Since autumn 2023, the “Living cultural heritage as a learning field for social negotiation processes and social cohesion (LeKuLab)” research transfer project has been exploring how practical knowledge of intangible traditions can be used in practice to promote participation and voluntary engagement. In performing their work, the researchers have turned their attention to the examples of the Fasnacht carnival in Constance, Germany, and Silvesterchlausen in Urnäsch (a New Year's tradition that is celebrated in the canton of Appenzell in Switzerland). Responsibility for the overall management of the project lies with Prof. Leticia Labaronne from the Center for Arts Management at the ZHAW.

The aim of the research transfer project, which is funded by the Lake Constance Arts & Sciences Association, is to make this implicit knowledge tangible and to facilitate its transfer to other social settings and systems. Over the past few months, numerous interviews have been conducted to this end with those who preserve the Fasnacht carnival in Constance and Silvesterchlausen in Urnäsch. These interviews have been quantitatively analysed and the results compiled.

On 1 October 2024, a workshop was held in cooperation with Martin Schröpel from the Department for Citizen Participation and Civic Engagement of the City of Constance, and the preliminary research results were presented to representatives from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the Lake Constance region in the Council Chamber of the City of Constance. Here, a small group conducted detailed discussions on which of the identified factors are relevant to the area of participation and voluntary engagement and how the transfer of knowledge from living cultural traditions to participatory practice can succeed.

The project team thus finds itself in a strengthened position as it heads into the second half of the project. The concepts honed during the workshop will be developed further over the months ahead and presented to the wider public as part of several transfer workshops in 2025.