Culture trAnSforming communiTies and economies (CAST)

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The transnational project “Culture trAnSforming communiTies and economies” (CAST) aims to use the rich cultural heritage of the Danube Region to enhance social inclusion and drive economic growth as part of the green transition.

Project partners from eleven countries in the Danube region will develop a model to support local communities in offering inclusive cultural activities and sustainable tourism products. Through pilot actions, the model will be tested and validated in diverse settings, ensuring its applicability and effectiveness across various cultural landscapes.  

Pilot actions

  1. Iskriva, Slovenia: industrial (steel) heritage in the Koroška region
  2. Nice and homely, Slovenia: relevance of bees and beekeepers for culture and biodiversity
  3. Koprivnica Križevci County, Croatia: naïve art gallery road and Albergo Diffuso (“dispersed hotel”)
  4. Tourism Organization of Vojvodina, Serbia: accessible cultural and natural heritage in Novi Sad and Zone 021
  5. Urban Cult, Montenegro: accessible events
  6. Savaria Museum, Hungary: accessible museum district and jobs for vulnerable groups
  7. The Collective, Bulgaria: rebuilding identity in peripheral urban residential areas (Lyulin, Sofia)
  8. Transylvania Trust Foundation, Romania: heritage training programme and business opportunities in the Cluj-Napoca area
  9. Kolárovo, Slovakia: multicultural tourism
  10. National Inbound and Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova: community-based cultural festival
  11. Development Agency Zepce, Bosnia and Herzegovina: multiculturalism and natural resources for green business and tourism

What makes CAST original is its emphasis on the process of training and capacity building as integral to the model itself, ensuring that communities not only adopt the framework but are equipped to implement it effectively.  

By mainstreaming the model at various policy levels and identifying funding channels for EU and private investment, the project will ensure a broader uptake, putting the vision of a socially just and green transition into practice. 

Project objectives

Objective 1: Increase capacities and empower local communities.

By organising workshops, training sessions, and study visits specifically targeted at culture and tourism professionals – identified as crucial stakeholders – we will increase existing knowledge on culture-based social inclusion in local communities, stimulating and guiding a meaningful dialogue within communities. Practitioners from 14 Danube regions will be empowered to change the co-development and implementation of local cultural activities.

Objective 2: Create inclusive and accessible services and products in lighthouse communities (pilot actions).

We will test how new cultural understanding transforms community dynamics and stimulates economic growth at 11 pilot locations in 10 countries. Pilot activities will include cultural interventions via participatory design, improving physical access for vulnerable groups, and producing videos for better informational access. Rather than inventing new processes, we will reconfigure existing community relationships and cultural views. The results will form the basis of the CAST Model (SO3), a process-based model on materialising culture as a key transformative element for resilient communities, in line with EU Green Deal objectives.

Objective 3: Capitalise, mainstream and transfer the CAST Model across the Danube region.

Based on the results from the pilot actions, we will develop the CAST Model into a tool that can be used across the Danube Region. Through collaborative promotion and policy integration, we will mainstream the model to ensure region-wide policy uptake as well as transferring it to other regions. By promoting the model at existing and tailored events, including the unique Danube Caravan Festival, we will reach a wide audience and ensure maximum impact.

Budget: €2,761,660

Funding: Interreg Danube Region Programme (80%). The DRP is co-funded by the European Union.

Duration: April 2025 – March 2028 

Project manager: Urška Dolinar, Iskriva, Institute for Development of Local Potentials, Slovenia

IDM project team:

Communications manager: Rebecca Thorne (r.thorne@idm.at) 

Project assistant: Júlia Mits (j.mits@idm.at) 

More information can be found on the project website.