With an interactive exhibition and a cycle cinema organized as part of this year’s EC Day in Banja Luka on 18 October, our Programme joined more than 100 events all over Europe celebrating cooperation across borders.
In 2019, the EC Day is organized for the eight time and continues to increase cultural understanding throughout territories of Europe. The Interreg IPA CBC Programme Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro joined the celebration and once again demonstrated successful outcomes of projects to the local community. After last year’s event in Bijela, Montenegro and event in Šibenik, Croatia the year before, this year the event was organized in Banja Luka at the Kastel fortress.
With the EC Day 2019 theme titled ‘Europe is you’, our idea was to acknowledge the role of citizens and the local community as most valuable partners of the European Union. Several hundred visitors joined our celebration at the Kamena kuća venue inside Kastel fortress.
The program included an interactive exhibition about Interreg, our Programme and collages and paintings made as part of the EC Day 2018.
A project fair presented achievements of our projects: MELAdetect, Smart Schools and Fortress ReInvented.
Finally, a cycle cinema was set up on the second floor of Kamena kuća and welcomed visitors to cycle and in this way power generators that showed video clips about our projects, Interreg and past EC Days. A power-generating competition was organized also, in which prizes were given to cyclists producing the most energy.
Why this kind of program for an EC Day? Following this year’s theme, the exhibition invited visitors to express their thoughts about the EU and think of possibilities that it offers to citizens, giving citizens not only a participating role but also a role of designers of the exhibition. The project fair included projects that cooperated with the local community in innovative ways, such as introducing new tools for tracking personal health, providing better education for children and developing new tourism facilities. By organizing the cycle cinema, we wanted the visitors to become part of the event and contribute to screenings of videos, as well as to experience first-hand how energy can be produced in a clean, sustainable and fun way.
The event in Banja Luka was organized by the National Authority of the Interreg IPA CBC Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro 2014-2020 Programme – Directorate for European Integration of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the Managing Authority and other National Authorities: Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia and Prime Minister’s Office – European Integration Office of Montenegro.
