The National Authority of Montenegro – Government of Montenegro, European Integration Office – organized an EC Day celebration in Podgorica on 30 September and 1 October 2019.
The European Cooperation Day is an event dedicated to promoting territorial cooperation in Europe and increasing cultural understanding throughout territories of Europe. This year, the Programme organized a joint celebration in Banja Luka and the National Authority of Montenegro organized an additional celebration in Podgorica.
The goal of the event in Podgorica was to promote territorial cooperation and demonstrate results of cross-border projects in Montenegro. The Montenegrin National Authority set up a photography exhibition at the Petrović Palace which focused on innovations in healthcare, environment protection, tourism and business development created by cross-border projects.
“European Territorial Cooperation is an instrument of EU which brings together people from neighboring countries to overcome problems that cannot be solved easily by a country itself. By combining various skills and resources, European Territorial Cooperation contributes to a number of important areas, such as environment protection, cultural heritage, tourism.” said Audrone Urbonaviciute, Deputy Head of Cooperation Section in the Delegation of the EU in Montenegro, at the beginning of the event which was opened by Aleksandar Drljević, Chief Negotiator for Accession of Montenegro to the EU, and Aleksandar Mitrović, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Montenegro.
Having in mind this year’s EC Day theme ‘Europe is you’, the event highlighted the role of local communities, especially children. After the exhibition, a concert by the Music and Ballet Arts School “Vasa Pavić” and sports activities for children followed at the Palace garden. Later in the evening, a documentary about territorial cooperation was screened outside the Karver library.
On the second day, pupils of two local elementary schools visited two sites: the Museum of King Nikola in Cetinje and Lipa Cave nearby. In this way, the EC Day celebration provided an opportunity for the local community and especially children to learn about their history and heritage, as well as the role of the European Union in preserving it.
