"Image Mapping" is the project on intercultural dialogue, revitalization and uncovering the beauty of rural communities. Image Mapping fosters international interpersonal exchange in the countryside, Image Mapping promotes shared non-formal learning during community actions, activates and empowers participants, Image Mapping explores the local heritage and promotes it for boosting interest in incoming rural tourism.


IMAGE MAPPING HAS TWO MAIN TARGET GROUPS

(I.) Image Mapping revitalizes rural communities and engages their local population in 4 ways:

  • Revitalization of the local heritage through media production and workshops on traditional crafts;
  • Revitalization of the public life through intercultural events;
  • Revitalization of the space through the art transformations (e.g. "Alive pictures", creative refurbishments);
  • Revitalization of the entrepreneurial spirit through raising participation and boosting the incoming tourism prospects;

(II.) Image Mapping proposes to the participants/volunteers of the community actions a deep immersion into cultural life and exciting exploration of the hosting communities through events, interpersonal sharing and common action on creative transformation of the space, as well as offers practical skills acquisition and intercultural camping experience.


HISTORY

The Image Mapping project was started in 2015 by the NGO "Development center Pangeya Ultima" with the action in Busha of Vinnytska oblast. The same year it was selected by the Ministry of youth and sports of Ukraine as the best youth initiative of the region.

Since then it has expanded to more village communities in Ukraine and abroad, has hosted numerous events including 2 large conferences on rural tourism.

Resources are involved from different sources - from international and local funds and organizations to crowdfunding and private sponsors. The volunteers of the international programmes join the activities and the organizers often cooperate with other civic society partners locally.


ALIVE PICTURES

The project got its name from the so called «Alive pictures» that are the installations forming the touristic routes produced by the project team and the volunteers in the communities. The routes gather and present interesting places in the partner communities.


PROJECT OBJECTIVES

    Relating the community action volunteers:

  • 1) To enable intercultural dialogue and sharing during the events and other activities of the project;
  • 2) To let participants acquire practical skills and competencies like manual work, learning crafts, producing media materials, managing an international camp, fundraising;
  • 3) To let the participants explore and help preserve the cultural, historic heritage and natural background of the hosting communities.

    Relating the rural communities:

  • 1) To build intercultural dialogue and sharing with the participants, enliven social life of the community with public international happenings;
  • 2) To promote the community via media and touristic routes and to boost the incoming tourism;
  • 3) To boost active citizenship and sense of entrepreneurship of the community members and stimulate their follow-up actions.


TYPES AND FORMATS OF ACTIVITIES

    Depending on dominating goal of certain Image Mapping activities it can be of three different types separately or mixed:

  • MEDIA (emphasis on media production, research and promo of local heritage)
  • DIALOGUE (emphasis on public events and intercultural sharing: meetings, concerts, other festivities)
  • CRAFT (emphasis on manual work, traditional building and other forms of creative transformations).

    Formats of the activities as well can vary:

  • COMPLETE COMMUNITY ACTION that hosts a camp in the local community and achieves multiple thematic objectives
  • PARTIAL COMMUNITY ACTION that pursues particular thematic objectives and may not host a camp as a focal event
  • TRAINING COURSE which aim is to spread methodology to leaders that later can multiply it in other places.

GENERAL COMMUNITY ACTION LIFE CYCLE

The methodology of community actions consists of the several consequent components starting from fund-raising and search for support and finishing with various follow-up activities on the performed action.


OUR TEAM

IAROSLAV GERASHCHENKO, project coordinator

Image Mapping is more than just a project for me. It is a total immersion in the sincerity and beauty of the country-side, it is often an adventure, it is uncovering of new micro-realities and meeting wonderful and simple people, it is the search for own places of strength. Image Mapping is a calling.

VITA KULINETS, project assistant 2016-17

I like the aim of the Image Mapping project, it is really the very thing that rural communities need nowadays. When communicating with people you see the demand in the project’s continuation and you feel the value of what you do. Small push may lead to huge changes!

NOEMIE PHILIPPE-DUMESTIER, Volunteer

To be a volunteer in the Image Mapping project is a really rich experience to live. It raises you up thanks to all the people you can meet and who take you as part of their families. It's a real chance to be so involved in the Ukrainian culture. To learn about the language, about different places in such solidarity, progression, simplicity, respect, education, beauty, love...

PIOTR KUJAWSKI, Volunteer

Image Mapping is an opportunity to improve the world! You help with concrete actions to concrete communities in Ukrainian villages, meet local people, their traditions and culture. It fosters the personal growth: work in the international team, language practice and possibility to realize your mini-project.

VOLODYMYR MYSAK, Web-developer

You have to constantly advance, create something new and along that - strive for universal benefit. We are trying to contribute our part in the development of tourism and presentation of the Ukrainian villages. Who knows, maybe this project will become exactly that driving force that will promote the rural tourism to the absolutely new level.

We invite communities, volunteers, organizations and other stakeholders to realization of the project in new places and to the development of rural territories. If you are interested - please, get in touch with us.