It all began with a communication campaign celebrating the newly awarded 116 URBACT Good Practices. Through this, I gradually gained insights into the URBACT programme and its impact on cities across Europe.
Just as I started my IVY volunteering experience, where my primary role was to support the communications unit, the 2024 URBACT Good Practices were set to receive their label. As a newcomer, getting to know these initiatives while assisting with their communication efforts was an incredible introduction to the diversity of cities, regions, and municipalities, as well as the vast range of urban development topics within the URBACT programme. When the initiatives were notified of their Good Practice label, they also received communication support, including visual designs and access to a dedicated forum where they could discuss strategies for promoting their work. The 2024 cohort consists of initiatives from 25 different countries, awarded the URBACT Good Practice label following the decision of URBACT’s Monitoring Committee in October 2024. Beyond recognition, these initiatives will be promoted and invited to the biggest URBACT event of the year – the URBACT City Festival in Wrocław, Poland.
The Secretariat is now planning for this festival which will highlight these newly awarded Good Practices, providing representatives from the initiatives and other cities with an ideal setting for proactive networking. The goal is for these Good Practices to inspire the creation of Transfer Networks, allowing cities to share and adapt these innovative initiatives. With URBACT funding, participating cities will have the opportunity to visit and collaborate within these networks.
For over 20 years, URBACT has been supporting cities and local stakeholders, creating platforms like the URBACT City Festival for urban practitioners to exchange experiences and develop integrated, inclusive, and sustainable urban solutions. What stands out to me the most is URBACT’s commitment to funding a wide range of urban development initiatives within a bottom-up framework.
All EU cities, as well as partners from Norway and Switzerland, can benefit from URBACT’s capacity-building activities or join an URBACT network. Whether by participating in a Transfer Network, learning from a designated Good Practice, or co-producing local Integrated Action Plans through Action Planning Networks, URBACT fosters collaboration to tackle shared urban challenges. From the beginning, I was struck by the level of support cities receive, not just from my colleagues in the communications unit but even more so from those in the project-focused team. With that in mind, I proposed creating an ‘URBACT Behind the Scenes’ video to showcase the Secretariat’s work and how it all comes together in practice.
The video will be released soon on URBACT’s social channels, so stay tuned!
There is so much more I could share about my experience, including my trip to the EU City Lab in Bucharest, co-organised by URBACT and the European Urban Initiative. But that’s a story for another time…
Sunny but cold greetings from Paris and the URBACT Secretariat!
– Julia, IVY Reporter at URBACT
