Open Call is now closed:
Thank you for your interest, the Open Call is now closed. Applications will be evaluated by 8th May 2023 and the selected Institutions/Organizations will be contacted directly by the CREAMARE Secretariat.1. Context
Preservation and protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) are directly linked to major threats to the marine environment, including pollution, ghost gears, fisheries, unsustainable yachting/boating etc. The UNESCO Ocean Decade, the EU Green Deal and other international initiatives underscore the growing need for cooperation of all the possible stakeholders, from different disciplines and sectors, to conserve UCH and address related threats.
The Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) can effectively contribute to raising people’s awareness of the need to learn about and protect their underwater natural and cultural heritage by setting up a strong transnational cooperation among themselves and with cultural institutions working in the field of UCH conservation and communication.
This cooperation strategy should be based on innovative co-production approaches that facilitate the actors involved to combine their efforts, implement participatory design methods, deal transparently with Intellectual Property (IP) and copyright issues, thus achieving their common goal of producing cultural products designed to improve communication, promotion and awareness of UCH.
2. About CREAMARE project
The overall goal of the CREAMARE project is to create a transnational cooperation framework in which cultural institutions, scientific/research organizations, creative professionals, and technology experts will co-produce CCI applications and media content to communicate, disseminate and promote maritime and underwater cultural heritage and, at the same time, raise awareness of relevant social issues, such as pollution and other environmental threats affecting the oceans.
As part of this cross-collaboration model, CREAMARE will involve marine archaeologists, ocean scientists and creative industry experts (storytellers, video makers, graphic designers, 3D artists, level designers, etc.) to co-produce a Serious Game focused on the UCH and Ocean Literacy.
The Game will allow the player to visit highly realistic 3D digital models of 8 underwater cultural sites. 6 of them will be selected through this call for proposals.
As the player visits these sites, he or she will have to solve riddles and challenges related to both cultural heritage and environmental threats (e.g.: oil spills from shipwrecks, ghost nets that kill fishes and marine animals, illegal fishing, and unsustainable boating practices, etc.). In this way the serious game simultaneously aims to raise people’s awareness of the importance and beauty of our UCH and the importance of preserving the Ocean’s health for future generations.
The Serious Game’s plot consists of a dystopian future, in which scientists, while working to solve marine pollution, generated a mutated creature that haunts the deep sea and its hidden treasures. In the present, the player must fight the source of pollution (e.g. ecological issues to be solved in the present) and then bring back some artefacts to the site in order to restore and protect the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The detailed plot and storyboard of the CREAMARE Serious Game will be shared with the selected Institutions after the evaluation process and signing of a cooperation agreement.
For more information about the project, visit: https://www.creamare.eu/
3. To whom this call is addressed
The purpose of this call is to select 4 to 6 Cultural Institutions or Organizations (e.g.: Museums, Universities, Public bodies, Research Centers, NGOs, etc.) involved in research, preservation, protection and/or dissemination of UCH linked to Mediterranean cultures, who wish to support the CREAMARE project by joining the partners in the co-production of the Serious Game described above. We consider eligible institutions or organizations operating in the countries listed in ANNEX 1
These Institutions/Organizations may promote their UCH by including the digital model of one of their sites in the Serious Game that will be co-produced in the project. Each applicant may propose 1 to 3 UCH sites linked to Mediterranean cultures that are particularly historically and naturalistically/ecologically relevant, which will be evaluated as described in section 8.
4. Benefits offered by the CREAMARE Project to the selected Institutions
Applicant Institutions may choose to participate in two different ways:
1) by providing the CREAMARE Project with an existing 3D model of the proposed UCH site so that it can become one of the Serious Game locations and participate in the Online Training;
2) by participating in the CREAMARE training courses, during which the site survey will be conducted, and the 3D model will be produced and used in the Serious Game.
The main benefits of working with the CREAMARE project are:
- Training in digital technologies;
- Testing of a new co-production model for the co-creation of cultural multimedia applications;
- Improved public visibility of a specific UCH site.
CREAMARE offers a unique opportunity for the staff of selected Institutions/Organizations to acquire new digital skills in 3D computer graphics, photogrammetry, and other technologies useful for UCH documentation and dissemination.
4.1 Training in digital technologies:
The training program will include two intensive units: Online Lessons Unit + On-site Training Unit
Online Lessons Unit (20 hours): will be conducted in e-learning mode through webinars. Trainers will present tutorials about tools and software for computer graphics, photogrammetry, 3D modelling for Cultural Heritage. Freeware and open-source tools will be used whenever possible.
On-site Training Unit (28 hours): will be held on 4 of the proposed UCH sites and will directly experience the use of technologies and tools on real case studies through:
- photographic and photogrammetric survey of terrestrial and underwater cultural heritage sites;
- post-processing of the digitized 3D models to enable their use in CC apps;
- 3D modelling of cultural artefacts (3 to 5, to be included in the Serious Game).
The CREAMARE project will provide an On-site Training Unit on 4 UCH sites selected by the Committee.
Participation in the Online Lessons Unit is mandatory for all the selected Institutions; each Institution must involve at least 3 participants.
Participation in the On-site Training Unit is optional for the participant Institutions that can provide existing 3D models of the proposed UCH site and related artifacts, and do not need to acquire expertise in this field.
