OPHERA project

1. What is your name, surname, country and profession?
2. Make an example of cultural heritage (tangible or intangible) of paramount importance for your community and why?
3. What are your expectations from the project?
    

In the meanwhile, the other participants were invited to edit a shared digital board by drawing a line between their own name and the name of the person who is speaking only if they have something in common. This simple ice-breaking activity aims at getting to know each other by showing how people are connected despite different backgrounds, age, nationality, profession, etc. 

Hereafter, the result of the game: a dense net of links!

Group 1 focuses its attention on the importance of prevention. They argue that the key is being prepared. How? By learning from past mistakes and making the bureaucracy smoother.
They recognize that involving the community is a time-consuming activity and, in addition, it does not match with the need of acting fast (which is proper in post-emergency scenarios).
They propose to design a permanent infrastructure able to involve the community, also in an emergency time, when the imperative is being fast, and the priority is safety.

Group 2 argue that a city needs to be lived after a disaster, it needs places to be lived by the community such as squares, churches, etc. Moreover, local communities must have listened and taken into account in the post-disaster actions. They recognize that this is not an easy process, since there are several stakeholders with different needs and priorities.
For instance: L’Aquila, after the 2009 earthquake, was very much focused on suburban areas whereas the old town and city centre were not addressed. They claim the overall approach should include the communities’ priorities in the decision-making process, for instance by creating roundtables. However, they claim that planning in advance community involvement is pivotal.

Group 3 recognize the role of cultural heritage is crucial for a community. Indeed, without cultural life, life is incomplete. They argue that after an earthquake the result is dislocation. People are not part of their own area anymore and also the community is spread out. Thus, the important is to make people aware and to inform them about restoration actions should be routine. Therefore, the reconstruction plan should be discussed in public, using public spaces of the town to create a community feeling. They also think about how to make historical heritage part of the community, and how to make it sustainable and long-lasting. They propose to involve actively local craftsmanship and inhabitants in the reconstruction activities.