LETTER OF INTENT TO ESTABLISH A CONSORTIUM FOR HILLFORTS - Štanjel, November 2018

At the very beginning of the project - on the 1st Day of Hillforts on November 7, 2018, at Štanjel Castle, the project partners presented the project to the professional, scientific and general public. This was followed by the signing ceremony of the intention to establish a CROSS-BORDER CONSORTIUM FOR HILLFORTS, which was also one of the most important planned achievements of the project. The intention was signed by project and associated partners, thirteen municipalities from Slovenia and one from Croatia - from the wider area of ​​Primorska, Istria and Kvarner - and 22 other institutions, i.e. a total of over 50 signatories. The event was attended by: Marko Bandelli, then Minister without department, responsible for development, strategic projects and cohesion, other representatives of the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy and representatives of the Managing Authority, Interreg Slovenia-Croatia, representatives of the Ministry of Culture, several mayors from Slovenia and Croatia, other representatives of municipalities, national, professional and other public and private institutions - a total of about 100 participants. The response and interest in signing the intention to establish the CROSS-BORDER CONSORTIUM confirmed the interest and willingness of stakeholders to cooperate and connect in the protection and promotion of this important cultural heritage and the relevance of content – in the field of both natural and cultural heritage and related opportunities for sustainable tourism. All of the above was a good start at the very beginning of the project. At the afternoon expert conference, renowned experts from Slovenia and Croatia presented the content areas of the project and the common challenges that await partners during and after the project (materials on the link to EVENTS – 1st Day of Hillforts).

ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONSORTIUM FOR HILLFORTS - Štanjel, June 2021

The KAŠTELIR project ended informally with a CROSS-BORDER EVENT - the 3rd Day of Hillforts on June 18, 2021, at Štanjel Castle. The event was attended by representatives of the ministries, mayors of the Karst, Brkini and Istrian and Kvarner municipalities, project and associated partners of the Kaštelir project, representatives of the media, tourism industry, associations and other interested partners. Unfortunately, the organizer was forced to limit the number of participants, despite the great interest shown by the stakeholders of the project for participation, due to measures related to the covid 19 pandemic.

Already in 2018, at the beginning of the project, all project and associated project partners signed a Letter of Intent to establish a cross-border consortium for hillforts. The project formally ends with the establishment of the Cross-Border Consortium for Hillforts, because it is important for each project that its results are alive even after the project ends and that concrete results, products and solutions continue to be used, developed, upgraded and expanded. The establishment of the consortium is an upgrade of the Letter of Intent, signed in 2018 by over 50 stakeholders who pledged to integrate archaeological heritage into sustainable tourism and consequently to open economic opportunities for local people and rural development - from the Karst, through Brkini, Čičarija, Istria to Kvarner. Interest in joining the consortium was extremely high this time as well, but unfortunately the restrictions due to the pandemic still did not allow for a mass signing ceremony. Therefore, this time only project and associated partners were invited to sign, as well as a few associations and external collaborators who were very actively involved in the project. Others interested in signing will sign the accession statement later.

The establishment of the consortium was first confirmed by all project partners. The custody of the consortium was taken over by the Regional Museum of Koper, which is also the new manager of the hillfort in Korte. On behalf of the museum, dr. Luka Juri, director of the museum spoke at the ceremony. Representatives of other associated partners, of whose hillforts will also be included in the Land, spoke about the importance of preserving and reviving this prehistoric heritage: Borut Peric on behalf of the Škocjan Caves Park, Saša Likavec Svetelšek, Mayor of the Municipality of HRPELJE KOZINA and Dragica Jaksetič from the Municipality of Pivka. The letter was also signed by representatives of other institutions and associations: ORA KRASA IN BRKINOV, GORIŠKI MUZEJ (participated in the selection of prehistoric dishes and other activities), INKUBATOR SEŽANA (its College for Material Design made stone benches on Gledanica, a drinking fountain water model, and workshops within the project), ZAVOD KRASEN KRAS, ZRS Koper, Klara Bursić Matijašić - head of archaeological activities for Croatian forts and 10 societies that actively participated in the project. Special emphasis was placed on the excellent cooperation with the Karst and Brkini Guides Association, which co-organized a 3-day training on this heritage for tourist guides. Some of the results of the project have already been transferred to the tourist guides, as they have already had several guided tours of the hillforts in the Karst and Brkini as part of the Gledanica festival. Bogdan Macarol, president of the association, spoke on their behalf.