As University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Torun (Poland) we need a partner for the HERA Programm (more info: http://heranet.info/) 

The description of the project: 

«Growth’s environment»: interdisciplinary research on the medieval phenomenon of the Way of Saint James 
as ‘cultural node’. 

The project consist in scientific and artistic research on what we can call “cultural node” in the light of Camino de Santiago, that was one of the first expression of European unity. Goethe said that “Europe was formed on the road to Santiago” and that’s why is call ‘the longest street of Europe”. The tradition of pilgrims walking from their own front door to Santiago has led to a whole network of paths crossing Europe. Branches of the Camino start as far away as Poland, Scotland, Estonia, Italy etc. Camino was a kind of “transmission pass” where circulate new ideas, different culture, lenguage, tradition and in this “encounter” grew the consciens of european cultural unity and so many ‘material’ proof of it, like international law with obiectivy to protect the pilgrims in his road and many others solution (economic care etc.)

The project will investigate about sociological, cultural, historical, architecturical aspects of Camino de Santiago, but with one main focus: searching the background of unity and response to the cuestion: how grew this phenomenon? The foot of medieval pirgrims was a step in direct to unity of the old continent. 

We would like to creat some kind of contemporary “cultural node” in the important point in Camino de Santiago, from Poland, throw German, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, inviting the scientifics, artists, cultural institutions and museums to responds a “fundamental questions” of human being and his identity (true, good, beauty etc.). This “cultural pilgrimate”, with his station in different country, can introduce some “genealogy of growth”: how grew the unity of Europe. It’s a specific ‘modus crescendi’ with three importat steps: identity – encounters – transmission. 

The obiectivies of the project can resume in this theme:
-	confrontations or assimilation? Historical encounters in Middle Age (christian-arabic-jews in Camino), intermingling of architectural styles, trade, cultural, religious, philosophical aspects.
-	mapping of influence of Camino de Santiago in Europe: indicate the “cultural channels” that led to this.
-	“Philosophical traces”: each of the medieval pilgrims leave traces, but not walked after them thoughtlessly, but in keeping it. This hermeneutics of growth was translated into a process of common building the future in respect to the foundaments. It was the specyfics ”growth’s environment”, what means a series of factors that led to the formation of favorable circumstances for such infiltration that created an important “sense of community” in Europe. As there is a “anthropic principle” (in philosophy), so perhaps there is also the ”cultural-unity-principle“. Over the centuries, this unity was exposed to dangers of “rip” its basic stitches.
-	The project brings the value of intercultural dialogue, sensitive to the identity and difference, the two categories which are not mutually exclusive, but mutually enriching. The Way of Saint James (Camino) indicate the idea to develop a specific method which is based on the experience of generations of Europeans to traverse the model. Generates a waves of “positive energy”, which Europe so needs today. In our opinion, this wave may come from Camino. We would like to engage cultural agents, scholars, artists (poets, painters, architects) and traverse the modern Camino, intellectual’s and cultural’s Camino, which doesn’t lock on the most important cultural questions, but trying to build the unity on a foundament of mutual respect. The idea of “cultural nodes” seems to be the key concept here. Shows how the formerly, intersected, various cultural trends, instead of a combat, united, strengthen - as each node which is tied. We want to help other scientists and artists on the newly “bind” the cultural unity of Europe. For this purpose, will be necessary to organize a series of meetings in Europe, crossing Camino, from Toruń, Poland to Santiago de Compostela, Spain with this proposal: to search the “fundaments values”.

The project will permit us to: 
-	know the principle of interaccion of cultural elements in the history and in contemporary situation of Europe; description of the “modus” of cultural encounters in european tradition; 
-	descover all the benefits (from different areas of humanities) that come with Camino de Santiago like an international law etc and his applications to our situation in Europe in 21. century.
-	analyze an original view on the phenomenon of “growth throw encounters”
-	continuation of Camino’s tradition throw organizations of Cultural European Encounters (some “New Camino de Santiago”) – a kind of „Cultural Node” in different points on the Way of Saint James, where the scientifics and artists from many countries could search the answer to fundamental questions of human life. 

To realize this proposal is need the colaboration of many cultural institutions and scholars from many european countries, with his original point of view etc.  

If you have some idea... 

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