The city of Novigrad is one of the partners in the project "WONDER-Child friendly destinations" from the INTERREG ADRION program. The main goal of the WONDER project is to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of destinations from the Adriatic-Ionian region thanks to a child-friendly approach.
Project WONDER supports new tourist offers addressed to children and families through the adoption of a transnational network of child-friendly city destinations through the sustainability of the tourism sector based on new and innovative methods of participation.
As a result of research and workshops with various stakeholders as part of the WONDER project in Novigrad-Cittanova was chosen as a pilot action the idea of an educational park, which was presented and opened in February this year. The purpose of the educational park is to educate children in areas such as physics and biology, while using interactive outdoor equipment.
Among the exhibits is, for example, music fence which consists of 30 vertical pipes and is a melodic instrument on which, when all the pipes are struck in order with a mallet, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is heard. There are also exhibits "Cartoon Kindergarten" and "Spiral of Adaptations" which explain the laws of light reflection, human perception, sensory adaptation and inertia of the human eye.
Each exhibit is accompanied by an educational board with instructions and information in three languages so that even young visitors can enjoy learning. Part of the park dedicated biodiversity it consists of children's urban equipment in the shape of animals and playhouses in which there are educational posters with species of birds and plants that are characteristic of the local area.
It was organized as one of the promotional activities of the project children's WONDER bicycle race which was attended by as many as 60 children and parents. Children between the ages of five and seven, accompanied by their parents, rode fantastic vehicles along a path with a length of eight kilometers, on the route from Karpinjan to Mareda, enjoying company, the view of the sea and the autumn sun. After the ride, a race for children between the ages of three and five was held on the short route of the Karpinjan playground. All participants received medals, and the day was rounded off by socializing with lunch and drinks prepared by the organizers for all children and parents.
During the implementation of the WONDER project, project meetings of partners were held in Fano (Italy), Herceg Novi (Montenegro) and Tirana (Albania), in which representatives of the City of Novigrad-Cittanova also participated, along with a series of additional online meetings during the lockdown period. The partners also presented the project at the EUSAIR Forum in Tirana in May 2022, where the focus was on the development of sustainable tourism. The final meeting of the project will be held in Cervia (Italy) in October 2022. In addition to the pilot action, various thematic documents that contributed to the pilot action and the planning of future child-friendly activities, such as an assessment of the local situation, a report on children's feedback, WONDER City Agenda, communication plan, etc.
The project was financed under the INTERREG ADRION program, the second priority of the program (2.1) "Sustainable region". The budget of the City of Novigrad-Cittanova is EUR 154.330, of which EUR 131.180,67 is from the funds of the ADRION program.
Photo: "Project WONDER-Child friendly destinations"
