With Burja Across Europe within the Erasmus+ Program

Burja on Pag: Cultural Heritage as the Classroom of the Future

In the second half of June 2025, we took part in a staff mobility visit at the Pag Tourist Board within the Erasmus+ programme. For many years, Erasmus+ has supported our development in non-formal education, staff mobilities, and the strengthening of international cooperation in the field of adult learning. The visit to Pag marked a significant milestone in expanding our professional competencies and enhancing cooperation with international partners. In recent years, we have been implementing high-quality education programmes focused on traditional crafts, combined with the promotion of more sustainable forms of work and cultural-tourism potential. The island of Pag is known for three things – Pag cheese, Pag salt, and Pag lace. It was precisely the secrets of the latter that made this learning mobility particularly fascinating.

Our three-member team was hosted by the Pag Tourist Board, where we were warmly welcomed by the director of the organization. At the initial meeting, Vesna emphasized the strategic importance of the island’s cultural and natural heritage, particularly the ways in which it can be integrated into non-formal adult education programmes. Her introductory presentation offered a comparative understanding of Pag’s cultural landscape as a classroom, which served as the foundation for the rest of our mobility content.

During the mobility, we also visited the Pag Saltworks – a vast salt production facility rooted in centuries of tradition. As the largest sea salt producer in Croatia, the Pag Saltworks stretches across approximately 2 million square meters of land, shaped by a thousand years of salt-making. It still uses the traditional technique of natural evaporation involving the sun, wind, and soil, along with the manual harvesting of ‘fleur de sel’ – delicate salt flower crystals. The gap between past and present is bridged through educational workshops, and one of the most inspiring experiences was a hands-on workshop where we learned about the history, technique, and ecological value of traditional salt production directly from the skilled workers of Pag Saltworks, including the manual harvesting process with primitive tools.

Later in the mobility programme, we attended the Pag Lace Festival and observed various lace-making workshops such as “Salt Lace on Foil,” Pag lace with Jasna Magaš, and creative felt lace with artist Nikol Jakopić Donadić. The methodology of these workshops was based on participatory learning through experience, sensory engagement with materials, collaboration, and creative expression. We recognised this as an extremely effective approach to non-formal adult education. Group lace-making without predefined patterns encouraged collective creation, improved mutual communication, team dynamics, and cultural competencies, while also exploring the importance of sensory learning and the fusion of tradition with innovative approaches.

In addition to observation, we gained valuable insights into pedagogical strategies for transferring traditional craft skills into a contemporary context. We learned how to integrate such content into the design of new workshops that promote creativity, intergenerational cooperation, and active adult participation in learning. Especially valuable was understanding how craft skills such as lace-making, felting, and other traditional techniques can serve as a foundation for developing market-attractive tourist products – souvenirs, jewellery, clothing, and other unique handmade items. This knowledge is not only significant from the perspective of cultural heritage preservation but also as a tool for the economic empowerment of our target groups – primarily older women – who participate in adult education programmes. It helps strengthen their self-confidence, entrepreneurship, and ability to generate additional income. The use of modern pedagogical approaches combined with craftwork also enables greater social inclusion of vulnerable groups and fosters sustainable development in local communities.

The cultural heritage of the island of Pag proved to be a highly effective learning environment for conveying interdisciplinary content: history, art, handicrafts, and sustainable natural practices. Through conversations with local artists and experts, we discovered various ways of interpreting and promoting heritage. This gave us further insight into how to involve vulnerable groups – our older women, immigrant women – in educational programmes while creating a space for dialogue and intercultural exchange. We built strong connections with the local community, exchanged best practices, and explored future opportunities for cooperation, whether through adult learner group mobilities or other Erasmus+ projects.

Key competencies gained in the field of non-formal adult education methodology included participatory approaches, experiential learning, sensory engagement, and interdisciplinary work with natural materials. We also developed organisational and communication skills necessary for running large-scale events such as festivals or workshops. These competencies are important not only for preserving and reinterpreting cultural heritage but also as a means to economically empower our target groups – primarily older women – in adult learning programmes. This strengthens their confidence, entrepreneurial mindset, and capacity to generate income independently. Behind the scenes, we had the chance to observe the organisation of major international events on this topic firsthand. We also enhanced our green skills through working with local materials and promoting sustainable tourism. Cultural and intercultural competencies were developed through inclusive dialogue-based approaches, while creativity flourished through the interpretation of history and storytelling, such as in the picture book The Legend of Pag Lace. The visit to the Saltworks also deepened our awareness of ecology, the value of local resources, and the bond between community and tradition – all elements we plan to integrate into future educational programmes.

Exploring the techniques of hand-harvesting fleur de sel and experiencing control over natural processes inspired us to develop projects that connect cultural heritage and sustainability. In the coming year, we plan to organise adult exchanges from Slovenia to Pag, where participants will explore technical processes and the synergy between tourism, education, and the local community. We also aim to develop a project in which cultural themes will be interpreted through digital tools – felting, photography, video, traditional printmaking, and interactive publications – and presented as an innovative learning path.

This study mobility was much more than just an experience or a sharing of best practices. It became a source of inspiration and a strong model for exchange, providing a foundation for the development of new educational methods and programme design. Our collaboration with the Pag Tourist Board confirmed that cultural heritage (salt, lace, storytelling, etc.) can serve as a powerful pedagogical medium, building bridges between people, places, and generations. If cultural heritage can become the classroom of the future, then Pag is a place where that future already lives – in its salt, in its thread, and in the community that preserves and enriches it with knowledge and dedication.