Mingei will explore the possibilities of representing and making accessible both tangible and intangible aspects of craft as cultural heritage (CH). Heritage Crafts (HCs) involve craft artefacts, materials, and tools and encompass craftsmanship as a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible HC dimensions include dexterity, know-how, and skilled use of tools, as well as, tradition, and identity of the communities in which they are, or were, practiced. HCs are part of the history and have impact upon the economy of the areas in which they flourish. The significance and urgency to the preservation of HCs is underscored, as several are threatened with extinction. Despite their cultural significance efforts for HC representation and preservation are scattered geographically and thematically. Mingei will provide means to establish HC representations based on digital assets, semantics, existing literature and repositories, as well as, mature digitisation and representation technologies. These representations will capture and preserve tangible and intangible dimensions of HCs. Central to craftsmanship is skill and its transmission from master to apprentice. Mingei will capture the motion and tool usage of HC practitioners, from Living Human Treasures and archive documentaries, in order to preserve and illustrate skill and tool manipulation. The represented knowledge will be availed through compelling experiential presentations, using storytelling and educational applications and based on AR and MR and the Internet. Engaging cultural experiences have positive impact on interest growth and tourism, which support HC communities and institutions and foster HC sustainability and preservation. The consortium brings together complementary expertise and content. Pilot themes exhibit richness in tangible and intangible dimensions and are directly related to European history.

Consumer Driven Local Production with the Help of Virtual Design and Digital Manufacturing. Objectives: • To connect enabling virtual design and sales technology to enabling digital manufacturing technology and demonstrate their advantages and benefits; • To demonstrate how virtual design and sales technology can be exploited by the fashion and sports goods industry and how, by means of such technology, consumer driven local production can be established. • To accelerate and support the growth of European creative industries, especially in competing against low cost imports and bring production back to Europe; • Through efficient dissemination create tens of innovative solutions with high market potential for the European creative industries SMEs. How they will be achieved: • A study of consumer attitudes and preferences towards interactive sales networks and customization sets the basis for the project. In order to utilize already available technology and to aim beyond the state-of-the-art, a Kick-Off Round Table Workshop will be organized at the beginning with wide participation by suitable IT suppliers. • The novelties of the project are the inspiring and interactive avatar, radically new product construction system connected to no-inventory continuous from-roll-to-bag production, plus connecting digital consumer driven design to consumer driven manufacturing. • The results of the project will be efficiently demonstrated by Road Show Workshops to be organized throughout Europe in cooperation with local Industry Associations. Relevance to the work programme: • The project will stimulate collaboration between ICT innovative technology providers and creative industry SMEs for wider adaption and deployment of innovative digital solutions. • The aim is to accelerate and support the growth of European creative industries by improving their competitiveness and by bringing production back to Europe.