First Cultural Action within the CAST Project – The Beginning of a Participatory Process in the Development of Culture and Tourism

Within the CAST project, the Tourism Organisation of Vojvodina implemented the first of two planned cultural actions in Sremski Karlovci, as the initial phase of a participatory process aimed at jointly defining key challenges, needs, and potentials of the local cultural life, as well as its relationship with tourism.

The activity gathered representatives from various sectors of the local community, including institutions, organizations, and individuals who actively contribute to the development of local cultural and social life. The focus of the meeting was on opening dialogue and establishing a foundation for a long-term process of joint planning.

This action was designed as a space for co-creation and participation, where participants not only identified problems, but also collectively mapped initial ideas for solutions, as well as priorities that could shape future interventions within the project. The discussion was oriented toward identifying key challenges, as well as mapping potentials and areas requiring further improvement. Special emphasis was placed on opportunities for linking culture and tourism, as well as strengthening cooperation between different sectors in order to create more sustainable and inclusive models of cultural action. During the workshop, participants jointly considered ways to improve the accessibility of cultural content, enhance the visibility of local initiatives, and encourage greater community participation in cultural activities. This approach enabled not only the exchange of views, but also the initial mapping of concrete topics that will be further developed within the project.

This first cultural action represents an introductory yet highly important step within the broader framework of the CAST project. The insights gained, attitudes expressed, and jointly identified priorities will not remain isolated outcomes, but will be used as a basis for further guiding the pilot activities that follow within the project.

The particular value of this approach lies in the fact that the development of cultural policies and practices is not viewed as a predefined process, but as an open and collaboratively shaped framework in which the local community plays an active role in defining development directions.

In the next phase of the project, a second cultural action is planned, which will continue the initiated dialogue and further deepen the topics through the concretization of proposals and possible implementation models. In this way, the CAST project lays the foundation for more long-term, inclusive, and sustainable models arising from the actual needs of the community.

The activity was implemented with the support of the Tourism Organisation of Sremski Karlovci, while a significant contribution was also provided by the representative of the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, which is an associated partner in the CAST project.