This is a story about multiply stories. All of them are "magical" and very interesting. There are stories about caves, Neolithic people and their beliefs, ancient observatories, Roman roads known as Via Egnatia, Roman towns, the camel caravans from the Middle East, closed bazaars, old bazaars, churches, cathedrals and mosques, traditional handicrafts, natural rarities, lakes , canyons, waterfalls and many many more. North Macedonia as the one of the biggest crossroads of the world, because of its position in the most center of the Balkan peninsula, have an enormous diversity of cultures and traditions that have passed through and have mixed in today's modern multiethnic culture. Because of that diversity it possesses a rich cultural heritage. It possesses natural rarities and beauties, that also, represent European and even world heritage. In a small space (~160 x 160km - 25,713 km2 - 9,928 sq mi) you can see a lot of natural rarities and beauties as well as beauties created by the human hand. We are glad that we have all this heritage, but also we will be happy to share it with Europe and the rest of the world. We have innovative way of how to put our heritage in your hands so it will become your heritage too.

Although we are primarily youth-oriented NGO, yet our approach will involve the whole community from the youngest to the oldest in an entertaining way, but it will also have an educational and even encyclopedic character. In this internet technology era when everything is one click away, the youngest members of the community have forgotten how to socialize. Living the life of a video game hero, they sometimes forget that the real world exists. We will do our best to get them back on track by creating a entertaining way of learning through play and competition with their friends, teachers, parents or grandparents. Everyone is invited. Namely it is about a specifically created board (tabletop) game for 2 to 4 players with specially designed mechanics that will involve knowledge about the heritage. Through the gameplay, players will learn all sorts of information about specific heritage (old buildings, churches, mosques, artifacts, archaeological sites, traditional handicrafts, natural rarities etc.) like position in the country (where it is located or which museum houses the artifact etc.), material, dating etc. They will have to learn in order to win. The rules book for the gameplay will be developed as a little heritage encyclopedia with colorful pages about heritages together with their stories. Besides the game board, tokens and various other pieces needed for the game there will be cards in the game and in all of them there will be art (painting, drawing) or photography that will present the chosen natural rarity, artifact, old building etc. On the cards beside the image of the heritage there will be several information like: • gps coordinates of the position (for the buildings, sites, natural rarities and beauties) • dating of the heritage (for all heritages) • for the natural rarities and beauties there will be also information if they are declared as UNESCO World Heritage or not. • for the artifacts we will tell which museum houses it, what is the material that is made of etc. • for the buildings there will be who has build it and/or why it is built, materials used etc. That is how we will manage to put our heritage in your hands literally, but the symbolic meaning is that if some heritage is in your hands you will start to sense it as yours heritage, our common heritage. This game can be used as educational tool in the primary schools. The touristic workers can benefit from it, also. Vladimir Petkov gigart.bitola@gmail.com

My hometown, Bitola, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, although now numbering no more than 70,000, was a major cultural and trade center. In that period traders and other people came from everywhere, from Paris and London, all the way to the Middle East with camel caravans. Ideas and experiences were exchanged, and the cultures of the whole world were blended together creating our present common heritage. Most traders and craftsmen were polyglots and spoke at least 5 languages. There were many consulates in the city, including English, Austro-Hungarian, French, Italian and so on. The consuls brought European culture with them, as well as their lifestyles. Thus the "city of consuls" became a kind of capital of European culture within the Ottoman Empire. It was a trendy place where people behaved in a European way. People were dressed in the latest European fashion. Famous plays by European authors were played in the theater. In the early 20th century from London to Bitola the first camera in the Balkans was brought by the famous Manaki brothers. In their honor, the renowned Manaki Brothers Film Camera Festival is organized. Famous films by European authors were played in their cinema. Although a long time has passed and many things have changed, yet the cosmopolitan European spirit of the citizens of my city, deeply embedded in their gene, has not changed. The purpose of this story of ours, is to bring those values, for mutual and diversity respect, through game closer to all citizens of my country with special emphasis on the younger generations. Explaining to them what they have as their heritage and what the meaning, value and purpose of that heritage are and what they will lose if they do not preserve it. How this heritage was preserved for them, with mutual and diversity respect.