On the 1st and 2nd of March a two-day-long international workshop was held in Hévíz in the frame of the “Transforming your City” Erasmus+ project. The organization and implementation of the project was co-ordinated by the staff of the HÉTFA International Office on behalf of the Municipality of Hévíz.
“Transforming your City – Transnational workshops for youth involvement in decision-making on urban regeneration” project was led by the Soria City Council (Spain). Besides, the Municipality of Hévíz (Hungary), Alba Iulia City Council (Romania), Torres Vedras City Council (Portugal) and Agency of Urban Development in Saint-Omer (France) participate in the project. The main aim of the project is to gather representatives from youth and local political authorities in several European countries, so that together they can devise and propose a course of action to regenerate their urban spaces according different needs. The partners were already participated in four workshops (in Soria, Hévíz and twice in Saint-Omer) during which great ideas were born about the regeneration of certain places in each cities.
The opening event took place in a small town in France, Saint-Omer, on the 23rd and 24th of January, where colleagues of HÉTFA, Fanni Bobák, project manager and Zsolt Szendrei, architect-urbanist represented the city of Hévíz. The participants met for the second time in a Spanish city, Soria, on the 15th and 16th of February. Here, beside Zsuzsa Radnai, project manager of HÉTFA, Balázs Horváth, 11th grade student of Bibó István High School and College of Hévíz represented the city of Hévíz. Soria, like other small Spanish cities, faces challenges such as the migration of young people and the emptiness of the old town. The leadership of the city, in cooperation with the local youth council, have begun implementing a long-term plan to mitigate the problems. During the meeting, international partners have also been involved in the common thinking about how to transform the old city so that it becomes greener and more liveable for all generations.
The third workshop was held in Hévíz and focused on the sport development opportunities of the city. At the press conference of the project, Gábor Papp, Mayor of Hévíz, highlighted the importance of involving younger generations in planning the future of the city, since one of the most important challenges, that the city administration has to face, is the retention of young people. Beside professional programs, young people got an insight into Hungarian culture and gastronomy.