INTERREG IV C
INNOVATION AND ENVIRONMENT
REGIONS OF EUROPE SHARING SOLUTIONS

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
INTERREG IVC provides funding for interregional cooperation across Europe. It is implemented under the European Community’s territorial co-operation objective and financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Operational Programme was approved in September 2007 and the period for INTERREG IVC will last from 2007-2013.
The general goals of this project are to improve, by means of interregional cooperation, the effectiveness of regional development policies in the areas of innovation, the knowledge economy, the environment and risk prevention as well as to contribute to economic modernisation and increased competitiveness of Europe.

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ZEN
Zero-Impact Cultural Heritage Event Network

Priority: Environment and risk prevention
Theme: Cultural heritage and landscape

APPLICANT
Sviluppumbria - Regional Development Agency for Economic Promotion
Perugia - Italy

PARTNERS
Municipality of Perugia, Perugia - Italy
Municipality of Drama, Drama – Greece
Vilnius City Municipal Government Administration, Vilnius – Lithuania
Sigulda District Council, Sigulda – Latvia
University of East London, London - UK
Regional Government for Culture and Tourism - Autonomous Government of Extremadura, Mérida – Spain
Others

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Zero-impact cultural heritage Event Network – ZEN is a project aimed at developing a shared methodology to reduce the impact of events and festivals in historic centers and on cultural heritage through the exchange of significant experiences and lessons learned by the participating partners. All over Europe, events and festivals have the ability to draw positive effects on tourism, cultural diversity and local economy but they also have critical impact on local context and, more in general, on the environment. In the UK alone, it is estimated that live music events produce 400,00 t Co2 annually and a 2007 survey carried out by the University of Buckinghamshire on behalf of A Greener Festival on 649 festival goers in Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands found out that 80% were concerned about noise, 82% thought waste had a negative impact, 84% were worried about the impact of travel and transport, 60% expressed concern about water and land damage. The same survey found out that 42% of respondents believed that the responsibility for minimising these damages lies with local authorities, as many of the negative effects of events are felt immediately at local level, with increase in noise and air pollution, waste production, pressure on transport and infrastructure and damage to fragile cultural heritage. Based on these data, the main focus of ZEN is to work with different know-how and experiences to provide common solutions at EU level dealing with the reduction of these negative effects on urban settings of cultural and artistic significance and that will provide a roadmap to manage and protect cultural heritage in occasion of open-air events that attract large numbers of people.

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