The Project
The CoolCars project draws on three recent socio-economic megatrends
and combines them to an innovative concept in adult education:
The historic vehicle movement
is a considerable contributor to the European economy and is responsible for a very interesting adult passion. It attracts interest from millions
of people from all social backgrounds who enjoy seeing our mobile motoring heritage of cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles of all types over 25 years of age. At the same time, we can observe a growing awareness of the disadvantages of the throwaway society. Sustainability issues play
a more important role, and aspects of “grey energy” are becoming more and more recognised. Under this light, classic cars, but also so-called “youngtimers” (cars built until the 1980s), appear suddenly in a favourable light as contributors to sustainability.
Cultural heritage
is no longer exclusively seen for ancient castles, gothic churches
or baroque paintings. The awareness of cultural heritage increasingly includes industrial sites, like coal mines or mills, but also means
of transport, such as old railways or classic cars.
The climate discussion
of the past years has led to a new understanding of longdistance holiday travels. Terms like “flight shame” have entered into
the discussion, and the shares of sustainable tourism offers are rapidly growing. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has also reawakened the interest in local or regional tourist destinations.
The combination of these trends
results in a new and innovative adult education programme which leads to a deeper understanding of climate and sustainability issues among European citizens. However, instead of prohibitions, restrictions and renunciations, project partners wish to demonstrate that enjoyable lifestyle and exciting tourism can also be achieved by following the aspects mentioned above, i.e., the sustainable use of (classic) cars, the selection of holiday destinations which can be reached without airplanes, and the interest for cultural heritage in a broader sense.
