Short Note on RESTART_4Danube

In July 2020, the RESTART_4Danube’s consortium officially began its transnational cooperation in the RESTART_4Danube project under the lead of University “Politehnica” of Bucharest. Cities in the Danube Region (DR) face challenges to develop a culture that generates public/private synergies to promote SMEs & stimulate creative urban communities. In order to overcome these challenges, the project’s main objective is to improve framework conditions & policy instruments by supporting the regional & local S3 for a new model of UR involving Culture & Creative Industries (CCIs).

The RESTART_4Danube consortium consists of 25 partners from 12 countries (24 partners from 11 Danubian countries & 1 Estonian partner), and the project duration expands between 07/2020 – 12/2022. The total budget of the project is 1,814,895.00 Euro, from which 1,348,100.00 Euro come from ERDF, 57,710.75 Euro from IPA, and 136,850.00 Euro from ENI European funding programms.

For more information about the RESTART_4Danube project:
http://dtp.interreg-danube.eu/Restart-4Danube

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Synergies with the CINEMA project

Prof. Alexandru Marin, the Project Manager of our Lead Partner University “Politehnica” of Bucharest took part in the Partner Meeting of the CINEMA project, which is funded under the 3rd call for proposals of DTP as well, and also focusing on CCI and UR.

Prof. Marin had the opportunity to present the project in front of the CINEMA project partners. The focus of the discussion lay on the 5 LAPs, how they will furthermore reveal similarities and differences between the regions in which the LAPs will be piloted, and their final benefit for transnational collaboration in the DR.

The meeting gave the chance for the Communication Managers of the two projects to connect, in order to facilitate future collaboration and support each other's activities.

Ending on a positive note, the two consortiums look forward to a productive and tight collaboration!

CCIs & UR in the Danube Region - Romania

• Past Events: Cities of Tomorrow #8 – New Waves of Urban Migration

The eighth edition of the annual conference Cities of Tomorrow, organized by AHK Romania (Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry), once again emphasizes the relationship between people and cities, with the central topic of migration and human movement, both internally and internationally, a tipical issue in Romania, where the effects of mass emigration in the last three decades are increasingly visible in economic, urban and social terms. Developed cities are in fierce competition to attract and retain inhabitants and labor, while in small towns and rural areas depopulation is icreasing, and measures to increase competitiveness and the standard of living lack.

The conference took place on September 1st, 2020 at JW Marriott Hotel Bucharest and aimed to address migration holistically. By launching this topic, the aim was to bring together experts in the field and set the wheels in motion in order to prepare Romanian cities for the demographic challenges they face.

https://www.electricianul.ro/cities-of-tomorrow-24-martie-2020/

• News:

The COVID 19 crisis has suddenly changed all the urban mobility trends we knew before. As a result, the European Commission has developed a guide to support local governments and urban mobility specialists.

Structured in three parts, the guide includes in the first part measures taken in the short term during the period of strict isolation. In the second part, it presents measures for the medium term and how to prepare cities on the long run in terms of mobility. Last but not least, in the third section of the guide the EU Commission presents a series of recommendations for the process of planning measures.

CCIs & UR in the Danube Region - Karlsruhe, Germany

• Press release City of Karlsruhe – Published on October, the 9th 2020

The City Bureau for Culture and Creative Industries in Karlsruhe (K³) together with the agency “Culture Evaluation Wegner” (orig. “Kulturevaluation Wegner”) lead an online survey, in order to obtain an objective image on the Corona impact on CCIs in the city.

Around 1.460 companies with approximately 15.000 workplaces – a tenth of the companies in Karlsruhe – are CCIs which where harshly impacted by the Corona pandemic. “The crisis is by no means overcome. But we have several gleams of home and first positive developments”, stated First Mayor Luczak-Schwarz.

While the creative sector is heavily impacted because of the restrains, the software & games sector is in a rather positive mood. “It is noteworthy”, says Luczak-Schwarz „… how fast the companies developed new strategies, projects, and formats, in order to handle the crisis.“

43% of the respondents acknowledged that they made a claim on the instant help provided by the state. The K³ Bureau initiated and realized already from the beginning of the Corona-crisis different provisions to assist actors from CCIs. Not only counseling, but also special newsletters and special pages dedicated to Corona assisting measures, support programs and emergency funds have been made available for CCIs.

• The Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe organizes the following still ongoing expositions and events:

Friday, the 16 of October 2020 – Innovation Festival

Until the 10th of January 2021 - Exhibition Writing the History of the Future

Until the 28th of March 2021 - Exhibition What's Wrong with Art?

CCIs & UR in the Danube Region - Croatia

• International public tender announced by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the selection of a consulting team whose task is to strategically design the development of the urban area of Pula, Šibenik, Split and Zagreb

The  aim of the public tender is to offer solutions for high-value urban areas that are not in operation and are decaying or completely abandoned from the perspective of architects, space planners, real estate specialists, as well as specialists in regional and urban economic development. The goal is to impart new content to them over a period of time and give them a different meaning.

