Geopark: Exchange of experience among experts
Since 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural and Communication Organization/UNESCO has designated "areas with geological sites and landscapes of international geoscientific importance" as UNESCO Geoparks. In Germany, there are currently eight such outstanding sites - covering seven percent of the country's land area. 10 federal states are home to these eight special geoparks, one of which extends into neighbouring Poland.
GrenzWelten, the National Geopark in Northern Hesse and in the Hochsauerland district, was happy to comply with the request for an exchange of experiences with representatives of these UNESCO Geoparks. For two days, the delegates learned on site during an excursion and a workshop about the possibilities for digitisation and digital knowledge transfer in a geopark - a topic in which GrenzWelten is rightly considered a pioneer.
Korbacher Spalte and Georg-Viktor-Turm PANORAMA on the Eisenberg, Geofoyer in the Heringhäuser "Haus des Gastes" and Museum "Haus Hövener" in Brilon were the stops on the small round trip in the Geopark. At all four locations, there are either augmented reality offers or interactive media stations that vividly illustrate what is possible in the digital education sector. Young people in particular can thus be taken into the exciting world of geology in a playful way and their interest in it can be awakened.
District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst welcomed the guests from the UNESCO Geoparks on the second day of the visit to the workshop in Korbach District Hall. He emphasised the importance of digital knowledge transfer directly on site, in the geoparks and in nature and national parks. The possibilities are far from exhausted, but the GrenzWelten National Geopark is well on the way to achieving this goal. "We are pleased to be able to provide inspiration for other geoparks with our digital projects and, thanks to this meeting, to now also receive some useful ideas and tips for our geo- and nature education work."
The workshop programme included a short presentation on the "Hohenäcker" quarry in Frankenberg (Eder) and the presentation of plans to create a virtual dinosaur park at the Iguanodon site in Brilon-Nehden. The funding opportunities in particular met with great interest. In addition, Sebastian Freitag from MT Interactive, Frankenberg (Eder), presented the technical possibilities for digital projects in the field of museums, culture and tourism. MT Interactive has developed and successfully implemented all augmented reality offers in the GrenzWelten.
Finally, Gösta Hoffmann from the UNESCO certification office provided information about the "30³ Geotope" and an Outcrop Wizard app. The UNESCO Geopark representatives were impressed by the digital offerings in the Border Worlds National Geopark and took home numerous suggestions. Gösta Hoffmann attested that GrenzWelten had the most advanced digital offerings he had ever seen in a geopark.
Kim Peis, head of the Geopark project office, and her staff are pleased about the recognition and praise from UNESCO - "We are proud of the advanced state of digitalisation at GrenzWelten." So the meeting between UNESCO and the geoparks in Waldeck-Frankenberg and Hochsauerlandkreis can really only be described as a win-win for all involved.