Naujosios technologijos lokalaus paveldo animavimui
ENThe prevailing globalization, technological advancement, increasing mobility of people, democratic upheavals and prospering market economics condition rapidly shifting social environment which, in turn, brings forth swift changes in culture and communities. The understanding of learning about the cultural and architectural heritage, its protection and promotion possibilities are strongly influenced by rapidly spreading technological innovations. The spread of the Internet and commonly accessible benefits, offered by the Global Positioning System (GPS), created the possibility for the formation of a new virtual geocaching movement, the activities of which were united on the www.geocaching.com website. The GPS, which originated in the United States of America in 1970, has been kept as a military secret for a long time. The new and advanced version was adapted to be freely used by the civilians; however, it had a rather significant error of up to 100 meters. Yet, as on May 2, 2000, the resolution passed by the President Bill Clinton prohibited the military from blocking the GPS signals. D. J. Ulmer, an engineer from the USA State of Oregon, made use of this situation and on May 3, 2000 hid a container in a forest, which he gave a rather peculiar name of "the Great American GPS Stash Hunt". Its coordinates were posted on one of the GPS user websites. This was the start of the virtual geocaching movement which currently has over 6 million of registered users promoting an active lifestyle and an attractive way of learning about the environment by offering each member of the society a possibility to present his or her well known locations through an individual prism of vision and perception. Geocaches are included in the non-formal education programs in many countries and are used as an appealing method to promote both material and non-material heritage.A properly organized operation of cultural heritage protector may assist in refreshing and promoting the less known Lithuanian places, encourage the local communities to take interest in their environment and contribute to its preservation. Hence, the goal of this article is to present the activities of the international virtual movement and analyze the possibilities of using them as methods for promoting various objects of cultural heritage in Lithuania.
