Support & Cooperation in Cultural and Creative Sectors
1 Jun 2021

Cultural Cooperation in the Western Balkans: watch the launch event

The EU and the Western Balkans share a history, deep cultural roots and a common future. Watch our event from 19 May, where we launched 13 new collaborative cultural projects, showcasing ground-breaking creativity and creating sustainable connections across the Western Balkans and the EU. 

Speakers included:

• Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

• Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth

• Alessandra Luchetti, Head of Department – Creativity, Citizenship and Joint Operations, European Education and Culture Executive Agency

• Walter Zampieri, Head of Unit – Culture, European Education and Culture Executive Agency

• Barbara Gessler, Head of Unit – Creative Europe, Directorate-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

• Holger Schroeder, Head of Unit – Western Balkans Regional Cooperation and Programmes, Directorate-General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

About the project

The Call for Proposals: Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans was launched by Creative Europe in 2019. The projects selected are interdisciplinary, covering sectors as diverse as photography, literary translation, classical music, comics, dance, visual arts and cultural heritage. They also explore broader themes such as sustainability, history and stereotypes, and aim to build sustainable networks across the Balkans and beyond. 

The Cultural Relations Platform is supporting the visibility of the projects and maximising the results internationally.

The 13 projects were chosen from 339 applications and will all be delivered by a group of partner organisations from across Europe.