Bridging Past and Future: EcoCore’s Final Meeting in Dubrovnik

Edited on 17/10/2025

After a morning of heavy rain, the clouds lifted to reveal a spectacular rainbow arcing across the Adriatic, perfectly framing Dubrovnik’s rugged peninsula. It  was a breathtaking sight and a fitting metaphor for the EcoCore journey.

Over the past two and a half years, partners had weathered their own storms -  learning, co-creating, and challenging themselves and each other to think differently. Now, standing together beneath that rainbow, they could finally see the result: robust Integrated Action Plans, ready to launch across their cities.

 

From 24–27 September 2025, the EcoCore network met in Dubrovnik for its final Core Network Meeting — a milestone proving that small cities can drive big change. Hosted by DURA – Dubrovnik Development Agency, the event turned the city into a living classroom on how heritage, industry, and innovation can thrive together in a climate-neutral future.

Luna Polić Barović and Nataša Mirić from DURA opened with a presentation on how strategic use of EU funding is reshaping Dubrovnik - from cleaner mobility and energy efficiency to the regeneration of brownfield areas like TUP Factory. Their message was clear: when EU opportunities meet local ambition, cities accelerate the green transition.

The opening session also featured Ivana Katurić from Urbanex, EcoCore ULG Coordinator for DURA, who set the scene for Dubrovnik’s urban area within the EcoCore context. This was followed by Mario Galić and Kristina Bilić from the City’s EU Funds Department, who shared good practices on integrated territorial investments and the city’s use of EU funds to drive sustainable development.

As a partner in URBACT REMOTE-IT and a recipient of New European Bauhaus (NEB) Technical Assistance, DURA is helping reimagine TUP as a creative, inclusive innovation hub — where industrial heritage meets the green and creative economy. “Our goal is to link EU opportunities with local ambition -  to make sustainability visible, practical, and part of daily city life,” said the DURA team.

That rainbow - bright, brief, and full of promise - became the emblem of EcoCore’s final meeting: the calm after the storm, the clarity after challenge, and a shared horizon of new beginnings.
 

Dubrovnik: Where Legacy Meets Leadership

 

 

“Those who seek paradise on Earth should come and see Dubrovnik,” wrote George Bernard Shaw a century ago. Today, the city’s paradise is one of purpose.

Vlaho Margaretić, Senior Tourism Advisor, opened the meeting with a deep dive into Dubrovnik’s reinvention — from overtourism hotspot to global model of sustainable destination management.

Through its long-term programme “Respect the City,” Dubrovnik improved its Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) score from 69.8% in 2019 to 86.04% in 2023, achieving zero indicators in the risk zone. “Tourism can fuel preservation, innovation, and quality of life — if it’s managed with purpose,” said Margaretić.

A detailed case study on Greening Tourism in Dubrovnik is available here
 

From Ports to Planes: The City as an Innovation Lab

 

 

Nikša Grljević from Libertas Dubrovnik outlined how the city’s public transport company is moving toward cleaner, more efficient mobility solutions, while Marjan Žitnik from Maritimo Recycling showed how marine waste is turned into new design products — a circular story literally fished from the sea.
Sustainability in Dubrovnik stretches from the Adriatic shoreline to the skies. Partners explored how the city’s economy is being rewired for resilience:

  • Libertas Dubrovnik presented its shift to cleaner, more efficient public transport.
  • Maritimo Recycling showed how marine waste is turned into design products. A circular story literally fished from the sea.
  • Dubrovnik is also advancing plans to green its industrial zones, connecting them to nearby urban centres through new cycleways and repurposing former bunkers as shared spaces for collaboration and innovation. At TUP Factory, once a graphite plant making car engine pieces, Nikolina Farčić, Board Member of TUP Plc, described how the former industrial site is being reborn as a cultural and innovation hub through creative regeneration. A full case study on TUP’s transformation can be found here
  • Site visits also included presentations from Josipa Gašpar Deranja, Head of Environmental Protection and EU Funds in Župa Dubrovačka, and Ivo Radonić from Konavle Municipality, who shared local challenges and opportunities linked to EcoCore actions and regional collaboration.
  • Later, in Cavtat, Hrvoje Spremić from Ruđer Bošković Airport unveiled plans for net-zero operations by 2042 — including photovoltaic systems, smart waste forecasting, and an accessibility app.

