Exploiting Human Cognitive Architecture to Design a New Cultural Narrative for Non-captive Audiences: The TOURiBOOST Project

Heritage settings generate often a spatiotemporal gap between the object and the audience, as the tangible form is perceivable by the eye, but the meanings are codified. This particular condition, further supported by cultural and mentality differences, impedes non-captive audiences to fulfill satisfactory experiences. Following Aristotelian hermeneutics we defend that the spatio-temporal gap in heritage settings is of cognitive nature. Thus, to understand and embrace heritage values and effectively bridge the gap between the object and the observer, we need to link the audience to heritage meanings and values. The supply side, is often unaware of the human cognitive architecture, thus narratives and descriptions stay codified in the expert language, while the demand side is looking for compelling stories and multisensory experiences. The still ongoing ERASMUS + Project 2018-1-TR01-KA203-058344 (TOURiBOOST) for Higher Education builds an attempt to design and test a knowledge acquisition pattern for non-captive audiences from a human cognitive architecture point of view. In this vein, we present the design for the production of a multimedia iBook presenting 30 heritage places in TR/HU/NL/IT/GR with the principal aim to create the enabling environment for both onsite and dislocated audiences to engage in critical thinking and inspire them to replace gazing and clicking with cognition and emotions.