Culture is not only a value, but also a local economic, community and innovation resource.
The COVID-19 crisis has hit the cultural and creative industries particularly hard: events, festivals, museums, performing arts venues, creative businesses and freelance creators have lost a significant proportion of their audience, revenue and operations. The CHERRY – making Culture tHe N°1 ally of European RecoveRY the project is seeking answers on how culture can become an ally of local economic, social and territorial renewal. The project is not just about cultural programmes, but about policy learning, good practices, digital cultural services, new narratives and pilots that bring creative and digital actors closer together.
Who is it useful for?
CHERRY is for those who see culture not as an isolated sector, but as an opportunity for local economic, tourism, community and digital development.
Details
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- For cultural and creative enterprises
It can help in the development of new services, digital formats, collaborations and business models.
- For cultural and creative enterprises
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- For arts and cultural organisations
It can be useful for theatres, festivals, museums, cultural centres and arts groups, particularly in the field of digital audience engagement and new narratives.
- For arts and cultural organisations
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- For local authorities and regional development actors
He gives good examples of how culture can be used as a tool for urban development, public spaces, tourism and local economic development.
- For local authorities and regional development actors
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- For tourism and heritage conservation stakeholders
It can provide inspiration for a new type of utilisation of cultural and natural heritage.
- For tourism and heritage conservation stakeholders
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- For digital and audiovisual service providers
It opens up connectivity towards podcasts, web content, virtual experiences, augmented reality and digital storytelling.
- For digital and audiovisual service providers
- For policymakers
It can provide lessons for support instruments that enhance the creative industry's resilience, digitalisation, and role in the local economy.
Why is this needed?
The pandemic showed that culture is not just a programme or an event, but also an economic, community and mental wellbeing resource.
Details
The cultural and creative industries proved particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis. Actors relying on physical presence, audiences and events rapidly lost revenue, connection and operational security. This was not only a cultural loss, but also an economic, employment and community problem. The crisis highlighted the fact that culture plays a role in people's well-being, mental health and community connectivity. The fundamental question of CHERRY is: how can the cultural and creative industries be strengthened so that they not only survive crises, but are active participants in local renewal? For the Central Transdanubia and Lake Balaton region, this is particularly important due to the legacy of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme, cultural tourism and the development opportunities of the creative economy.
How does the project help?
CHERRY does not treat culture as a separate sector, but as a shared development field for urban regeneration, the local economy, tourism and digital innovation.
Details
The aim of CHERRY is to improve 9 regional and local policy instruments to support the cultural and creative industries. The project seeks to find out how cultural and creative actors can:
- become more resilient to crises;
- connect better with the local economy;
- take on a stronger role in urban and regional renewal;
- develop new digital services and forms of communication;
- contribute to the utilisation of the natural and cultural heritage.
Practical application
The project becomes tangible when a cultural organisation wants to use digital services to reduce seasonality and reach new audiences.
Details
Imagine a cultural organisation or creative business that heavily relies on personal presence, the tourist season and event attendance. The pandemic showed that if physical events are cancelled, it can cause rapid revenue loss and audience drop-off. At the same time, it was also seen that digital content, online audience engagement and new forms of storytelling can reach new target groups. In such a situation, CHERRY connects cultural, digital and development players. The project draws inspiration from the good practices of other European regions and helps to interpret how culture can become part of local economic development.
Our role
The role of KDRIÜ is to link the cultural, creative and digital development opportunities of the Lake Balaton region with European good practices and policy lessons.
Details
KDRIÜ is participating as a Hungarian project partner in the CHERRY project. The Hungarian policy connection is Development Programme of the Balaton Priority Region 2021–2027.KDRIÜ plays a role in local stakeholder engagement, the identification of good practices, the learning process, and the preparation of the pilot. The Hungarian focus appears particularly at the intersection of the creative industries, digital cultural services, tourism, and local economic development. The value of the project for KDRIÜ lies in integrating the cultural heritage, creative actors, and digital service providers of the Veszprém-Balaton region into a broader European policy learning process.
Partnership
The CHERRY partnership connects European regions, public institutions and development organisations so that culture can truly become an ally of local regeneration. The partnership brings together public institutions and development organisations from 8 European countries.
Details
Managing partner:
Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Department for Culture and Sports – Italy
Project partners:
Veneto Region – Italy
Kainuu Regional Council – Finland
Centru Regional Development Agency Romania
Zemgale Planning Region – Latvia
Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency – Hungary
Region of Western Greece – Greece
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region – France
Intercommunal Leiedal – Belgium
Are you interested in the project?
For further information, please visit the official project page or contact the project manager.
Official project page
Programme
- Interreg Europe
Full project title
- CHERRY - making Culture tHe N°1 ally of European RecoveRY
Status
- Under implementation
Maturity period
- 1 March 2023 – 31 May 2027.
Project
ID
- 01C0065
Project participants
Paulusz Patrik
project coordinator
Viktor Hegedűs
lead project coordinator
Results and related knowledge base materials
The results of CHERRY are truly useful when new cultural and digital development directions emerge from the good practices, pilots and policy lessons.
Details
- Collection of good practices
Examples related to cultural and creative industries, urban transformation, heritage values and local economic development.
- Good practice brochure
Communication material presenting the results of the peer-to-peer learning process.
- Decision-maker's guide / policy guideline
Policy lessons and development proposals in the project follow-up phase.
- Pilot results
Methodological experiences relating to digital cultural services and new narratives.
- Lessons learnt from local workshops and study visits
Summaries of stakeholder meetings, international learning events, and professional consultations.
- Videos and newsletters
Project presentation, videos summarising the learning process and regular newsletters.
CHERRY – Policy and Support Analysis
Policy and support analysis to promote the development of creative and cultural industries operating in the project regions.
- 2023
- CHERRY partnership
Related communication content
CHERRY – Good Practice brochure
Presentation of the 21 Good Practices collected in the CHERRY project.
- 2026
- CHERRY partnership
CHERRY - Newsletter #5
The fifth newsletter of the CHERRY project (February 2026).
- 2026
- CHERRY partnership
CHERRY – Newsletter #4
The fourth newsletter of the CHERRY project (July 2025).
- 2025
- CHERRY partnership
CHERRY – Newsletter #3
The third newsletter of the CHERRY project (February 2025).
- 2025
- CHERRY partnership
CHERRY – Newsletter #2
The second newsletter of the CHERRY project (July 2024).
- 2024
- CHERRY partnership
CHERRY – Newsletter #1
The first newsletter of the CHERRY project (December 2023).
- 2023
- CHERRY partnership