• An introductory conference of the re-GENERATOR project was held in Zabok

Behind the whole re-GENERATOR project there is a beautiful story about the community of enthusiasts who started the idea of an urban center in Zabok (town and municipality situated in northwestern Croatia). re-GENERATOR will consist of three detached buildings with a square on which there will be a permanently covered stage. This space will be a creative incubator for young people. re-GENERATOR will include hostel, small boutique cinema, social rooms, concert space, playrooms, studios, offices and other ancillary rooms. In the project, the partners of the City of Zabok are the associations Regenerator, HGF, Mraz, the Network of Associations Zagor and Gokul. The project is worth HRK 32,936,841.75, while grants in the amount of HRK 27,991,474.24 were awarded.

• Urban rehabilitation of Lower Town, Upper Town and Kaptol/historical urban ensemble of the City of Zagreb – book publication

The situation that arose after the earthquake in Zagreb on March 22, 2020 gave impetus to do what was needed already several decades ago! And this is to begin the systematic restoration of the protected historical part of the city center of Zagreb.

This book should provide answers to various professions - not just to architects - to a number of questions that follow the processes of comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to urban renewal. The aim of the text is to look at urban renewal from the aspect of city planning and management, by analyzing aspects of possible changes from the environmental, social and economic point of view, and all of these with the active participation of citizens in all segments.

CCIs & UR in the Danube Region - Town of Vratsa, Bulgaria

Mid-September 2020, a public discussion was held in the Town of Vratsa, at which the future of the abandoned Textile Factory in the city centre was discussed.

One of the main ideas presented was to turn it into a modern event centre. The building dates from the early 20’s (1920-1925) and has a gorgeous industrial design, glass roofs, allowing the penetration of natural sunlight and huge rooms, making it ideal for art projects and installations, corporate and business events, educational and entertainment events.  

The site has an outside courtyard area of 1000 m2, which provide abundant space for parking, restaurants, leisure, and food spots. Onsite, there are many additional buildings that can be used as offices, conference halls, warehouses, and service rooms. When finished, the project will transform the old, abandoned eyesore of a building in the middle of the city in a beautiful, minimalistic, industrial event center.

The factory is close to Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, an hour and 30 minutes separating it from its main audience, attracted by ART installations, music projects, conceptual forms of visual art and seminars, expos and more.  All this being in an urban environment.

CCIs & UR in the Danube Region - Carinthia, Austria

• Gründergaragen (Smart start-up garages for innovative start-ups on CUAS Campus)

The Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS) sees itself as a sponsor and developer of the start-up scene in Villach and throughout Carinthia. For this reason, smart solutions have been and are being sought to support young, creative founders so that their business idea can be a success. Here you can see the “Gründergarage” beside the science laps from CUAS. The “Gründergaragen” consist of revitalized shipping containers, are mobile and have a creative, energy-saving design based on the latest standards. The young entrepreneurs can use the start-up garage under the protective cover of the university for a certain time agreed in advance (i.e. for 9 months). In addition to the infrastructure of the start-up garage, however, further support services are included.

More Information: Important Links:
https://blog.fh-kaernten.at/gruendergarage/
https://www.fh-kaernten.at/news/detail/smarte-gruendergaragen-fuer-innovative-start-ups-1

• Overview of the start-up scene in Villach. Example Technologie Park Villach (TPV)

There is a good start-up scene in Villach (over 247 start-ups in 2019). On the Photo you can see the Technologie Park Villach (TPV). Also CUAS and the Chamber of Commerce are part of this innovative Cluster. Over 40 research-intensive Companies are there like parts of Infineon, 3M or Intel). The main research fields are microelectronics, renewable energies or new materials. You can also see the energy production plant with the big old chimney. They integrated this old chimney in the new building as a kind of reuse. it underlines the creative atmosphere. The entire park is 35 hectares in size. They plan to expand as an open space. many ideas and innovations originate from this area.

• Ackerbox: Regional Shopping 2.0

The new Ackerbox is right next to the university and within the area of the technology park. This is also designed in the form of recycled shipping containers. In the Ackerbox you can buy snacks and refreshments from local producers 24 hours a day and everything runs fully automatically. The Strategie is a win-win situation between urban development and rural development. the surrounding area from Villach are being more closely involved in urban development and a kind of reurbanisation. that can also be a suitable corona strategy. because the food is produced locally and by many small producers (diversified).

Events - 9th Edition of the EUSDR Annual Forum 2020

The 9th EUSDR Annual Forum, jointly organized by the Republic of Croatia, the European Commission and the Danube Transnational Programme with the support of the Danube Strategy Point, will take place on 22nd October 2020. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 9th EUSDR Annual Forum will be held as a virtual event.

At this moment, the main issue which the participating states of the Danube Region Strategy are faced with are the following: minimization of the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare systems and citizens’ health along with the simultaneous restoration of economic and social activities.

Events - International Conference on Urban Anthropology in Bucharest, Romania

A city can be read the way you read a book. The place of the letters is taken by the buildings, by the structure of the streets, by the signs left by time on the constructions, by the way people perish through the city and the vehicles move in the urban space. Cities are a mixture of people and buildings, and the relationship between the community and the built space is more complicated than it seems at a first glance. People build buildings, and the buildings and spaces between them make up, over time, the cities. Cities, once built, acquire identity, decisively influence the way of being, behaving, and thinking of the people who live in them. The relationship between a community and its space has multiple, layered nuances, sometimes unsuspected at first sight.

The topic of the 6th edition of the Urban Anthropology Conference is built around the relationships between the public spaces of cities, the people who cross them and the community that created them, in an anthropological reading.

http://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/conferinta-antropologie-2020/