A Warm Welcome and Strategic Framing
The meeting opened with greetings from SBD representatives and the Lead Expert, Elisa Filippi. Partners reviewed the project roadmap and discussed the ADAPT phase, focusing on how cities can translate RECUP’s pillars into locally grounded, long‑term investments in culture, placemaking, and community wellbeing.
Testing Actions: Sharing Progress and Lessons Learned
A central part of the meeting was the exchange on Testing Actions—small‑scale cultural pilots implemented across partner cities.
- Dubrovnik: A multi‑day festival celebrating creativity, literature, and community engagement at a repurposed industrial venue.
- Újbuda (Budapest): A diverse, series of micro-events during the Advent season, activating libraries, parks, and community spaces to reach broad target groups.
- Amersfoort: Initiatives addressing loneliness through buddy systems, creative meetups, and storytelling‑based wellbeing activities.
- Horta Nord: Restructuring the local ULG and launching a unified cultural brand and digital platforms for ten municipalities.
- Bielsko‑Biała: Youth‑focused workshops inspired by Slavic mythology and urban storytelling to strengthen belonging.
Sandyford Business District — SBD presented its ambitious vision for creating a more connected, multicultural community within a fast-growing business district.
- Community storytelling workshops and events - demonstrated how narrative methods can help bridge gaps between residents, workers, and local stakeholders.
Digital Tools for Cultural Participation
A hands‑on workshop led by URBACT Ad‑hoc expert Alisa Aliti Vlasic explored digital tools that activate cultural engagement. Cities experimented with mapping platforms, co‑creation tools, community‑building apps, and gamified participation mechanisms. Mixed groups designed micro‑pilots that blend online and offline cultural experiences—practical exercises that will support future project phases.
Funding Strategies and Investment Planning
Partners worked with the Integrated URBACT methodology to identify resources and funding models that can sustain their cultural interventions beyond RECUP. Through an interactive Funding Matrix exercise, cities mapped potential financing sources and drafted components of their future Integrated Investment Plans.
Mid‑Term Review and Next Steps
A reflective session captured partners’ experiences, highlighting strong peer learning, valuable site visits, and meaningful ULG engagement. Cross‑cutting challenges included time constraints, capacity gaps, and the need for clearer funding pathways. The network agreed on increasing online exchanges and strengthening technical peer‑to‑peer support.
Next milestones include finalizing Testing Action templates, drafting the first version of the IIP, participating in a Masterclass on loneliness, and preparing for the next in‑person meeting in Bielsko‑Biała in March 2026.
Exploring Sandyford: On‑Site Visit
Participants visited key locations—Leopardstown Racecourse, Central Park’s Building N1, and the Bauble installation—to better understand Sandyford’s cultural and urban dynamics. These visits illustrated the district’s evolving identity and its potential for placemaking through cultural activation.
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