In the project’s first year, the RELIGHT consortium has designed the project management systems, carried out a territorial assessment of opportunities and needs in the cultural and tourism sectors, and is finalising the development of a transnational strategy and seven territorial action plans – one for each of the territories in which cultural pilot projects will be carried out.
The beneficiaries responsible for pilot projects in Spain, France and Portugal first identified relevant stakeholders in the fields of culture, tourism and civil society within the project territories. A total of 147 local stakeholders were identified, whom the beneficiaries characterised using a standard questionnaire drawn up by the University of Coimbra.
Based on this initial list of stakeholders, each territory organised a participatory process involving local actors, with the aim of identifying needs relating to culture and sustainable tourism. This process was carried out using a common working methodology, adapted to the specific characteristics of each territory.
An analysis of the needs in each territory revealed several strategic areas common to the SUDOE regions. Of these, the beneficiaries prioritised those most relevant to addressing the territories’ needs:
Furthermore, the beneficiaries defined specific measures to address these areas within the context of RELIGHT, which will form the basis for the transnational strategy.
In preparation for the cultural pilot development phase, the beneficiaries are drawing up local action plans, which will enable the strategy to be rolled out in each of the territories.
Throughout the year, various communication initiatives have been carried out, including posts on the beneficiaries’ social media accounts and coverage in the regional and national press in Spain of the launch of the RELIGHT project, reaching an audience of around one million people.
