On November 6th, 2024, the final online event for the ARACNE Educational Project – school year 2023/2024 – was held, marking the conclusion of the activities carried out by the participating schools in the Cultural Heritage and Agricultural Landscape pathways.
Students, teachers, tutors, and project partners connected online to share the results of their year-long work, which focused on mapping the cultural and environmental heritage related to silk production and the mulberry tree.
During the event, the new European Silk Route Map was presented on the ARACNE website, bringing together all the digital maps produced by the schools. The meeting was an important occasion for students to present their projects in English, highlighting their research, points of interest, and experiences in the field. Examples of the mulberry trees recorded in the MorusApp were also shared.
At the end of the presentations, the winners for each educational pathway were announced.
Cultural Heritage Pathway
For the 2023/2024 edition, schools from Greece, Italy, and Slovenia took part in the creation of digital maps illustrating the European Silk Route.
The evaluation committee consisted of the three tutors from the participating countries and one external member:
- Anna Gasperl – tutor for educational activities in Slovenia
- Danae Kaplanidi – tutor for educational activities in Greece
- Diana Mantegazza – tutor for educational activities in Italy
- Krasimira Avramova – external member, main assistant, PhD, Agricultural University of Plovdiv
The final ranking was as follows:
The Junior and High School Soufl was awarded first place for the variety of points of interest included, the completeness and depth of the accompanying texts, the diversity of media added, and the presence of subtitles in the video interviews. The creativity of the students was also particularly appreciated.
Agricultural Landscape Pathway
The Agricultural Landscape pathway of the ARACNE Educational Project focused on collecting data on mulberry trees in the local area. For the 2023/2024 school year, two Italian schools participated.
The evaluation of the schools’ work was carried out by Dr. Gianni Fila and Dr. Diana Mantegazza from CREA, who assessed the results based on the number of plants entered the database, their historical and landscape value, and the completeness and accuracy of the entries.
The winner was IIS Enzo Ferrari – Chiaravalle Centrale (CZ), recognized for the quantity of mulberry trees recorded in the MorusApp, the completeness of the data, the quality of the photos, and the monumentality of the surveyed specimens.
The event received highly positive feedback from students and teachers alike. It offered a valuable opportunity to compare the different territories, the unique features of the local silk heritage, and the fieldwork carried out by each school.
Partners not directly involved in the 2023/2024 educational program were able to gain insight into the activities conducted and observe the diversity of the results achieved, serving as inspiration for the 2024/2025 school year.