The Armenian city of Ijevan has won the EU4Culture project competition and will receive a grant of up to €300,000 from the European Union to implement the city’s Cultural Development Strategy. The project’s official launch event took place today in Ijevan.
The strategy aims to improve cultural infrastructures through continuous creative activities, to ensure a vibrant cultural life closely related to economic development, contribute to the preservation of historical and cultural heritage, improve cultural development capacities and effectively manage the cultural sector. The strategic approaches were presented to the public of Ijevan, and the strategy has been approved by the community council.
The launch event was attended by Andrea Wiktorin, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Vache Terteryan, First Deputy Minister of ICT, Artur Martirosyan, Deputy Minister of ESCS, Hayk Ghalumyan, Governor of Tavush, Natia Micheladze-Bakhsoliani, Head of the Goethe-Zentrum-Eriwan, Anatoly Beifert, Head of the EU4Culture project, and Artur Chagharyan, Head of Ijevan community.
The Ijevan Municipality project, ‘WE ARE OUR MOUNTAINS’, will be implemented in 2023-2024. The main approaches of the project are the decentralised cultural development and the focus on the settlements of Ijevan, as well as the development of creative and proactive thinking among the community residents. The project’s general objective is to build a solid and cooperative cultural field in the extended community of Ijevan by promoting the development of the cultural economy and the preservation of cultural heritage.
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The first component of the project – the management of the cultural sector – will be improved by increasing the visibility and recognition of Ijevan’s cultural heritage through intensive communication and branding, an inventory/mapping of tangible and intangible cultural assets of Ijevan will be carried out, and continuous training in the field of cultural management will be provided through experience exchange visits with partner communities and joint through initiatives.
The second component of the project – active cultural and economic life – will be promoted through local creative cultural initiatives. Small grants will be awarded to encourage the collaborative and creative cultural sector and preserve cultural heritage. They will be joint initiatives of business representatives, civil society and individuals who will be trained and present their ideas in the format of “Giving Ideas-Getting Ideas”.
The third component of the project – cooperative, culture-based economic development – will be promoted by holding annual cultural festivals.
The Ijevan municipality will implement the project in cooperation with the “Urban” Sustainable Development Foundation.
The EU4Culture project is funded by the European Union to support culture and the creative sector with a special focus on non-capital cities and towns in the Eastern Partnership Countries. The project is implemented by Goethe Institut (lead), Czech Centres, Danish Cultural Institute and Institut Français de Géorgie.
Find out moreFor additional information, contact Lilit Ghalumyan /Head of Education, Culture, Sports, Youth, Social Support and Health Department of Ijevan Municipality.
