The effective engagement and participation of stakeholders is a key factor in the DANUrB+ Project. The stakeholder meetings are part of the awareness buildings + engagement and a lot of the partners succeeded in having such (mainly in person), regardless of the difficult pandemic situation:

• University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture (UBGD-FA)

In Sombor, the first meeting with ASP colleagues was on January 26, 2021, and on April 22, there was a workshop with students and stakeholders. The DANUrB+ Project was presented to the city authorities as well as topics about stakeholders, planning documents, student workshops, and the other means of further cooperation. The workshop on 22.04.2021 combined fieldwork and joint discussion between students and local experts about the ongoing work on student projects related to urban planning, culture, tourism, and strategic development with polygons in Sombor and vicinity. In addition to the student activities, the faculty staff organized a meeting with local stakeholders from public institutions and local associations. Some of the famous sites in the surrounding area were also visited.

In Golubac, the first meeting was on February 9, 2021. Both PP and ASP had a fruitful cooperation in the first DANUrB, so this meeting marked its continuation in the new project - to open and ensure several ongoing project activities: contacts with stakeholders, student workshops, work on local strategies and regulations, workshops with school children, and valorization of local heritage sites for the future architectural interventions. On May 10 was organized a meeting with local stakeholders from public institutions, local associations, and tourist entities. This meeting included the representatives of primary school and kindergarten. Aside of this main activity, new hiking paths for tourists above Golubac Fortress with viewpoints on the fortress and the Danube were presented to project partners.

In Smederovo, on April 16, there was a student workshop and stakeholder meeting. This workshop combined fieldwork and joint discussion between students and local experts about the ongoing work on student master’s thesis and projects. Students received feedback from local experts in the field of urban planning, culture, tourism, and strategic development in order to properly complete their master’s work. In addition to the student activities, staff from the faculty organized a meeting with local stakeholders from public institutions and local NGOs.

• Association for Urban Transition (ATU) and “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism (UAUIM)

Association for Urban Transition and “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism had their first meeting on March 16, 2021, with ASP Giurgiu Municipality in order to discuss the DANUrB+ Project. The meeting introduced the main thematic lines for action at a network level and focused on identifying the types of projects that could be developed locally aligned to the Giurgiu development strategy.

Main points that have been discussed: implementation of educational and cultural programs for promoting local heritage; involvement of local communities in regeneration projects for urban areas and key interest points that could be then integrated in a touristic circuit; potential impact of green development and urban mobility projects on the sustainable development of the city. On May 18 there was also an online meeting with stakeholders, where the DANUrB+ Romanian Team met the local stakeholders from Giurgiu town virtually. The atmosphere was friendly and warm, with lots of ideas about collaboration possibilities and promises to match. Association for Urban Transition and Giurgiu City Hall/ Giurgiu Municipality hosted this first online event with 35 participants, who presented their interest and activities they are developing locally. The online meeting also included a focus group on several themes, through which the organizers took the pulse of local needs and resources but, most importantly, through which local actors got to know each other and the DANUrB+ Team.

On April 16, the two Romanian Partners participated in a first meeting with the City Hall of Călărași to discuss the plans for the DANUrB+ Project in which they are partners. They talked about the involvement of local actors from Călărași and the different collaboration opportunities to support the later stages of the project. The key projects that were proposed in Călărași as part of this program are related to the capitalization of local heritage, education, and community actions. Also, the project team, accompanied by Mr. Florin Rădulescu, made a documentary in the city for future projects.

• National Tourism Cluster “Bulgarian Guide” (NTC-BG)

On 22.04.2021, NTC-BG Guide Team held a Stakeholders' meeting in the city of Vidin, Bulgaria. The event was attended by representatives of regional organizations and local communities, incl. municipalities, culture houses, schools, museums, galleries, etc. It was hosted by the Municipality of Vidin (also ASP). NTC BG Guide presented the concept of the DANUrB+ Project and the collaboration opportunities for the local communities. Various ideas for cooperative activities, e.g., inclusive festivals, fishermen and craftsmen unions, Vidin-Calafat cross-border partnership, etc. were shared and discussed and a detailed survey was conducted outlining the local needs and expectations. After the meeting, a walking tour to some cultural heritage sites was organized. New potential stakeholders were identified and approached, and extensive data for the DANUrB+ Platform was collected.

• National Institute for Research and Development in Tourism (INCDT)

INCDT organized a face-to-face meeting with ASP – Calafat Municipality on 12.05.2021 at the Calafat City Hall. The goal of the meeting was presenting the important activities that INCDT could implement in their region and helping ASP to identify their needs and finding proper solution in DANUrB+ activities and estimated results. The outputs, that have been obtained and still using, from the previous DANUrB project, were also presented: the Book, the Platform, the PocketGuide tour Vidin-Calafat.

After that, INCDT had personal meetings with stakeholders that declared their interest in the project. At these meetings INCDT identified local heritage valorized by local projects, local networks, formed by local experts in arts and crafts.

INCDT also went on a study visit in Bachet, Corabia, Zimnicea for shooting new heritage sites, and had new face-to-face meeting with representatives of the data heritage locations, where DANurB+ Project was presented to them, and shared good possibilities for promotion of their activities and services on an international level.

• Pest County Municipality

On May 19, the Pest County DANUrB+ Team had a project evaluation meeting with the participation of the President of the General Assembly of Pest County.  Due to the pandemic, in this phase mainly planning, data collection and analytical tasks were carried, and local stakeholders were involved via online tools. The agenda for personal workshops and local events was also set at the meeting.

At the beginning of June, the first long-awaited personal local workshop was organised by Pest County DANUrB+ Team took place in Ráckeve. Experts from the Department of Urban Planning and Design of BME and Pest County Municipality gave insights about the revival of the Wachau region in Austria and about other successful projects from riverside municipalities along the Danube. Based on these best practices, participants brainstormed and discussed their opportunities to boost local economy by tourism. DANUrB+ partners are ready to facilitate these community initiatives.

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DANUrB+ project was launched in July 2020 to activate underused cultural heritage and resources on the peripheral and border regions along the Danube River. It is co-financed by the Interreg Danube Transnational Program 2014-2020. The expected result is to increase local development and international tourist attractiveness.

Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF and IPA).