Almatourism, Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial Development announces a special issue in collaboration with the European Association of Vie Francigene (EAVF) dedicated to the theme of “The Via Francigena for all for sustainable and responsible development“.
The concepts of accessibility and usability are not yet fully part of Italian cultural heritage: their idea is often linked to overcoming barriers, such as a simple architectural scheme, and inadequately attentive to the requirement to actively utilise spaces securely and autonomously. There are thousands of people who would like to take a holiday in contact with nature, perhaps along a route or path, but in most cases, they are forced to give up and turn their attention elsewhere. This, in addition to not being a reassuring aspect of our human nature, means an economic loss for the territory and a loss of potential employment, which we cannot overlook.
Among the objectives that the European Association of the Vie Francigene is carrying forward is that of making territories, institutions, local communities and operators aware of this issue. The intent must be to not only create a path for people who have physical disabilities but a path that can be adapted to the needs of a large group of users, ensuring accessibility to a range of users.
Almatourism and the European Association of the Vie Francigene invite researchers and scholars, public and private entities, associations of pilgrims and wayfarers and local communities to reflect a journey aimed at that growing population of people aged 65 years or more, to children and adolescents, to families, together with those who have visible and “invisible” disabilities, such as people with cardiac or respiration problems, to those with temporary disabilities and to the people who accompany them.
Thinking about all these categories of people also means creating new paths of sustainable and responsible development that also enable slow holidays between landscapes and smaller places; or experience the thrill of embarking on a journey, safely achieving the sharing of their experiences and conditions, through innovative and creative practices. In this Call, articles from a variety of fields will be welcomed and the authors are invited to present original research and studies on the following topics: Route accessibility, increase in utility, diversity as a resource, accessibility as an opportunity for development, hidden disabilities, innovative plans for accessibility, accessibility culture as a means of social inclusion, examples of planning along the Via Francigena.
The abstracts must be written in English. The first deadline for submission is the 25th July 2018. They will be examined by the Scientific Committee of the European Association of the Vie Francigene, guest editor Gianluca Bambi (University of Florence) and editor Fiorella Dallari (University of Bologna). The publication is scheduled for the 21st Jenuary 2019.
The documents must be sent to the Almatourism platform (http://almatourism.unibo.it). For any questions write to: almatourism@unibo.it / fiorella.dallari@unibo.it and bambi.g@libero.it
The guidelines for publication are on the Almatourism website.
Download the Call Pdf in Italian and English below