 

Challenge Accepted: Ideas from the EcoCore Workshop

 

 

A meeting highlight was a Challenge-Based Workshop in World Café style: fast-paced, collaborative, and idea-rich.

Three challenges sparked debate across the network:

  1. Beyond the Traffic Jam: Connecting business zones through sustainable mobility and active travel.
  2. From Grey to Green: Retrofitting existing industrial areas for a circular economy.
  3. Talent Magnet: Making business zones hubs for innovation and quality of life.

Sticky notes, sketches, and spirited exchanges filled the room. A a full synthesis of ideas and tools from the workshop and site visits will appear in the EcoCore Quarterly Report (Q3 2025).
 

Storytelling as a Superpower

 

 

In the afternoon IAP Journey Lab, partners moved from strategy to story. Using creative tools such as the Value Proposition Canvas and the Story Spine, cities practised turning technical plans into human-centred narratives.

“Communication is the bridge between strategy and impact,” said Eileen Crowley, EcoCore Lead Expert.  Teams experimented the Value Proposition Canvas and the Story Spine methodology — formats designed to bring their green transition action planning to life for citizens, funders, and policymakers alike.
 

The EcoCore Podcast: Europe’s Sustainability Mixtape

 

To mark the network’s finale, partners launched The EcoCore Podcast, a five-episode series featuring voices from across Europe’s small cities - from industrial zones turning green to supporting business on their sustainability journey. Think of it as Europe’s sustainability mixtape -  stories, sounds, and insights from the frontlines of the green transition.

Listen now on Spotify
 

Beyond EcoCore 

 

The Dubrovnik meeting also looked ahead. EcoCore’s next chapter continues through the Knowledge Hub on Greening Urban Economies, a joint space with networks like In4Green, Let’s Go Circular, COPE and GreenPlace.

If you’d like to learn more you can join us at the:
- Smart City Expo, Barcelona (5 Nov 2025) – Greening Urban Economies workshop
- or Register here for our Online Webinar (13 Nov 2025) – What is a Thriving Green Urban Economy?
 

Three Ideas Cities Can Steal from Dubrovnik

 

  1. Reimagine what you inherit – from vacant factories to war bunkers, every space can be reborn as a place for innovation and connection.
  2. Make your core economic sector your testbed for sustainability – balance prosperity with protection.
  3. Build bridges, not silos – collaboration is the real infrastructure of a green transition; connect institutions, ideas, and people.


The Legacy: More Than a Network

 

 

After two and a half years of working, learning, and travelling together across Europe, the EcoCore partners have become something more than a network. They have become a community -  united by curiosity, laughter, and a shared determination to help small cities take big steps in the green transition.

Over dinner in the Old Town, partners reflected on how much they have grown - as professionals, as teams, and as cities. Many spoke about how EcoCore changed the way they approach planning and communication, how it gave them the courage to experiment, and how it connected them to others walking the same road.

Their Integrated Action Plans -  the tangible outcome of this journey -  are now in their final stages, set to be completed by the end of October. But the shared experience, trust, and friendship built through EcoCore will carry far beyond the project’s formal end.

“We arrived as nine cities,” one partner said. “We leave as one network - wiser, stronger, and more connected than ever.”

As the sun set over the Adriatic, it was clear: EcoCore isn’t closing -  it’s evolving. The lessons, relationships, and optimism born here will ripple outward, inspiring new projects, new ideas, and new friendships across Europe’s small cities.


“What makes EcoCore special isn’t just what we learned -  it’s how we learned, together.”
– Aoife Sheridan, Lead Partner, EcoCore
 

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Submitted by on 17/10/2025
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Eileen Crowley

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