PRESS RELEASE Celebration of the EC Day 2018

PRESS RELEASE
EC DAY 2018
Soufli (Greece), 26-09-2018
Title of the event : “Weaving the future  - Coloring Silk memories”
 
In the context of the celebration of the EC Day 2018, the Managing Authority of the European Territorial Cooperation Programmes of the Interreg V-A "Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020" and "Balkan-Mediterranean 2014" -2020 ", in cooperation with the Bulgarian National Authority of the Programmes, organize an event with educational and cultural activities entitled "Weaving the Future - Coloring Silky Memories" in Soufli on 26/09/2018.

More specifically, in Soufli will take place:

A. A specially designed cocoon-based educational action, in the form of Creative Design Lab for pupils from local schools. The workshop will be hosted at the Municipal Museum of Soufli and implemented in collaboration with the Laboratory of Industrial Design of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

B. A sightseeing visit combined with a training programme at the PIOP Silk Museum (Private Museum of Pireus Bank)  for students from the town of Svilengrad in Bulgaria.

C. Exhibition of the results of the educational workshop (arts and  constructions
of children) combined with parallel actions: Live  Performance "The nest - One route to freedom "- a dance performance with combined experiential action and participation of children . This event will be hosted at the Amphitheater of the Municipality of Soufli and is open to public at 18.30.

The events, aimed at both young and elder public, offer the opportunity to get acquainted with the Interreg Programmes, which themes  are inspired on the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and aim to  encourage more people to discover and embrace the cultural Europe's heritage with the ultimate vision of enhancing their sense of belonging to a common European area.
 
The planned actions have as a basic idea to discover together the symbolic meaning of the cocoon. The cocoon is a symbol of a man's spirit: the cocoon is soft, water-impermeable, light-permeable, the cocoon helps protect the butterfly which prepares and releases, leading it to the world of interaction and cooperation!
 
The ECDay is an initiative of the INTERACT network, which involves all the countries that are members of the EU's Territorial Cooperation Programmes, with a view to highlighting the importance of cooperation in cross-border areas of the EU both within the borders and beyond. It is a celebration of the benefits of European Territorial Cooperation for people across Europe. Each year over 70 Territorial Cooperation Programs participate in the European Cooperation Day, with over 250 events altogether.
 
The Managing Authority of INTERREG Programmes would like to deeply thanks the Municipality of Soufli and the Cultural Foundation of Piraeus Bank Group for the free use of the premises (Soufli Municipal Museum, Soufli Amphitheater and Silk Museum respectively) as well as the Laboratory of Industrial Design of the Department of Fine Arts and Applied Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the custom made production of the educational actions.

We remain at your disposal for any clarifications requested.

A few words about INTERREG Programs:
 
Greece and Bulgaria, two neighboring countries with a rich past, have entered, since the end of the 1990s, a period of closer cooperation with the support of the European Union.
 
The basic idea behind INTERREG is that countries have issues that can be better solved if they work with their neighbors than if each of them remains confined to its borders. For this reason, in our Programs we are promoting activities that bring our people closer.
 
We focus on Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria around our common borders, through the INTERREG "GREECE-BULGARIA 2014-2020" and "BALKAN - MEDITERRANEAN 2014-2020" Cooperation Programs.
 
All of our actions take place in the area of ​​Evros, Kavala, Xanthi, Rodopi, Drama, Thessaloniki, Serres and Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Kardzali, Haskovo.
 
We work with public and other institutions on both sides of the border that can benefit and positively influence the widest possible number of inhabitants, by funding a very different range of activities in the areas of competitiveness, environment, culture, transport, health and on issues related to social life.
 
For this reason, the European Union together with Greece and Bulgaria provide € 160,000,000 from 2014 to 2020 in the region (from both Programmes in the eligible area)!
 
We encourage cooperation on issues of common interest and address the challenges of modern times in a more attractive and effective way. Our ultimate goal is a better quality of life in cross-border areas.
 
Cooperate! We work together and we all win!
 
More information about the Programmes you can find:
http://www.greece-bulgaria.gr/
http://www.interreg-balkanmed.eu/

Agenda of the event

Watch our EC day video in the links below:
EC day video (English version)
EC day video (Greek vesrion)
EC day video (Bulgarian version)