Fortress of Culture Šibenik has once again attracted the attention of the European professionals thanks to success in managing St. Michael's and Barone Fortresses! Specifically, the Institution is included in the European catalogue of successful practices with a focus on adaptive re-use of heritage buildings, participatory governance and quality of interventions within the Cultural Heritage in Action peer-learning scheme.
Funded by the EU, Cultural Heritage in Action is a scheme of the European Commission implemented by a consortium of several European associations (Eurocities, KEA, ERRIN, Europa Nostra, Architects’ Council of Europe). The aim of the scheme is to empower cities and regions to strengthen their cultural heritage policies and initiatives as well as develop innovative solutions to preserve cultural heritage assets. A catalogue of good practices in heritage management throughout the European Union has been developed with the purpose of presenting selected sites and connect them through workshops and study visits.
Among the numerous applications from across Europe, 32 examples of good practice from 23 countries were selected. The only practice from Croatia is Fortress of Culture Šibenik, whose work is presented as an example of creative cultural management with a positive impact on the local community. Catalogue states that “as a result, these remarkable sites have been preserved and Šibenik has positioned itself as a major cultural hot spot, where tradition and modern technology are successfully blended”.
Thus, Šibenik found itself in the company of very diverse cultural projects implemented in large metropolises such as Budapest and Rotterdam, but also in similar or smaller cities such as Blaj (Romania) or Hermoupolis (Greece). Fortress of Culture was also shortlisted out of only 12 European locations that will have the opportunity to host representatives of other selected cultural institutions in the spring of 2021 - to present and convey their work practices first hand.The online catalogue can be viewed on this link, while individual examples of good practice can be viewed on this link.
This is not the first time that the work of Fortress of Culture Šibenik has been recognized as an example of good practice: in 2018, the Šibenik Fortresses Friends Club was included in a study Cultural Heritage: Innovative Audience Development Best Practices, as the only example from Croatia. The study was conducted by an international team of experts in the field of cultural tourism, creative industries, digital and creative economics - Economía Creativa.
