On 14 October 2020, at this year's European Week of Regions and Cities, the Partnership on Culture/Cultural Heritage contributed with a virtual interactive workshop focusing on how culture and cultural heritage can act as driving factors for sustainable urban development. The workshop provided an opportunity to present the Action Plan of the Partnership. It also allowed Action Leaders to gather feedback and comments on their Actions.

The Coordinators of the Partnership, Jan Schultheiß (German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community), Sandra Gizdulich and Giovanni Pineschi (Italian Agency of Territorial Cohesion) provided an overview of the Partnership and presented the holistic approach based on seven specific pillars for urban policies which were adopted to define the scope of the work carried out so far.

Coordinators introduced the 11 interlinked Actions included in the Action Plan of the Partnership, highlighting that they are organised into five integrated and mutually interrelated strategies. Hence, Actions can be implemented by European cities aiming at setting up a culture-based urban strategy and can enhance its effectiveness by integrating these Actions.

Moreover, Coordinators emphasised that an effective urban strategy for cultural enhancement should be put in practice coherently and consistently, and in this regard, support can be provided by implementing the Actions featured in the Partnership’s Action Plan. The 11 Actions refer to five main strategies, which are related to i) resilience of heritage in the urban framework, ii) inclusive and diffused cultural services, iii) support to cultural and creative sectors, iv) citizens-based revitalisation and reuse of urban heritage, and v) cultural tourism enhancement and sustainable management.

Afterwards, Action Leaders took the floor and presented the 11 Actions. In particular, they explained the main objectives, activities and outputs of the Actions and indicated the members who will be involved in the implementation.

Coordinators concluded the workshop by outlining some final remarks on the Action Plan and by reminding the next steps of the Partnership. These include the submission and discussion of the final Action Plan during the meeting of the Directors General for Urban Matters on 21 October. Moreover, the Partnership is organising a Stakeholder Thematic Conference on 24 and 25 November to launch the implementation phase.