The “Pleased to Meet You” platform goes to Mrkopalj on Thursday, 30 November at noon, where the programming and banquet in the Centre for Culture will open with the Historical and Ethno exhibition of Mrkopalj, which will also double as an opportunity for a 27 Neighbourhoods get-together.
Mrkopalj is one of the 27 Neighbourhoods, coordinated by the Mrkopalj County Tourist Board, and this meeting is the first with a completely different organisational model in which the cultural production and artistic content initiatives are run by the tourist board, while the Centre for Culture is used as a venue.
The Mrkopalj collaboration platform will delve into topics such as tourism and culture, cultural tourism or culture as part of tourism, as well as touristic narratives used to present people, communities and locations, and other relevant phenomena of cultural tourism.
In a wider Croatian and European context, this phenomenon becomes problematic when tourism is the only reason for the existence of cultural and artistic content, and/or when such content is produced exclusively by institutions primarily focused on tourism.
Pursuant to the Croatian Act on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism, tourist boards work based on the principle of general usefulness, with tenets such as “raising awareness of the importance and economic, societal and other effects of tourism, and of the need and importance of preserving and improving all elements of the touristic product”, and particularly “preservation of natural and cultural heritage” as part of the touristic product with focus on the product itself.
We welcome Mrkopalj’s initiative, as the town has spent years carefully balancing culture, art and tourism, thus enriching their everyday surroundings and the community to which they belong.
Here is their full invitation:
“It is our honour to invite you to the opening ceremony of the Historical and Ethno exhibition of Mrkopalj on 30 November 2017 at 12 PM in the Mrkopalj Centre for Culture, with an accompanying programme and banquet. The Historical and Ethno exhibition is located in centre of Mrkopalj, a peaceful town in the heart of Gorski Kotar with a municipal population of around 1000 people.
Our seemingly calm and peaceful town conceals a rich and lively history. Mrkopalj used to be a privileged royal town, but the citizens have always been modest and fair, devout and proud, which can be witnessed in our traditional clothing, ancient objects and valuable documentation kept in the collection.”
The Historical and Ethno exhibition project is sponsored by the Croatian Tourist Board, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the County Tourist Board, Municipality of Mrkopalj and Mrkopalj Tourist Board.
Photo: SRC Mrkopalj
