2015 DIANET INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL The role of cultural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube Region

2015 DIANET INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
The role of cultural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube Region

CALL FOR TEACHERS

From March 14th to 23rd 2015 the third DIAnet International School will be organized in Gorizia, Italy. While the first two editions in 2013 and 2014 focused on interdisciplinary methods and on the role of natural heritage in the framework of the sustainable development of the Danube region, the 2015 edition will be dedicated to cultural heritage (see www.danubefuture.eu).
DIAnet International Schools are part of the Capacity Building Module of the Danube:Future project, a Flagship Project of the EUSDR - the Strategy for the Danube Region, in the Priority Area Knowledge Society. Danube:Future is a joint network project of the Alps-Adriatic Rector’s Conference and the Danube Rector’s Conference. It aims at capacity building in the Danube River Basin (DRB) and on at providing networking to aid in the development common research projects for a sustainable future of the DRB.
The thematic focus of capacity building projects takes into account existing initiatives and frameworks dealing with research on sustainable development. Danube:Future offers training in cultural and natural heritage, institutional capacity building for green jobs and strengthening regional networks.
Cultural heritage, material and immaterial alike, is an important aspect of a sustainable future. Experts in cultural heritage management, in particular with regard to sustainability issues, as well as scholars taking a reflexive position towards cultural heritage, e.g. its role in affirming authenticity and in creating, shaping and reinforcing identities or in the visual aspects of heritage creation are invited to apply as teachers for the 2015 DIAnet International school. Cultural heritage sites are often closely connected with natural heritage areas, and are by and large sensitive environments often under considerable environmental stress. Goals in nature conservation and those of the preservation of cultural heritage are not easily reconciled. Conflicts over cultural heritage in contested political spaces, where claims to legitimacy are connected to it might pose a threat to sustainable development. The material and energy expended to preserve cultural heritage can become a sustainability problem. Many of these links have not been explored yet. We welcome teachers from all fields of humanities and social sciences who can offer perspectives on the role of cultural heritage (both material and immaterial) for sustainable development in fields such as, but not limited to tourism, regional development via smart specialization, critical cultural studies, visual studies, preservation and management
Teaching offers should have a clear link to the Danube River Basin. The website www.danubefuture.eu offers valuable background information.
The Universities of Trieste and Novi Sad, together with Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt and BOKU Vienna, are members of the Organizing Committee of the third edition of DIAnet schools.
DIANET SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
As indicated in the overview of the program below, the 2015 DIAnet International School will feature two days of lectures (March 15 and 17) and two days of excursions (March 16 and 18) followed by four days of group work, mainly.
Teachers who, due to their local expertise, can be involved in both an excursion AND a lecture, are welcomed.
Half a day is devoted to introducing students into the steps needed to develop a successful grant proposal, for preparing working group activities.
 Lectures (L1 – L8)

Lecture slots will last 1:30 h each, of which no more than 45 minutes are devoted to presentation. During the allocated time, the presentation of the subject by the teacher and interaction with students are to be undertaken:
- Presentation of your subject - Overview: Give an introduction and overview on your field or topic of about 25 minutes. Please address mainly topics regarding the Danube River Basin and consider the different disciplinary background of participants. Please be aware of different levels of English proficiency and provide handouts with specialized vocabulary and make your slides and/or other material available for students beforehand. Finish your first lecture part with a short introduction to readings you provided for students (why is the paper/book chapter relevant for that particular scientific field? In which way does it contribute to research towards a sustainable future of the Danube river basin?).
- Discussion/Interaction with participants: Participants are invited to use the information provided in the lectures in the project proposals they prepare during their group work. Thus they should discuss this first part of each lecture for about 10 min in their working groups and formulate one to two specific questions they would be most interested in. The questions are collected on a flip chart.
- Second part of presentation (about 25 min): In this part, you may address more specific topics considering the main interests and questions of students. We encourage teachers to offer suggestions how their topic could be integrated into a project proposal on the role of cultural heritage for sustainable development by addressing open questions in your field and pointing to research gaps.
- Final part: Offer students the opportunity to give feedback on your lecture and give feedback on the performance of the groups in the Q&A session.
- If you wish, the facilitator or school leader can assist in time management and/or facilitation of the session.
 Excursions

Teachers should prepare brief explanations for the specific sites to be visited. Organizational and practical details will be planned in cooperation with the staff of the DIAnet school. Teachers are invited to bring material for the excursion to be distributed among students.
The excursions have to be connected with the theme of the school and must be reachable from Gorizia.
 Working groups

The working group introduction (L9) will provide details about the specific task, i.e. preparing parts of a project proposal dealing with a relevant subject for the role of cultural heritage for the sustainable development of the Danube region. It will also give recommendations on how to organize group work efficiently and on basic information concerning the Project Cycle Management.
During the following days, groups will work on their project proposals. Tutoring will be available regularly by the facilitator of the school, supported by the school leader and the coordinator of the Danube:Future project.
At the end of the working days, short progress reports by groups will be presented and discussed briefly in a plenary session.
At the end of the School, UniTS will edit proceedings of the DIAnet school, including group work documentation.
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR TEACHERS
We are seeking 14 teachers (for a total of 5 days): 4 are to take part in excursions for one day, 8 should be available for one lecture each, and two for the introductory lectures regarding the group work for inter-disciplinary projects.
The selection criteria for teachers are:
(1) Experience in interdisciplinary research and, preferably, in teaching one of the required subjects to an interdisciplinary audience;
(2) Fluency in English;
(3) Interest and Working Commitment to participate in a project proposal of the Danube:Future project in 2015 and beyond;
(4) Availability at the required time. We expect all teachers to arrive in the afternoon/evening of the day prior to their teaching for a meeting with the workshop facilitators and to leave in the morning of the day after, so as to allow informal interaction with students during lunch and dinner breaks (2-night stay for teachers involved in excursions or lectures, 3-night stay for teachers involved in both excursions and lectures);
(5) Availability on December 12th 2014 (9:00 – 12:00), for a web-based introduction to the school.
We would appreciate to receive your teaching offers including a title, a half-page course description, a short CV and a statement as to the fulfillment of criteria and the selected topic. Please send your offer to dianetschool@units.it.
Deadline for teaching offers is July 15th, 2014. Teachers will be notified of their acceptance by September 30th, 2014.
Accommodation and meals for teachers are provided by the DIAnet school. Additional costs (travel, per diem) are to be covered as in-kind contribution of the delegating university as contribution to the joint AARC-DRC flagship project Danube:Future.