steeple engineering
The goal of the
RECITE II Project has been to set up a European network to reflect on, to carry through
and to exchange ideas within the highly specialized scope of trades, some of which are
ancestral, others of which rely on highly advanced technologically.
In both cases, we are talking about elements associated with
church tower and steeples. These include monumental clocks,
bells, automation on clocks that strike the hour or segments thereof, weathercocks as well
as lightning conductors, the indispensable protector against a common enemy, the
thunderbolt.
The RECITE II project should allow for explicit objectives to be reached :
- The modernization and the development of methods used in the specific ancestral trades
concerned through the adoption
of new technology and more especially through current communication techniques (the diversification of activities,
the economic and commercial approach).
- The preservation of European know-how and expertise, unequaled in the rest of the world
and threatened, in the
not too distant future, by sclerosis and demise.
- The establishment of a network made up of the various apprehended sectors, each weakened in its own way, which could, when brought together, become an economic, social and culture force.
- To incite our partners to create jobs
not only to strengthen local potential but also to stimulate visits elsewhere in order to
see what is happening elsewhere and therefore
benefit from reciprocal experience and expertise on a technical or commercial level.
We believe that interregional cooperation can contribute to the achievement of these
objectives. The European market represents the future of these enterprises, and whatever
the level of excellence in production (and each one of the selected partners excels in his
domain)
they are bound, if they remain introspective in a world of communication and exchange,
to disappear undoubtedly for lack of prospects.
The regions of Europe lend themselves perfectly to the creation of such a network in the field of church tower and steeple engineering because they are all concerned with the protection of their bell heritage and therefore with the survival of small firms who have taken on the responsibility for this safeguarding.
It is thus proposed that industries commit themselves to the structured, cooperative and systematic process of analysis of pilot projects for job creation, concerning possible solutions for the creation of long term jobs. This would be accomplished thanks to the examples collected by the partners in the areas of initial and ongoing training programmes, creation of firms and in the sector of monumental clock maintenance.
