After a long time, the partners of the HoCare project were able to participate in a face-to-face meeting in Cremona, Italy. Only the colleagues from the Rzeszow Regional Development Agency were absent in person from the meeting, but thanks to technology, they were able to follow both professional days online.
Based on professional considerations, despite the monthly online consultations, there was an immense need for a face-to-face meeting, where the activities to be implemented and the goals to be achieved by the end of the project could be discussed much more productively. The first professional day was primarily devoted to reviewing the progress of the SME pilot projects and the public institution pilot projects. It can be stated that in the case of the SME pilot projects, the partnership is at the exact same level of implementation, whereas in the case of the public institutions, the partners are at different stages depending on the extent to which each institution was affected by the pandemic. On the morning of the second professional day, interactive workshops were held, the main aim of which was to explore the financial opportunities related to the partners„ action plans, and to examine the possibilities for the further expansion of the advisory bodies known as ”co-creation labs" established in the partner countries. To conclude the professional event, the project's steering body, the Steering Committee, held its meeting.
Alongside the official work, the host organisation, the Chamber of Commerce of Cremona, ensured that the project partners present also enjoyed a cultural programme. At the end of the first day, during a one-and-a-half-hour guided city centre walk, we gained an insight into the history of Cremona, while on the second day, violinist Aurelia Macovei gave a half-hour mini-concert on an original instrument made in 1669 by Antonio Stradivari.