Timisoara City organises its first creative workshop with local stakeholders within the ECoC-SME project on the 30th September.
Timisoara is in the midst of preparations for becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2021, and the Local Learning Lab organised within our project drew attention to the opportunities the programme can offer this city and its region to develop existing and future entrepreneurship initiatives.
Particular focus of the discussion was on the young and the knowledge sector. The 22 participants at this policy learning event were representatives of the local authorities – including Mr Diaconu, one of the Vice Mayors of Timisoara, – educational institutions, youth organizations, incubators, start-ups and SMEs active in the Creative and Cultural Industries, as well as regional development actors and representatives of the Timisoara 2021 Association in charge of preparing the ECoC event in cooperation with the City.
The World Cafe method was used to engage participants in the discussion structured along five main questions:
• What is the current state of affairs in the region regarding entrepreneurship promotion among young people?
• What opportunities can the ECoC program offer in the long term in the city and region to increase the involvement of young people?
• How can the educational environment get involved in attracting young people in the development of future entrepreneurship initiatives?
• How can we facilitate and improve the development of cross-sector partnerships between the ECoC program, the educational institutions and the business environment?
• How can the business environment be involved in the ECoC program to increase the competitiveness of SMEs?
