In early June, the Transylvania Trust Foundation gathered with the partners of the CAST project – Culture trAnSforming communiTies and economies in Višnja Gora, Slovenia, a small town in the Ivančna Gorica Municipality, for their first in-person meeting. Over two days of collaboration and exchange, the CAST project was officially launched, bringing together 14 project partners and pilot areas from across the Danube Region. It was an excellent opportunity not only to kick off the project on-site, to meet in person and get to know one another, but also to exchange ideas and visions, and set goals for the first period of the project. Stakeholders from civil society, academia and local authorities had the chance to share and exchange best practices and explore inclusive models of cultural tourism.
The two-day programme combined theoretical and practical seminars. URBASOFIA from Romania played an active role in facilitating two key workshops designed to initiate collaboration and peer learning among the project partners and pilot sites. The Speed Dating – Getting to Know Pilot Session provided an engaging space for participants to exchange insights on local cultural resources, challenges, and expectations through structured rapid dialogues. The World Café on Competencies and Motivations, co-facilitated with MOME Budapest and The Collective Foundation, focused on mapping the partners’ core competencies, motivations and target groups. The outcomes of these workshops will feed into the development of shared indicators and a common participatory model for cultural identity-based actions.
The partners were also introduced to the EUSDR Priority Area 3 CLOSe project. Additionally, IDM – the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, which leads the project’s communication activities – presented a comprehensive overview of the Communication Strategy.
The meeting also offered valuable opportunities for partners to exchange diverse ideas and implementation approaches. Sharing the concept of our Built Heritage Conservation Training Programmes, we were pleased to see a high level of interest and enthusiasm from our project partners. The restoration of heritage buildings is a common challenge across Europe, and the Transylvania Trust Foundation’s model offers a practical solution: architecture students from around the world are invited to participate in hands-on restoration work at Bánffy Castle, Bonțida, gaining valuable experience while actively contributing to the site’s preservation.
In addition to the workshops, partners took part in a series of study visits. The itinerary included the Carniolan Bee House, run by the Institute for Culture and Tourism Nice&Homely Ivančna Gorica. The interactive exhibition focused on the unique Carniolan honeybee, a remarkable subspecies native to Europe. Participants were immersed in multimedia stories that introduced them to the Rothschütz beekeeping family and offered a fascinating glimpse into the world of bees.
The Ivančna Gorica area offered further excellent examples of how local cultural heritage can be presented in sustainable and environmentally friendly ways. One of these was the Pristava Tourist Village – a collection of four farms that provide unique rural experiences and a variety of activities for families and nature lovers. The partners also had the opportunity to visit the Educational Beehive and the Jurčič Homestead, home of the well-known Slovenian writer. These site visits provided valuable insights into sustainable tourism practices and culture-based development at the local level.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Nice&Homely and Iskriva, Institute for Development of Local Potentials, for the outstanding organisation and warm hospitality throughout the Kick-off event.
The project is supported by the Interreg Danube Region Programme, co-funded by the European Union.