4.2 Participating & testing the CREAMARE co-production model for Serious Game development
Developing a Serious Game combines many interesting aspects (from conceptualization, to storytelling, design etc.) and incorporates a wide range of fields of expertise. Selected participants will have the opportunity to collaborate in the design and implementation of the CREAMARE Serious Game thus gaining the experience and knowledge about this co-production process in collaboration with marine scientists and CCI experts.
4.3 Improvement of the public visibility of a specific UCH site
The Serious Game’s audience is quite different from the traditional UCH site audience, and perhaps much broader. The 6 UCH sites, which will be selected through this Open Call, will appear as locations of the CREAMARE Serious Game.
5. What is requested
– Authorization to use the actual data, content and 3D model of both the UCH site and its artifacts as part of the Serious Game: the participant Institution/Organization must either hold the intellectual property on the UCH site or be able to obtain specific authorization from the owing entity in a short time.
– Hosting of the On-site Training Units (optional if 3D models of both the artifacts and the site are already available): training activities can be hosted in-house or in external facilities, keeping in mind that the CREAMARE Project will cover expenses for On-site Training Units up to a maximum of 4.000 € for each Institution (e.g., boat rental, diving equipment rental, etc.). At least 3 participants of the Institution must attend this Training Unit.
– Video interview with a UCH site specialist: a relevant member of the Institution will appear in the Serious Game to describe in a short (2 minutes) video the UCH site and its artifacts. The interview can be released in the specialist’s mother tongue: subtitles will be provided in English and other EU languages.
6. How to participate
Institutions/Organizations must complete the attached ‘Application Form 1 – Institution/Organization’ and ‘Application Form 2 – UCH Site’, and upload all the documents in pdf format by filling out the form at the following link: https://platform.creamare.eu/open-call-for-cultural-institutions-application/
Each Institution/Organization can participate with 1 to 3 UCH Sites; in case of applying with more than one UCH site, please fill-in the “Application Form 2 – UCH Site” for each site separately.
Optionally, PDF files containing additional documentation (maximum 100 MB) can also be uploaded as supporting documents (e.g. scientific papers, pictures, links to videos, 3D models, etc.).
The deadline for uploading the application documents is 23rdh April 2023, h. 12.00 CET.
The submission of the Application Forms 1 and 2 implies acceptance of the terms of the GDPR.
7. Evaluation Committee
The CREAMARE Evaluation Committee is composed by:
Prof. Fabio Bruno, 3D Research (Italy)
Prof. Barbara Davidde, Ministry of Culture (Italy)
Prof. Felipe Cerezo Andreo, Cadiz University (Spain)
Dr. Stelios Krinidis, Pragma IoT (Greece)
Gergő Paukovics, Pro Progressione (Hungary)
Vicky Drouga, Atlantis Consulting SA (Greece)
Ervin Silic, Novena (Croatia)
8. Evaluation methodology
The evaluation criteria fall into 3 major categories: relevance, interest, and diversity. All the criteria have equal weight and a maximum score of 5 each, thus the total score is 15.
- Criterion 1 – Relevance: Historical and cultural value of the UCH site and related artifacts;
- Criterion 2 – Interest: Fascination and evocative power of the UCH site with respect to the plot of the Serious Game;
- Criterion 3 – Diversity: Added value linked to the Serious Game contents, plot, and storyboard (e.g., pollution threats, natural or man-made hazards, etc.).
The selection process will also take into account the Project’s priorities:
- geographic balance required (selection of a maximum of 2 UCH sites per Country);
- variety of types of UCH sites needed (by kind, by century, etc.).
Applicants may be contacted by the Evaluation Committee if certain aspects of their applications need clarification.
The evaluation of the applicants’ proposals will be carried out by the CREAMARE Evaluation Committee by 8th May 2023. The selected Institutions/Organizations will be contacted directly by the CREAMARE Secretariat.
The results of the selection will be available by 15th May 2023 at the following link: https://creamare.eu/news/.
9. Data management (GDPR)
9.1 Participants
The data will be managed by the Evaluation Committee and the CREAMARE Secretariat (as described in sections 6 and 7), according to the EU Regulation 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation).
The data will only be available to members of the Evaluation Committee.
The data will be kept only for the duration of the selection process.
The data will be used only for the purpose of the selection process.
9.2 Selected Institutions/Organizations
The data will be managed by the CREAMARE Secretariat and CREAMARE Project partners, according to the EU Regulation 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation).
The data will be available to the CREAMARE Project partners. The data will be kept for 2 years after the duration of the CREAMARE Project (until 31/05/2027).
The data will be used only within the scope of the CREAMARE Project purposes (i.e., for the development of the CREAMARE Serious Game, Communication & Dissemination activities and for reporting to the European Commission).
10. Cooperation agreement
After the selection, a Cooperation Agreement will be signed between the CREAMARE Project and each selected Institution, in order to give official status to the Institution in supporting the CREAMARE Project and establish the mutual obligations and responsibilities of the parties.
11. Contact information
For further questions and clarifications please check the Q&A section at the following link: https://platform.creamare.eu/open-call-for-cultural-institutions-faq
or contact the CREAMARE Secretariat at: support@creamare.eu.
CREAMARE is an international cooperation project financed by the Creative Europe Program (Call: CREA-CULT-2021-COOP) that is managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
Download application forms
Apply to this open callANNEX 1 – List of eligible countries of the applicants
European Union member states (EU27)
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Countries associated with the Horizon Europe Programme:
Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and Ukraine.
The list is based on the official eligibility document for the Horizon Europe:
List of North Africa Countries
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.