TZG Rab completed the project of the Virtual Museum of Fishing, Maritime and Shipbuilding in Rab

The end of May brought To the tourist association of the city of Rab completion of the project of the Virtual Museum of Fishing, Maritime and Shipbuilding in the city of Rab JUXTA MARE. 

Namely, with the date 15.5.2023, from when the Decision on the allocation of funds for the project was dated.Virtual museum of fishing, seafaring and shipbuilding in the City of Rab" within the framework of the FLAG competition Measure 2.A.1. "Development of touristic content connected with the tradition of the fishing region" of FLAG "Tramuntana" for the period from January 21, 2022 to February 20, 2023, which resolved the last Request for payment, the project is treated as completed.

The complete amount of the project was approved for payment by the Directorate for Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture.  

This project in its first phase covers the southern area of ​​the island, the settlements of Banjol and Barbat, where small wooden shipbuilding was most intensive in the past hundred years. At the same time, that area was the most represented in professional fishing, looking several centuries into the past. 

At this point, several family skerries have already been shut down, but a few are still functioning. From the once very lively fishing fleet, only a few boats with mostly one-man crews remain. 

The task of this project was to collect all available surviving documentary material, as well as the memories of still living witnesses and to make it available first of all to the autochthonous living of said settlements: relatives, neighbors and acquaintances, and then to everyone who is interested in the topic. For this purpose, the project was also carried out in English so that the material would be comprehensible to foreigners. 

As there is probably still undiscovered documentation left, this format in which the project is JUXTA MARE performed, its flexibility allows the content to be supplemented with new data and expanded with new subtopics as long as there is an opportunity and a need for it. 

At this stage it is processed 13 locations which include shipbuilders, fishermen i significant historical architecture which is a witness to the civilized course of said island landscape, and all are located along the promenade by the sea along the entire stretch of the Banjol - Barbat settlement. The name of the project JUXTA MARE comes from the fact that the entire contents of the museum are located on the promenade by the sea. 

At each individual location, there is a metal construction with two-sided (bilingual) panels equipped with text and photos related to the theme of those points on the promenade. The panels also include important information related to the entire trail (position on the map, distance to the neighboring point expressed in meters and number of steps, name and topic of other points, etc.). 

Each board has a QR code in a conspicuous place, which after being loaded into a modern "smart" phone device becomes the key to the entrance to the museum from the title of the project - virtual museum.

In the virtual part, the visitor has the option on the screen of his device see the entire track with all points seen from the air, and to access each one individually virtually and view the content related to each point individually. At the point where he is standing, he can select content on the screen of his device that offers extended text, additional photos or a short sound film on the topic of a particular point. In addition to the sound, the films are also subtitled so that they can be understood by hard of hearing and hard of hearing people.

And finally the button AR on the screen provides the possibility of connecting a mobile device with three-dimensional objects in digital format which appear in a live image on the screen and seemingly project into the space in front of the device, creating augmented reality (Augmented Reality). Through the phone screen, the projected object can be walked around and observed from all sides, as well as the interior, as if the real object were in real space. In addition, through the application, it is also possible to photograph the scene with augmented reality together with the people in the composition, which makes for a very beautiful, fun and educational memory. 

The entire length of the museum is accessible to people with disabilities, so they have access to the key (QR code) on the ground, where I can easily reach it. 

The project is conceived modularly as a virtual museum in the making that is expandable, supplementable and changeable, so the JUXTA MARE promenade is only its own pilot episode. 

A combination of modern digital technologies with traditional ones allows the entire museum to be mobile and can function in any space at any location when the fixed panels are replaced with portable ROLL-UP type panels.

For example, it can be displayed in closed or open spaces such as halls, schools or some other walkways or squares. Its purpose is to be a visiting museum.

This is exactly what happened in Vodice from May 15 to 17, 2023, where FAMENET (Fisheries and Aquaculture Monitoring, Evaluation and Local Support Network) organized the seminar "Starting EFPRA with a focus on innovative blue tourism" as part of which Petra Aničić , head of LAGUR Tramuntana presented the project "Virtual Museum of Fishing, Maritime and Shipbuilding in the City of Rab" as an example of a good practice project of innovative and sustainable tourism for LAGUs across Europe.

"The tourist association of the town of Rab thanks everyone for their help and effort, because this project would not have been possible without the sacrifice of all collaborators. They all wove a part of themselves into this wonderful project that remains for the town of Rab and its inhabitants, all who love and respect the sea, and to all those who are simply looking for new adventures. A special thanks goes to everyone who donated their time to make the project happen without receiving any compensation." they state from TZG Rab.

Photo: TZG Rab

*** About the tender for the project 

On 17.12.2019 LAGUR Tramuntana (hereinafter referred to as FLAG) announces the 1st FLAG competition from the Local Development Strategy in Fisheries of LAGUR Tramuntana for the period 2014-2020 (hereinafter referred to as LRSR) for Measure 2.A.1. "Development of tourist content related to the tradition of the fishing region". The subject of the FLAG competition is the award of public support for the implementation of activities within the approved Measure 2.A.1. The development of tourist facilities related to the tradition of the fishing region (hereinafter referred to as "Measure 2.A.1") of LRSR with the aim of connecting the traditional fishing and maritime sector with the tourism sector and creating new tourist facilities (by organizing events and creating socio-cultural events) for project holders who have their seat/residence within the fishing area of ​​the FLAG. 

Measure 2.A.1. refers to the connection of the fishing sector with the tourism sector for the purpose of preserving and promoting fishing and maritime traditions and traditional shipbuilding in the fishing area. The promotion and preservation of fishing and maritime traditions would be achieved with the help of investments in the construction and equipping of small fishing and maritime "museums", thematic, educational, interpretation - multimedia centers, thematic routes, exhibitions, manifestations and competitive events (a more detailed list of activities is provided in under point 4 of the FLAG competition). The deadline for submitting applications was February 03.02.2020, 30.04.2020. until 15.05.2020. years. The second amendment to the FLAG Competition extended the project application deadline until May 1.120.518,31, 148.718,34. The Tourist Board successfully applied for the project and was granted the full funds requested in the tender in the amount of HRK XNUMX or EUR XNUMX, which is the total cost of the entire implementation of the project.

The following participated in the project: Neven Budak, Mladen Šćerbe, Nomacom doo, IMG ventili doo, Centar Kovačić and the project manager was the director of TZG Raba Ivana Matušan.