Reflections - museums as development platforms for nature-based business

Current affairs:

We organized the final seminar 24.8.2023 at 10-17 in the Virra Kaleva hall of the Cultural Center (Virastokatu 1, 55100 Imatra).
Read the summary of the seminar On the Erämuseosäätiö website.

Background of the project

The goal of the project is to strengthen SME business in the South Karelia region and support the recovery of tourism and other businesses from the corona epidemic by developing new types of nature tourism products and earning logic. At the same time, the operating conditions of the wilderness and nature culture museum coming to Imatra, the cooperation network of companies, associations and educational institutions already formed around the museum and the vitality of the entire province will be strengthened.

In the project managed by the city of Imatra, a three-part series of workshops aimed at SMEs will be organized, within the framework of which new types of nature tourism products and earning logics will be built, tested and conceptualized. Special attention is paid to the development of livelihoods based on the sustainable and non-material exploitation of nature. The workshops are implemented as a multidisciplinary (science, art, technology) collaboration between the universities acting as partial implementers, i.e. LUT University, the University of Eastern Finland and the University of the Arts. In addition to the workshop series, the project's measures include regional, national and international networking, especially towards Europe, as well as compilation and communication of the project's results. 

As a result of the project, the business and operator network of South Karelia and, more broadly, the Saimaa region will be strengthened and internationalized, which will diversify the economic structure of the region and bring added value to the operation of the future wilderness and nature culture museum. In addition, new types of nature tourism products and companies are being created. Through workshop work, a nature-based product development environment will be created with local companies linked to the future museum, as well as a new concept for the development of nature-based products. A compilation of the workshop process and its results will be made, which will be distributed using digital channels.

Schedule: 

The project is one year long. It will be implemented 1.9.2022-31.8.2023 between.

Costs:

The total cost estimate for the project for the project period is total 175 720€, of which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and state funding are the share 140 574€. The estimated costs of the city of Imatra are 87 585€, of which self-financing is the share 17 517€.