In every process that you start (even in the smallest one) which aims to achieve something, to build something, is better if you have someone next to you that is going on the same direction and is willing to help you and share the efforts in the name of the final successful result. In other words, the game of thrones will be won by the army who had gathered the biggest number of partner-armies!
But enough for Game Of Thrones, Quint is going to be much more glorious than the Dragon Queen when all this story with the Management Plan achieves its happy end! Now about our goal: the idea for the Archaeological Research Center-a place, which will be a meeting point for science, education and tourism, needs for its realization not only good ideas but a food for these ideas-proffesionalists to work on the implementation of the project and of course, fundings. To receive these essential things Argonauta’s team tries to cooperate on many levels: they are applying constantly for EU funds, but also they are trying to establish a strong partnership with the local municipality and the Tourist Board of Murter-Kornati community. The two organisations, Argonauta and the Tourist Board, and the municipality of Murter work together and support each other in their projects and activities in the name of a bigger efficiency and better quality of education, sustainable development and cultural tourism on Murter Island.
We, the precious volunteers, also had the opportunity to meet the partners of our organisation, to ask them questions and to share opinions with them. Our first important meeting was with the mayor of Murter-Ivan Božikov. On first hand he explained us the current projects that the municipality is involved in: the building of a new kinder garden and the creating of a canalization system (Colentum has older canalization system than Murter, hohoho, archaeological joke). Then he shared his opinion about our project and the most important thing is that he considered the idea for recreating the ancient road of Colentum as a prioritet for the culture of Murter, so who knows, by the end of the summer we are going to have an old-new road on Gradina Hill. :)
Some time after we met the mayor, we had a presentation of the activities and a lecture from the director of the tourist board of Murter-Kornati community-Šime Ježina. Basically he pointed the main issues of the local tourism and explained about the efforts that have been made during the years for changing the current situation. In his opinion the main problem of the develepment of local tourism is the abscence of a sustainable strategy for the future plus the total neglection of the cultural tourism in the region. By all the activities connected with Colentum that Argonauta is doing actually local history and culture are getting more and more vivid and known by the local people and the tourists. Both Tourist Board and Argonauta meet same problem and needs according to their goals so they try to stick together in the name of the common good final results.
Even if you make the slowest and the smallest steps directed to your aim be sure that with a true friend you will reach it in the end. :)…and Argonauta is on the right direction :)

Some weeks ago we had the possibility to visit the Regional Museum of Sibenik. When you first see the outside appearance of the museum you are immediately fascinated by the authentic image of the building and this is not accidentaly: the museum nowadays occupies King’s Palace originally built in 13-14th century. But with your first step inside the museum you are again amazed but this time from the modern interior design. It is not only following the newest tendencies in museum interior design, but also is in a harmony with the local ethno-cultural traditions.
The exhibitions are mixture of archaeological and ethnographical artefacts and there is shown the history of the region from the prehistory times until the modern times. From Danilo culture to Faust Vrančić: you can examine neolithic zoomorphic figures (basically they look like sweet clay-made made animals without heads…or better: vases with legs) meanwhile you will hear the story of Mr. Faust Vrancic, who invented a new type of parachutte!



European Voluntary Service Program involves a huge diversity of topics and activities so basically there is something for everybody. From social work till taking care of baby bears and organising a work process in office-this is your choice. But there are also these projects that can combine very different activities and this is the thing that makes them a bit more special. Our project is exactly this mixture of actions-doing some scientific work on the archaeological site, create workshops, organising events, writing a management plan. It is not only about the cultural herritage’s socialization and preservation, but also about education and involving the local community into voluntary actions. A multilayer process. The best thing is that as long as we are five of us, very different personalities with even much more different interests, we are able, everyone of us, to find her or his own “layer” in this project. :)
You already know the story of Yordanka. Today is the time of Mathi and Alessandro. Mathi, a sweet blonde (very!) girl from North France, and Alessandro-sweet, but not blonde and all blue-eyed boy from North Italy are the new characters. Mathi has graduated recently from Communications, and I would say she has learned her lessons vey good-she has this unique sense of diplomacy and rationalism. So far she created a radio show program that is going to present our project and she, Alessandro and Anastasia (about this greek miracle: later on) wrote an article about us for the local newspaper-and beleive me, this girl knows how to do it, dude! When you hear the name of Alessandro you should think of nothing but gentleness. Similar to Mathi, he also has this diplomatical skills, but he developed them in a bit different way: graduated from International Relations, he made internships in Volgorod’s (Russia) as well as in Teheran’s Italian embacies’s. Phew, this guy has an experience, doesn’t he? :) From the beginning of our project untill now Mathi and Alessandro are working on the creating of the Management Plan of Colentum.
Management Plan maybe at first sounds a little bit scary, but actually it is the most important document, concerning Colentum Site. This document will allow our organisation Argonauta to apply for fundings from the European Union as well as from the Ministry of Culture and local municipality. Creating of the Management Plan requires a lot of discussing plus a quite hard and sometimes boring work in the office space in front of the computer. But the thing is that now maybe is a boring-office-work but tomorrow will be an Archaeological Research Centre on the Gradina Hill-the dream of Argonauta’s members. So as you can see in the end Mathi and Alessandro are appeared to be builders of this huge dream. Even by sitting in the office you can make a change, you should be just patient and a keeper-keeper of beleif that dreams and reality are one and the same thing, the only thing you need is action. :)
Bok!
