Langugae SWITCH
We are pleased to invite you to a lecture within the platform Urban Futures Talk & IEF Forum by
Marija Katalinić
Participatory programs of the project Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture
The event will be held on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 12 p.m. via Zoom Meeting
SUMMARY: The presentation will offer a genealogy of the participatory programs Civil Initiatives, Green Wave and Citizens’ Council through an analysis of the methodology and implementation of the mentioned programs within the ECoC Rijeka 2020 project. Furthermore, examples of good practices that have been realized in Rijeka will be presented as well. In participatory programs, it is important to understand the perspective of community towards the overall ECoC project, as well as the perspecitve of the project leadership towards the project goals and efforts to achieve them. Recently, the concept of ‘active community’ has become accepted in modern cities as a goal of urban development and upgrading. However, is ‘active community’ really achievable within the framework of the local administration which advocates it? What is needed so that the ideas and aspirations of citizens can be developed sustainably and long-term, not only in terms of implementation but also in the context of human capacities? Following the questions raised, the presentation will reflect on the realized projects of participatory programs in Rijeka, but also warn of the “blind spots” of participatory projects, thus advocating support mechanisms for community activation through participatory practices and projects.
MARIJA KATALINIĆ, MA in journalism (University of Zagreb) and MA in visual culture (University of Westminster, London). She is finishing her PhD research in cultural studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin on interdisciplinary approaches to vulnerability, storytelling and documentary film. The area of interest and research relates to the culture of memory, women’s studies, and film. In addition to her study, she works as a cultural project manager and in film production. As part of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project, she had the role of managing participatory programs – Civil Initiatives, Green Wave and Citizens’ Council, within which 34 projects were implemented.
