The Association of Citizens “Danube 1245” from Sremski Karlovci, in cooperation with the Tourist Organization of Bac, realized the project “Cult (R) ural – development, protection and promotion of the municipality of Bac”. It is an integrative civic initiative that provided support to the citizens of the municipality of Bac to get involved in the development processes of the local community while respecting the principles of inclusiveness, intersectoral cooperation, multidisciplinarity and transparent investment of public finances.

This initiative is part of a broader project “Platform for Responsible Public Financial Management” implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and funded by the Government of Sweden.

The project covered three priority areas – explains Dejan Gluvačević, project manager from the Association “Danube 1245” – We have made a plan for project management and coordination on a daily basis. We organized a series of working meetings with representatives of target groups for each priority area. We conducted research and organized focus groups on priority areas. We organized an interactive discussion “Cultural heritage of Bac – my contribution” and a discussion “Adequate management of protected cultural heritage with an integrative approach.” We promoted the cultural heritage of the municipality of Bac, within which we made an interactive map of six priority objects of cultural significance, we photographed objects in 3600 technology, made an online platform for promotion, which is also a virtual guide through the objects. We organized an interactive lecture for young people from Bac, students of the Agricultural School Bac, how they can use the presentation “Bac – then and now” for free to help promote and valorize the tourist potential of the municipality of Bac. We transferred knowledge with the aim of strengthening civil society organizations in Bac, we organized three panel discussions, the first on the topic of transferring experiences on the establishment, networking and functioning of local action groups where the panelists were representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, rural development sector and LAG Network of Serbia. The second panel was organized on the topic “IPARD III – support to farmers – how to get funds” with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Secretariat for Agriculture and the Secretariat for Regional Development, the third panel dealt with the topic “Withdrawal of public funds and project management” Backa. We conducted a digital marketing campaign via social media and created the visual identity of the project.

The developed online platform for the promotion of the cultural heritage of the municipality of Bac with an interactive map will remain the property of the local tourist organization and the municipality of Bac, and can be used to valorize the tourist potential and be freely used for further development projects while respecting cultural heritage protection measures. In addition, this platform will be publicly available and free of charge for all citizens, the municipality of Bac and all visitors, and they will be able to use it without restrictions.

Members of the project team shared their experiences of successful inter-municipal, regional and international cooperation with partners from more than 20 countries.