From January 8 to January 12 the delegation visited the towns of Hamar, Elverum and Trysil in Hedmark County, Gorenjska’s partner region in Norway. The delegation participated in a series of conferences, workshops and talks with their Norwegian counterparts, drawing on Hedmark County’s experiences with regional, urban and spatial planning and development. They focused on developing enviroment friendly and attractive city centres, thus stimulating local business development, reversing negative population trends and developing spatial identity.
The EEA- and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism Grants have allocated 1, 2 million EUR for the realization of Lively Old Town (Slovene name: Sejem bil je živ). Lively Old Town is a co-operation project between the Gorenjska Region’s Regional Development Agency BSC (the Poslovno Podporni Center of the Regionalna Razvojna Agencija Gorenjske), the Association of Historical Cities of Slovenia (Združenje Zgodovinskih Mest Slovenije) and the municipalities of Radovljica, Škofja Loka, Kranj, Jesenice/Stara Sava and Tržič.
Lively Old Town will rejuvenate and revitalize the urban centres by renovating four historical buildings and one square, transforming them into multi-purpose public venues. This will serve to motivate the local population, as well as commercial actors, to participate in the further development of the towns. Lively Old Town will thus have a combined focus on urban revitalization as well as the conservation and promotion of the Slovene cultural heritage.
The EEA- and Norwegian Financial Mechanism Grants are partnership programmes to reduce economic and social disparities between the member states and peoples of Europe. The following months will witness the establishment and implementation of two new funds within the framework of the EEA- and the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms in Slovenia: an NGO fund and an exchange fund for students and researchers. More information on these two funds will be published on the Embassy’s website.