Towards a Euregional Culture-card in the Euregion Maas/Rhine
During this meeting, the project Euregional CultureCard will officially be presented. The Euregional Culturecard project will bring together cultural and political parties from the region and beyond to further stimulate, create and advance the developments towards a cross-border Euregional Culturecard.
The Euregional CultureCard project is part of the Interreg Terra Mosana project. Terra Mosana is a collaboration between municipalities, heritage sites, universities, and citizens to strengthen the tourist attractiveness of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) and the sense of belonging to it through the digital exploitation of its cultural heritage. The Terra Mosana project, is being executed within the context of Interreg V-A Euregion Meuse-Rhine, and is financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Walloon Region, the Provinces of Limburg (NL and B) and the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. For the Euregional Culture card project the institutes MACCH (Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage) and ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility), both institutes based at Maastricht University, are specifically responsible.
There already is, however, a firm basis for this project. Currently 4 Belgian, 17 German, and 7 Dutch museums within the Maas-Rhine region offer a combined ticket as a result of the ‘Auf ins Museum!’ project (www.aufinsmuseum.eu), initiated and lead by the Zweckverband of the Region Aachen. The Euregional CultureCard project seeks to building on the experiences gained during the “Auf ins Museum“ project and other projects, which have been developed in other regions contributing to the cross border cooperation between museums.
We believe the main benefits of the project to be three-fold. First, the existence of a single card, which is valid in the entire Maas-Rhine region (and beyond) will stimulate tourism within the region as a whole, resulting in an increased number of potential visitors, especially for the institutes involved in the project. Secondly, increased ease of cross-border museum visits for current inhabitants of the region will encourage cultural consumption, both within the direct home area and outside. Thirdly, being part of the CultureCard project provides participants with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and views not just with colleagues from other cultural institutions but also local and regional tourism organisations, as well as the various governmental organisations already involved in the project.
This all can lead to stimulate further cross border cooperation between museums and cultural institutions, which as such again can improve the opportunities of cultural experiences for the citizens living in or visiting this region.
PROGRAMME
10.30 - 11.00 Registration
11.00 - 11.15 Welcome and opening, Hildegard Schneider (UM, Faculty of Law), Vivian van Saaze (UM, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Roland Billen (ULiège, Terra Mosana)
11.15 - 11.35 Auf ins Museum, Julia Schaadt, Zweckverband Region Aachen
11.35 -11.55 Questions and Discussion
11.55 - 12.15 Experiences with the Belgium Museums Card, Julie van der Heyden, Director
12.15 - 12.35 Experiences with the Dutch Museums Card
12.35 - 13.00 Questions and Discussion
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch and network meeting
14.30 - 14.50 The Museums-PASS-Musées of the Region of the Upper Rhine, Gilles Meyer, Director
14.50 - 15.00 Questions and Discussions
15.00 - 16.00 Roundtable: Exchange of views including representatives from Museums, cultural and public institutions, Zweckverband Region Aachen, EMR, Terra Mosana, Province of Limburg and The Museums-Pass of the Upper Rhine
16.00 -16.15 Questions and Discussion
16.15 - 16.30 Coffee/Tea
16.30 - 16.50 Ger Koopmans, Gedeputeerde Province of Limburg
16.50 - 17.00 Closing, Hildegard Schneider
17.00 - 18.00 Drinks, networking and come-together
