Category: News

On Friday, 18 October 2024, Rijeka was visited by the head of the European Commission Representations in Croatia Zrinka Ujević with collaborators Andrea Covic Vidovic, Deputy Head and Head of Press Unit and Dijana Kuzman Štaudinger, Partnerships and Networks Coordinator and Communication and Information Officer. The meeting took place in the salon of the City of Rijeka where they were received by the Mayor of Rijeka Marko Filipović the Director of Nenad Antolović as a representative of the Rijeka Development Agency Porin and the Centre EUROPE DIRECT Rijeka.

We talked about the work of our EUROPE DIRECT Rijeka center and about the two-day action of cleaning the seabed and beaches ‘The sea merges – #EUBeachCleanup Rijeka 2024“. The aim of the action is to point out the impact of everyday human habits on the marine ecosystem and raise awareness of the importance of preserving the seas and oceans. Rijeka to this global campaign #EUBeachCleanup joined precisely at the initiative of our center and Mayor Marko Filipović, a member of the network Building Europe with Local Stakeholders. The action, along with the City of Rijeka, is carried out in cooperation with KD Purity, the Association of Special Police of the Homeland War ‘Ajkula’, and with the support of the European Commission Representation in Croatia. The action is additionally supported by Viktor Lenac Shipyard, Adriatic Maritime Service, Eco Kvarner, KD Autotrolej and the Coast of our grandchildren association.

Furthermore, during the meeting, Mayor Filipović emphasized that Rijeka, in terms of the amount of funds withdrawn from EU funds, is continuously at the top of Croatia and that with the help of European money, some of the largest infrastructure projects in the whole country have been implemented. He highlighted the project ‘Improvement of water-communal infrastructure in the area of the Rijeka agglomeration’, the project for the renovation of the heating industry in the city of Rijeka, the construction of the Bodulovo Entrepreneurial Zone, the D403 road, the Sinergane project, which will become a hub for the development of new technologies, startups and creative projects. European funds, he recalled, were also used in the energy renovation of kindergarten buildings. Mayor Filipović pointed out that some other projects are important for the development of Rijeka, such as the construction of a new marina in the city center, the construction of a new bus station, but also the modernization of the port of Rijeka, which is crucial for achieving better competitiveness on the world market.

The meeting also discussed the benefits that the City of Rijeka has as a member of the BELC network (Building Europe with Local Stakeholders), one of the most important platforms for cooperation between major European cities. This network brings together urban centres with the aim of jointly addressing the challenges of modern cities, such as sustainable development, social inclusion, innovation in urban planning, and improving the quality of life of citizens.

The Head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia, Zrinka Ujević, pointed out her satisfaction that numerous projects in Rijeka were implemented using funds from European funds. She added that the previous cooperation with our EUROPE DIRECT was successful and that they also cooperated a lot with the University of Rijeka, especially the Faculty of Law. She explained that one of the main focus in the work of the Representation will be on working with young people in order to interest them in projects related to the program offered by the EU. She added that one of the European Commission's guidelines is to cooperate as much as possible with local authorities and local organizations and expressed hope that successful cooperation with the City of Rijeka and EUROPE DIRECT Rijeka will continue in the future.

The meeting continued at the Rijeka Development Agency Porin with a discussion on the future of the EUROPE DIRECT Rijeka Centre, whose activities you can follow at the Official Website.

As part of a study visit per project Local economic development in BiH (LER BiH), which takes place from 16 to 20 September 2024, Rijeka hosted guests from 11 cities and municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Representatives of local communities, development agencies, business associations, non-governmental organizations and private companies operating in selected cities and municipalities visited the Rijeka Development Agency Porin and Torpedo Production Park. Topic of the visit, “Public-private dialogue and networking to more competitive local economies“, the importance of cooperation and innovation in fostering local economic development was highlighted, and the City of Rijeka and the Rijeka Development Agency Porin presented to the guests Rijeka’s engagement in promoting entrepreneurship, as well as some EU projects as examples of good practice.

LER I would is the first four-year phase of the program financed by the Government of Switzerland, implemented by the consortium Caritas Switzerland and Niras, and aims to strengthen local economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Visit to the Rijeka Development Agency PORIN

Iva Ribarić, Senior Adviser – Economic and Promotion Coordinator from the Administrative Department for Economy, Development, Ecology and European Projects presented to the guests a general programme of measures to encourage the development of entrepreneurship in the territory of the city of Rijeka, which aims to create a favourable entrepreneurial environment to encourage small and medium-sized businesses at the local level. The remaining efforts of the City of Rijeka in strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem were also presented, including support to startups through the Startup Incubator of the City of Rijeka, innovative projects and cooperation with local entrepreneurs.

