Montada Kids, Maghreb children learn about local heritage

"Architecture, Education and Society" is the theme of the science days starting today (May 23) and running through Friday May 25 in Barcelona as part of the Montada Kids project, a ludic-pedagogic initiative in 6 North African cities to raise awareness among the young about the valorisation of traditional architectonic heritage. Montserrat Villaverde, from the La Salle School of Architecture and Barcelona's Ramon Llull university, director of the atelier on traditional architecture, and Letizia Dipasquale, from the Pierluigi Spadolini Department of Architecture and design Technology, will be explaining the development and the results of the workshops carried out. From interactive materials to planimetry, postcards, wooden jewelry, animated videos, architectonic elements to assemble and paint, everything was used to get children involved in the respect for and valorisation of local heritage. The Montada Kids project took place in the Moroccan cities of Salé and Marrakech, the Tunisian ones of Sousse and Kairouan, and the Algerian ones of Dellys and Ghardaia. The project is part of the Euromed Heritage 4 programme, and is co-financed by the European Union, with the aim of promoting the recovery and safeguarding of traditional architectonic heritage in order to redeem the historical and cultural identity of the Mediterranean, through the involvement of political figures, educational institutions and the local population, promoting the exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge. A significant part of the programme is aimed at raising the interest of children and adolescents in the discovery and preservation of their own architectonic heritage. An international workshop was organised in all of the cities involved in the project. "In the 'tallers' of traditional Moroccan architecture, the largest contribution was undoubtedly that of the children," Montserrat Villaverde told ANSAmed. "Their creations were the key to the creation of all of the material of Montada Kids," posted on the web page of the project. "For the first time architecture workshops were organised in a transversal manner in North Africa in which the knowledge of local specificities was developed," Villaverde added. Letizia Dipasquale said that the workshops on traditional architecture "were an experience which gave life to an authentic pilot project, which will continue in heritage clubs," created in all of the cities involved in the Montada project with the participation of local communities.(ANSAmed).