Fourth PROSPERO Interregional Meeting held in Craiova

The two-day programme was dedicated to the exchange of good practices and learning about Craiova’s cultural initiatives and offerings, and the meeting was hosted by the South-West Oltenia Regional Development Agency.

The examples of the “Puppets Occupy Streets” Festival and the International Shakespeare Festival demonstrated how culture can contribute to the recognition of a city. These events were presented as local initiatives that connect art, the community and the international promotion of Craiova.

A special part of the programme was the “Good Practices Marketplace” activity, organised as a competition among project partners. Each of the seven partner regions presented its own good practice, after which the partners used symbolic coins to “purchase” those they considered most useful. The three practices that collected the most coins were declared winners and among them was SERDA’s good practice “Innovative Startup Business Centre”. This result demonstrated the interest of partner organisations in experiences and solutions from Sarajevo in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation support.

The programme also included a presentation “Smarter and more sustainable CCIs”, dedicated to the role of culture in the green transition and sustainable practices in this sector. In addition to the working sessions, participants visited the Art Museum, the Casa Băniei Ethnography Museum and the village of Gogoșu, where the first Autumn Festival dedicated to tradition and cultural heritage was held at a local school. Among the locations visited was also a city workshop responsible for the creative decoration of public spaces for holidays and celebrations.

The meeting in Craiova confirmed the importance of interregional cooperation through which partners continue their joint work on improving cultural policies in their regions.