The EU-funded EU4Culture project has awarded grants of €30,000 each to five regional municipalities in Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova, which are part of the EU4Culture Regional Cities Network. It aims to enhance the sustainability of their Cultural Development Strategies created in 2022 with the support of EU4Culture. The strategic plans of the five municipalities focus on boosting regional economies by fostering the advancement of local creative and cultural industries. The newly awarded grants give them the opportunity to bring some aspects of their Cultural Development Strategies to fruition.

In 2024, the municipalities of Charentsavan and Sevan (Armenia), Orhei (Moldova), Kutaisi and Poti (Georgia) will use the newly awarded funds to implement various cultural activities like art events and training. One municipality will also produce a publicly accessible database on local culture.

Thus, through collaborations with key stakeholder communities and organizations, the municipalities will empower local cultural and creative industries with new development opportunities. As members of the EU4Culture Regional Cities Network, the municipalities will also share their experiences in implementing their Cultural Development Strategies within and beyond the Network.

“With the awarded EU grants, EU4Culture continues promoting the growth of local cultural and creative industries in Eastern Partnership countries. The new package for the five municipalities can serve as additional encouragement to create development opportunities in the regions of Armenia, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova, hence establishing new models for strengthening the resilience of cultural and creative sectors in the countries,” EU4Culture Team Leader, Dr. Anatoli Beifert said.