Nenad Antolović on behalf of the Rijeka Development Agency Porin presented the activities of this local entrepreneurial support institution that implements incubator programs in the sectors of service and production activities. Announcement of the upcoming opening Sinergane, a new incubator for creative industries and IT, which will house over 2,700 m² of usable space of the energy plant of the former paper factory, which will be available to entrepreneurs from 2025 along with educational programs, a network of mentors and other program activities in order to strengthen their innovation potential.

Optional tour of Rijeka

After the official part of the visit, the participants enjoyed an optional tour of the city of Rijeka. This tour enabled guests to get acquainted with the cultural and historical significance of the city and to see how Rijeka as a host contributes to the development and success of local initiatives.

The study visit to Rijeka provided valuable insights into effective strategies and practices that can serve as an inspiration for the further development of local economies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and guests will return to Rijeka again on Thursday, September 19, when a tour of the revitalized cultural neighbourhood of Benčić will be organized for them, namely the Children's House and the Rijeka City Library, as part of the largest investment in cultural infrastructure in the history of Croatia.

URBAN STUDIES are an interdisciplinary university specialist study of spatial and strategic design of complex urban systems, phenomena and transformations. The study was developed and led by DELTALAB — Centre for Urban Transition, Architecture and Urbanism the University of Rijeka (UNIRI).

The innovative curriculum of URBANIH STUDY brings together experts from a wide range of scientific and artistic disciplines in a dynamic educational process that combines a teaching and workshop program, research and methodological practice within a specific thematic focus of the generation, a rich program of guest lectures and a mentored development of individual graduation papers of students. Intended for everyone whose research and practices affect the built and programmed environment, strategic planning, infrastructure capacities and collective imaginations, URBANI STUDI offers interdisciplinary education necessary for a meaningful contribution to the development of open, inclusive and resilient urban systems in the context of contemporary political, environmental and technological crises.

The theme of the generation

The focus of URBANIS STUDIO is on hybridity, resilience, networking, complexity, unpredictability and heritage in crisis situations, with the aim of understanding and developing guided approaches aimed at the challenges of urban futures. While these focus areas are permeated through all educational contents of the study, they are crucially suited through practical tasks of research and methodological testing on a specific problem through a topic of this generation called WATERWORLD FUTURES.

RIJEKA is currently declared a cargo port of great economic and strategic importance in the formation of the dynamics and logistics of the global world, so its improvement is currently one of the largest investments in the country. The narrative that the urban development of the city is proportional to the development of its port is only partially accurate because the port and the city have historically developed as separate entities. To transform the narrative of the future urban development of Rijeka, it is necessary for it to become a common vision of those who live and work in that city and those who decide on this city. In order for this vision to respond to the challenges of climate change and constant crises, multidisciplinary knowledge of different experts is needed, which translates visions into development policies. The expansion of the inland part of the port by backfilling the extracted soil is a continuation of the land-based approach, which, with many limitations and exclusivity for alternative approaches, is endangered and not resistant to risks, as evidenced by a recent study for the Kvarner area (Institute for Physical Planning of PGC: “Vulnerability analysis of the coastal area of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County due to sea level rise”, 2023).

The topic recognizes the territory of the port of Rijeka as a potential for the future development of Rijeka. “Water perspectives” focus on the vision of the future of the city from the position of the sea and sea coast, Rječina and the Rijeka coast, or the Dead Canal as a technical service to the land. These perspectives will serve to create new imaginaries for Rijeka 2050 – port city or city port of the future.

The deadline for applications is 1 October 2024. by 4:00 p.m.

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More information can be found in the Call Document or at an e-mail address info@deltalab.hr .

On 23 April 2024, at the proposal of the Faculty of Engineering in Rijeka, the Senate of the University of Rijeka made a decision on granting the status of the Professional Database of the University of Rijeka Rijeka Development Agency Porin.

This decision enables students of the University of Rijeka to practice under our professional mentorship, all in order to gain work experience and strengthen their competences.

The agreed cooperation shall include:

• linking work in practice with science, arts and higher education
• quality professional practice, acquisition of practical competences and scientific, research and artistic work for students and participants of lifelong learning programmes, as well as their better employability
• access to new knowledge and technologies, joint access to EU funds as well as other forms of financing at local, regional, national and international level, joint creation and development start up i spin off companies and patenting and protection of intellectual property, as well as the advancement of base employees by participating in university and professional teaching and scientific work at the University, i.e. components.

We are grateful to be recognized as an expert partner and look forward to justifying the trust shown!