Is culture exclusive to urban areas?
We believe not.
The EROC Campaign calls for a new award for rural regions: European Regions of Culture. Just as European Capitals of Culture celebrates urban European living, our goal is to harness rural culture to create a better, more sustainable future for rural, isolated and peripheral regions individually, collectively, and in Europe as a whole.
In 2009 we ran a highly successful Pilot EROC PROJECT through the Culture Programme which:
- established that the partner regions do have culture worth celebrating
- confirmed trans-national exchange as a powerful tool for development – at an individual level via skills as well as in terms of regional development.
- created innovative collaborations between artists, policy makers, politicians, cultural institutions and young people
- began to articulate shared European narratives as well as distinct regional stories
- stimulated a greater prioritisation of culture within local investment programmes and local regional development agendas
- left a legacy of strong partnership which has already grown into further co-operation between individuals, cultural institutions as well as regions
- has led to concrete advocacy gains at a Europe level, and the establishment of a network of 40+ regions.
Join us and find out what's happenning
“Regional culture is just as significant,
and as deserving of recognition,
celebration and investment…”
(DEMOS report, published 2008)
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