Vår Identitespunkt i Europa

Sveriges identitetspunkt i Europa. Det unika med platsen är att vi just på denna punkt kan förmedla hela den integrerade natur- och kulturhistorian i Sverige. Här har vi vår identitetspunkt, helt enkelt.

Ett nätverk av europeiska identitetspunkter

Det föreligger strävanden att skapa liknande nationella eller regionala identitetspunkter i ett närverk över hela Europa; t.ex. Portugal (med resorna över haven som centraltema), Grekland (med Odysses irrfärder, i modern tappning, som centraltema), Polen (med den polska korridoren som centraltema), Sicilien (med dess kulturella smältdegel som centraltema).

ABSTRACT

At 32 International Geological Congress
Florence, Italy, 20-28 August, 2004
Symposium T17.03 – “Geological heritage and tourism”

The identity-point of a region
and a possible network of European identity-points

Nils-Axel Mörner, Jan Brandt, Eva Lilja, Björn Lundqvist,
Jan Nilsson, Kristian Brandt
Mälardalen University, the Time-Tower Association, morner@pog.su.se

We have found a point where the entire Natural and Cultural History of Sweden can be shown, illustrated and taught within a few km. This is totally unique and we speak about “the identity-point of Sweden” or “Sweden in a nut-shell”. The basic concept is successive halts along a land uplift profile with description of how the local area looked at just this time-level, how Sweden as a whole looked and what were the most important achievements in the rest of the world. Step by step into a continuity; a journey “from barbarism to welfare state” or “from arctic sea to cottage garden”. We have tested our concept on a large number of persons representing quite different parts of society – always with the same enthusiasm. We have not lowered the level of teaching, rather increased it, but we have made it simple and easily understandable which enlightening perspectives in the centre. Therefore we have been able to reach persons “that never have opened a book” at the same time as we have been able to fascinate highly educated persons. “The jogging trail of the mind” has become the name of the field profile along which the teaching is concentrated. It combines and connects various aspects of natural and cultural history. It includes a lot of old philosophy, technical achievements, the first utilisation of iron ore, etc – but also new aspects on energy and environmental problems of global as well as local dimensions. We are now in the process of constructing a 150 metre high Time-Tower with a surrounding “edutainment” park devoted to the same teaching programme. It seems both natural and ideal to build up a network in European of similar “identity-points”, each devoted to the special characteristics of that particular region. This would be living cultural heritage and new means for understanding and collaboration between all different people of the New Europe.
We invite the “culture & heritage” community to an international meeting in Sweden.

A similar abstract entitled ”An edutainment-geopark as national identity-point in Sweden” was submitted to the First International Conference on Geoparks, June 27-29, 2004, Beijing, China, organised by UNESCO.