What is Patri-Net?

Programme: The Programme is an initiative adopted under the Community Initiative of Interreg III B Azores-Madeira-The Canary Islands.
Leader: Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
Partners: The Town Council of Funchal and the University of Madeira.
Duration: July 2003 - July 2005-07-03
Total budget: 680.147 euros (EFRDE 85%)

PATRI-NET is the acronym used to describe this initiative consisting in setting up a web page designed to ?valorise? and promote the Cultural Heritage of the region of Macaronesia via Internet. The original idea was to look for strategies which would allow us to give greater information and promote know-how with respect to the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the region for it to be held in greater esteem, and to share the results of the research carried out in Funchal (Madeira) and Gran Canaria with the public at large, via a web page of cultural resources.

The project is framed within the INTERREG IIIB Community Initiative Programme for the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (2000-2006) and is designed to promote inter-regional cooperation between Funchal (Madeira ) and Gran Canaria, through the partners of the Town Council of Funchal, the University of Madeira and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.

The central aim of the project was derived from the need to overcome the limitations of ultra-peripheral insularity and isolation in the area of cultural and heritage resources via the use of new technologies.

The databases of Archaeology, Ethnography, Architecture and Heritage Property of Funchal and Gran Canaria share the same digital format and offer the same historical, technical and administrative details, although affording leeway for differences in cataloguing of material heritage and legal frameworks between both regions, to allow for user friendly consultation and comparison.

These databases have different levels of access depending on the profile of the visitors to the web page. Possible beneficiaries are the local institutions (Government Secretariats and Town Councils) who can use the same when designing Territorial Plans, together with the universities and cultural bodies, but also tourists and the general public who want to get to know the Cultural and Historical Heritage in greater depth.