1. 1 Timisoara - Cultural planning and the development through regional cooperation Corina RACEANU PhD Intercultural Institute Timisoara,RO www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu

2. 2 Novel Urban/Regional Configurations Cities large or small have increasingly come to merge together to form new spatial configurations that typically take three principal forms: mega-regions, urban corridors and city-regions. Each on its own spatial scale, these three forms seem to act as nodes where global and regional flows of people, capital, goods and information combine and commingle, resulting in faster growth, both demographic and economic, than that of the countries (1) 1. UN-HABITAT (Human Settlements Programme), Prosperity of Cities, 2012

3. 3 The roll of the cities “Is time for governments to recognize the existence of a wide scope for human intervention that can enable cities to enhance their potential as engines of today’s and tomorrow’s prosperity, both locally and nationally ”(2) UN-Habitat survey shows that “five main factors are at play when cities innovate: –innovative urban management, –entrepreneurial capacity, –the promotion of arts and culture, –the emergence of industrial clusters, –and research and development (R&D).” (3) 2,3 UN-HABITAT, Prosperity of Cities, 2012

4. 4 Culture, development and European Capital of Culture The European City/Capital Culture (ECoC) annual event has become increasingly associated with urban regeneration strategies and debates. 4 dimensions of urban regeneration (3): –symbolic, –physical, –economic, –social The ECoC contributed to regeneration especially when it was part of long term strategies, as in the cases of Glasgow 1990 and Lille 2004. Lille 2004 was innovative also for the global orientation of its cultural strategy, linking the city with China, India and other emerging economies. (3) F. Bianchini, R. Albano, A. Bollo - The regenerative impacts of the European City/Capital of Culture events, 2013

5. 5 The characteristics of Timisoara Crossroads city (located in west part of the RO at 80 km from HU and 60 km from SRB); Multiethnic, Multiconfesional, Intercultural city (Part of Banat region, traditionally inhabited by Romanian majority population, Serbian and Hungarian. After defeating the Turks in 1716, the Habsburg Empire colonized the region with German, Slovak, Czech, French, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian and Jews population. After 1989 has been a great demographic change: the German population left, a strong Italian community emerged, a new Romanian population from other regions came. At present there are 19 ethnic groups in TM ) Dynamic city (well economic developed, currently on second position after the capital Bucharest; the city of 27 premieres.)

6. 6 The characteristics of Timisoara The city of revolutions: 1848/1849, 1956, 1989 - first free town in Romania. Universitary city: 6 university, 29 faculties, over 40.000 students = 12% of the population Divers cultural life in the past it was well connected with Central Europe culture, currently cultural offer is made by 12 public cultural institutions such as: 4 theaters - Romanian theater, Hungarian theater, German theater, puppet theater, Opera, Philharmonic, Public library, four museums etc. and a large number of private cultural entities and NGOs. Green city: The city of the parks, The city of the roses, Green forest, Bega Canal.

7. 7 Banat Region has the same historic characteristics

8. 8 The Protocol of cultural cooperation in the project area It will be proposed for signature in the final conference of the Poles of Cultures project. Will develop cultural cooperation between cities: Timisoara, Pancevo, Zrenjanin and Varset in order: to stimulate the cultural exchanges and to enrich cultural life; to promote a better understanding of each other's way of life; to raise the level of the spiritual and material life of population; to share with one another their knowledge and skills; contribute to the establishment of stable, long-term relations between peoples and cultural actors; to diversify the cultural offer and to increase the number of tourists in the region; to promote international the image of partner cities.

9. 9 Thank you very much! Corina RACEANU PhD Intercultural Institute Timisoara,RO www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu www.intercultural.ro www.polesofcultures.eu