
What do we want to learn?)
• Elderly people: as heritage trainers
• Younger people: as heritage travelers
• Community in general and stakeholders: as
heritage beneficiaries
Who was involved

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"Participatory Mapping“: communities consultation
– Analysis of local perspectives, community needs and asses of the
local environmental, historical and cultural resources
– Bottom up approach
– Dependent on the participation of the community members
– Should reflect their perception endogenous development
– Overview of those learning interventions young and elderly people
are interested in, based also on local know-how, which may boost
the local development in the long term
Methodology towards
An Intergenerational Learning Approach

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Participatory mapping has been used to develop the Learning and
training intervention in the three communities:
– a combination of experiential learning and community service
opportunities: focused first on the community needs and
integrating them with the seniors experience, fostering the
dialogue and solidarity among the generations;
– Elderly locals have acted as trainers of younger people,
guardians and messengers of traditional knowledge and
specific local culture to the younger generations, tourists and
interested stakeholders
Methodology Learning and Training

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Bulgaria - Berkovitsa Italy - Gubbio Greece - Trikala
- Excursions and field
trips, discovering the
surrounding mountains,
plant and animal
species, learning the
names of the
mountains, rivers, and
the associated history
and folklore, as
potential touristic routes
and destinations
- ICT courses
- Learning about local food
production and traditional
recipes through
Intergenerational Cooking
Courses and Lectures;
- Storytelling about the
Traditional Intangible
Heritage of the Community;
- ICT courses
Special class and visit,
hiking trips around four
thematic sessions:
a. Traditional local products
and gastronomy;
b. Culture: Folklore and
traditional handcraft;
c. Historical monuments-
rural heritage;
d. Natural environment and
rural tourism.
The Intergenerational Experiments

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• Training possibilities and thus tested solutions for the elderly
and younger inhabitants to be socially involved and
economically active;
• A Transferability Tool Kit: transferring the project experience
to other rural areas– printed and digital;
• Intergenerational Approach Handbook;
• Project Website, Communities Livelihood Platform and
Facebook Page;
• Guides on intangible heritage and different multimedia
material
Results and Outputs

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• The purpose of the project is directly linked to the EU
Regional policy and especially the idea of the “community led local
development”
• Furthermore, it suits perfectly to the current period, defined as a
European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between
Generations
• It embeds the concept of Sustainable Development of the Local
Community (increasing the social cohesion, producing an
economic impact and fostering the environment protection) in an
Intergenerational prospective
Contribution to the Local Development and EU
policies

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• Economic development: increasing the added value of existing
activities, diversification of local economies (tourism promotion);
• Valorization of human capital: transmission of activities to
younger generations; promoting entrepreneurship, development of
skills;
• Sustainable management of natural resources, such as through
improved dialogue between the community and protected area
managers;
• Promotion of culture, local heritage and traditions: ensuring
intergenerational communication, maintaining a balance between
economic development
Expected Long-Term impact

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